I recently made a brilliant discovery while I was preparing for the sermon on Sunday. I wanted to talk about vocation and looked at several passages in the Bible, including John 15, where Jesus says that he is the vine and we are the branches that are to remain firmly attached to him. I grew up in the Wachau, a famous vine region in Austria, and although I never worked in a vineyard myself, I was often out and about in vineyards. The vineyards on the rocky mountains next to the Danube are really beautiful (except in winter). Anyway, there's a part at the beginning of the parable that I've never really liked because it somehow triggers fear and pressure: “He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn´t produce fruit…” What if I don't bear fruit? Do I bear fruit? Would God cut me away? But I belong to him, and nothing can separate me from his love! Why does Jesus say that?
I listened to an online sermon and did some research myself: that's not what it says in the basic text! It has always been translated this way, both, in German and English. But in the Greek text it says “airo” which means to lift up or elevate. This has been interpreted and translated to mean that the vinedresser cuts off the vine and takes it away (some have also said that he takes it up to heaven...). But if you know how vines grow and what the winegrower does to make them grow properly, lifting can mean something completely different! The fact is that vines need support. Otherwise, it would simply crawl along the ground and just turn on itself (... these allegories!). But a vine cannot bear fruit on the ground because it would rot. That's why the winegrower builds a trellis with posts and wire ropes where he can tie up the vines. (Such a post could also be a wooden cross...) Then the vine winds itself around this rope and holds on to it, getting support to grow and strength to bear the fruit. What a picture!
God does not punish people who are lying on the ground by cutting them away because they are useless. He bends down to lift them up and to give them the support they need so that they can grow healthy and bear fruit! This takes a little time and patience. It takes about three years for the first fruits to grow, they don't come immediately. First the vine has to grow and become strong enough to bear fruit. It gets the sap from the roots, from the vine. And when grape blossoms finally appear, which the bees pollinate and later grow into fruit, these are not yet the good sweet grapes. Good quality takes another three years longer. So we also need patience and have to give ourselves time. And when there is good fruit, it is not the vine itself that has produced it. It only bears the fruit that the vine produces. The branch is part of the vine, but the real work is done by the vine, the lifeblood, and the wise winegrower. God turns water into wine. He does miracles and makes good fruit grow. I just have to stay in Jesus.
God doesn't cut me off if I don't produce. (When I first heard this passage as a teenager, it scared me). God is in me through the Holy Spirit. And I am allowed to cling to Jesus and the cross. But even when I have no strength to hold on, he holds me, he binds me up, he takes care of me! I find that so comforting. Especially for people who are depressed. God is gracious, merciful and caring.
The winegrower is also the good shepherd. And wine and sheep don't do very well on their own, they need guidance and protection.
I like pictures like this. And new discoveries like that. Yes, God also cuts away things that don't grow well with me. But not the whole branch. He cares for me. And he knows best how to do that and what I need in order to grow healthy. I'm in good hands with him.
I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.
He lifts up (airo!) every branch of mine that doesn´t produce fruit,
and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.
John 15:1-2