Brothers and Sisters,
In this coming week’s gospel lesson from John 15, we see what I believe to be an essential insight into the Christian life. The passage is likely familiar to you. Jesus calls us to abide in him. He is the vine. We’re the branches. We’re called to bear much fruit and so glorify God. That said, Jesus says something I find rather challenging in this passage. In verses 1 and 2, we read: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
Every branch that bears fruit is pruned. Pruning involves cutting away things that aren’t healthy in the care of plants. I don’t know about you, but the imagery of being pruned isn’t immediately appealing to me. Jesus isn’t saying that, if we bear fruit, things will always go easy for us. No, he’s saying that we’ll be pruned so that we may bear more fruit. We’re pruned by trials, by discipline, by the Holy Spirit purifying us and burning away sin in us. Pruning will involve pain. It will involve being weaned from desiring and pursuing things we shouldn’t desire or pursue. It will involve learning that placing our hopes on something other than God inevitably leads to disappointment.
That’s challenging but also encouraging if we understand it rightly. Maybe you’re going through a season of pruning in your life. That pruning isn’t a sign of God’s displeasure. It’s not because God has forgotten you. If you’re being pruned, it’s because you’re bearing fruit and God wants you to glorify him by bearing even more fruit. Don’t give up. Abide in Jesus and keep pursuing his glory.
In Christ,
Fr. Caleb