The strange beauty of human connection
Easter 5B | John 15:1-8
Vines, growth, God, participation, pruning, fire, glorified, become my disciples.
Jesus offers an image from the natural world to speak of a relationship that transcends nature. Which means our vision of the image must transcend nature, too. In other words, don’t be literal.
It isn’t easy, of course. The image is so defining—so literal itself. It draws us into thinking of our connections to God, each other. The tendrils that tie us and wind about us, creeping up the walls and spreading throughout the garden.
Jesus is the vine, connecting the earth to the fruit. But God isn’t the earth—God is in everything. The earth, the vine, the branches, the fruit. And the bees that pollinate, the birds that peck, and the squirrels that nibble. And even in the gardener who cusses out those squirrels for eating all the cherry tomatoes.
Jesus uses an image to show connection—us to God through him. But he also wants us to see the scope of God’s work in the world. That it isn’t restricted by a mediator, but boundless and permeates everything.
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