No lone rangers

‘… apart from me you can do nothing’. (John 15:5)

John 15:1-8 (Year B: Easter 5)

Many of the images, stories and examples used by Jesus come from the natural world including the world of agriculture and the land.  Images of seeding, growth, pruning, harvesting, preparation, manufacturing, selling, buying, storing, giving, taking and keeping arise throughout all of the gospels. I wonder what images, stories or parables would be told today in a fast-moving and fast-changing post-industrial and increasingly digital society?  One key aspect, at least, of the stories told about Jesus and by Jesus is the presence of personal relationship as a core point of the story. Along with this we hear about organic development and not mechanical determination. Put simply, we hear stories about:

   -        Ordinary people;

-             their relationships and struggles; and

-             a whole-istic view of reality embracing, meaning, source, development, change, feeling, action and      will.

In other words, the Gospels are not a book of philosophical theory (although they can well inform such a theory). Neither are they a book of mechanical engineering and cosmic physics to explain how the world was created and developed. And they are not a political manifesto or tract (although they may and should inform such matters). The Gospels (note plural) are what they say on the tin: Good News. Good news to change lives, to change relationships, to change societies. We must work out what this means and what to do today, here, now. The Gospels are vital signposts and lighting paths. We can truly say:  ‘Your word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path’ (Psalm 118:105).

So, the gospel writers told stories about Jesus or stories told by Jesus. These stories connect with the world of those hearing and telling and re-telling the stories. We need to hear these stories anew every time they are told. And, we in our turn need to tell them with a twist and relevance for today’s audience in today’s world whether it is a favela in Sao Paolo or a busy drop-in centre in Dublin. The stories echo down the ages.

Today, many people feel isolated, cut off, unsure, rudderless. This story is for them. Without God in our lives we are cut off from the living tree. With the God of life and love in our lives we are connected into a living tree and we can flourish and grow. But we grow with pruning. Note that the branches that bear fruit (because they are growing) are the ones that get pruned (or ‘cleaned’ to use the literal Greek word καθαίρ). We should welcome seasonal pruning!.  The point of our journey is not only to follow together with others but to bear fruit and to bear it in plenty. We are, each, no matter who we are or where we are at called to flourish and to bear fruit. That is the excitement, the mystery and the unknowing of Christian discipleship at the very outset. We cannot foresee where exactly it leads and how. We trust.

In the Christian journey there is no need for lone rangers.  Church is meant to be what it says: a gathering in and a sending out.  I would describe it as a hospital for the walking wounded. We needed help, support and healing on the journey but we also need to keep moving and reaching out beyond the boundaries of the hospital where others seek healing and relationship. We need to acknowledge the uniqueness of each branch on the tree. But, we need to stay connected in and nourished as branches of the one tree. We are made for one another and it is a joy to be welcomed into such a fellowship. Perhaps, nowhere is this unity best expressed than in the sharing of wine of the new covenant in the Eucharist when many Christians have the great privilege not only of eating but drinking as well. There, the ancient tradition, as testified in the 1^st/2^nd  century Didache recalls the ancient Jewish blessing over the bread and over the wine and sets it in the new testament and covenant:

We give thanks to You, our Father, for the holy wine of David Your servant which You have made known to us through Jesus Your servant.

By sharing the one cup of joy and fellowship and partaking in the spiritual food, life and joy of the blood of the risen Lord we are healed, set free, re-united and send out no longer as lone rangers but as gifted team players.  This 5^th Sunday of Eastertide was made by the Lord let us rejoice and be glad. Once again, let us rejoice (Philippians 4:4).