John 15:1-8
I love walking. I love hearing the animals, I love the smells of wood and flower, I love the way shadow and light play. It restores my soul and I feel like I have been on a visit with Jesus.
Today we have Jesus declaring I am the vine and you are the branches. Most often we take this and plunge into pruning imagery and how we grow. Yet this is another sort of doing for us. We must do in order to be about being a disciple. The struggle though is in just being.
When Jesus says I am the vine and you are the branches there is nothing to do. It is about abiding in where we are. Now this was even a struggle for the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemene. They couldn't watch, wait and pray, so we shouldn't feel too discouraged. And this isn't an assignment for us to accomplish. It is stopping and noticing how we are connected to the vine.
After all the vine is what brings us life. When we don't connect to it we haven't taken the time to slow down and look, listen, or see. So often in John Jesus invites the disciples to come and see. Seeing is knowing and believing.
So how do we take the time to stop and see our connection? Where do you find time to look and see? It might be in nature or maybe it is in knitting, it can be anywhere and in anyplace where we recognize our connection to the source.
On mission trips it is one of the questions we ask at the end of the day. Where did you encounter God/Jesus? This is what Easter season is about. In recognizing when we have encountered Jesus.
It could be along a road of despair and hurt and we don't see the encounter until the breaking of the bread. Maybe its in the tears of grief and he is the gardener in the tomb. Maybe it is in the room filled with fear and he suddenly appears saying "Peace, be with you." Or maybe it is in the midst of our doubts and he appears with the reassurance we need in touching his wounds to see our own.
Whatever it is, its important for us to take the time in asking the question. Where have you encountered Jesus this week?
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