The Vine revisited

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:5

Recently my wife and I enjoyed our annual fall pilgrimage to the eastern Sierra, where the golden aspen trees on the mountainsides and creek beds put on a colorful show for painters, photographers, and those who simply enjoy the spectacle that God brings forth every fall to those peaks, creeks, lakes and meadows. 

Now, a majority of aspen trees are not individual trees, but single organisms. Unlike most trees that propagate by dropping seeds, acorns, or cones, aspens primarily grow by expanding out their root systems and shooting up sprouts from under the ground. In fact, there is a large stand of aspens in Utah, affectionately named Pando, which is considered to be the largest single aspen known to man - a single tree that spread out to become many. 

That makes me think of Jesus' use of the vine and branches as a metaphor for His relationship to His followers - to us. He is The Vine, we are the branches. Does the vine itself bear fruit, or is it the branch through the vine that bears fruit? Without the vine the branch withers and dies (John 15:6). We can only bear fruit if we abide in Jesus (the Vine). 

As with the aspen tree, we as followers of Christ are the trees (the branches of the vine) seen by those around us, while we are linked by the root system (Jesus as the vine). Without that root system we cannot grow and bear fruit. Just as the aspen provides shelter for birds, and brilliant color in the fall, we can, as fruit of the vine, give to those we love (and to those whom nobody loves) the shelter of God's gracious Spirit, and bring color to their lives. 

Many years ago, on a hillside in northern Arizona, I stood in a stand of aspens that was oval-shaped. The tops of the trees arched over and entangled themselves with other trees. I felt that I was in a living and breathing place. I felt that I was in a chapel. And I was. But it was more than a chapel: it was a sacred place for me. Because while I was there I felt the Presence of God, and dropped to my knees in reverence. 

Perhaps that is why this analogy of the vine and the branches resonates so much with me, because while I am not familiar with vines and grapes, I am intimately familiar with aspen trees, and the deep spiritual connection I have when I am amongst them. 

But however you see and experience it, whether you relate to the vine and branches, or roots and trees, the message is the same: it is through our abiding in Christ, and He abiding in us, that bears fruit, because without Him - the vine or the roots - we can do nothing.

Soli Deo Gloria

Photograph of aspens, c 2022 John Prothero. Smartphone capture.