Wednesday, April 30, 2014

 Commentary on John 15:1-11

Jesus has one Last Supper with his friends before facing his inevitable arrest and execution.  Time is running out as he chooses the words he wants to say to them – the last time he has a chance to teach or explain who he is, where he is going and who his disciples are in relation to him

He must convince them that they too have the power to continue in his place, they too will be filled with the Spirit and will be able to do what he does – in his name.  The urgency of the moment begins well back in Chapter 13 where Jesus tells the disciples to “love one another” and builds to his great prayer for the disciples in Chapter 17.

John 15: “I am the vine and you are the branches.”

This is the theme of the painting that hangs in the lower parish hall at St. John’s.  In that picture, I connect the risen Jesus to the Beatitudes using the images of light turning to vines, binding all into one.  Blessed are they who do these things….  

I imagine Jesus, reclining at the Last Supper on pillows and sharing the food with his friends.  I see the bread dipped in various sauces: I see the wine – a bowl of fruit.  The disciples struggle with the news that they will be left alone without their teacher.  Perhaps Jesus holds up a handful of grapes.  He says: “I am the vine; you are the branches.”  Then, he explains how he will always be alive in them.

An unattached branch withers and dies.  It goes into the fire.  Likewise, a living branch is pruned (cared for by the Gardener) – to provide maximum yield.  And such nurtured branches bear much good fruit.  Perhaps conscience – that small voice we hear from time to time is the Gardiner ‘pruning’ us…  

Jesus explains that as long as they have his WORDS inside, his disciples remain attached to him, no matter where his body may go.  And with his SPIRIT to remind them, they will not take a wrong turn.  Their witness will continue as alive as those living and nurtured branches.  It’s a perfect image of spiritual connection.

Jesus reminds them that as God has loved him, he in turn loves them.  All they have to do is ‘abide in his love’.  But, they must keep his commandments as Jesus has kept his Father’s commandments.  He promises that if they follow this path, their joy will be great.  Reading the words centuries later, we too hope for that joy.  

But the commandments of Jesus prove to be a daily challenge: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; turn the other cheek; do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  It’s a long set of rules for simple fishermen to remember.

In the next two verses – 12 - 13, Jesus simplifies it all for his friends –

“Love others as I have loved you.”

He even declares, in grim foreshadowing - how far that love could go… 

“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

In John 15, the writer describes a brilliant teacher, moments before his own death, summoning catchphrases that will be remembered for the rest of our lives – and for all time.

- Peter Mansell  Lent, 2014