Vine & Branches

I guess there's two lenses to look at tonight's readings through: At my husband's parish, they talked about the "pruning" part of the reading:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit."

To me, the point is staying connected.
When I was in college, the "res. life staff" (RA's and RD's) went for a team-building day at a ropes course. It was a great day, and one of the things that struck me aobut it was how supportive everyone was of each other- we all cheered each other on and celebrated each other's successes.

At one point, while I was up on a log, I realized that everyone on the ground had gotten quiet. The new tension in the air was palpable. I turned to see that a friend of mine was frozen on a wire, 20 feet above ground. Someone had realized that she had somehow not hooked her harness into the safety line. Even through all the pre-climb safety-checks, no one noticed that she had actually hooked herself into her own strap, instead of the belay rope. So there she was, halfway across, completely disconnected from anything that could keep her from falling to the ground. There was nothing she could do but keep walking to the next tree, where she could hook in again.

The steely-calm staff people from the Ropes Course talked her through each step, and we stood frozen where we were and called out encouragement while we all, I'm sure, prayed not to have to watch her tumble to the ground. Slowly, she made her way, and made it to the Best Tree In the Whole World. She hugged it, and we hugged each other, and cheered wildly, sighing our relief.

It occurs to me that the times in my life when I've felt disconnected from God are the times when I've done the disconnecting. They're the times when I've gotten so hooked into my own self that I've neglected to hook into God.

As a neophyte gardener, I like the image of the vine- I can picture the life flowing through those branches and ending in lovely lush green leaves and fruits. It pays to stay connected.

"If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”