Joh 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Jesus’ metaphor/parable of himself as the vine and his Church as the branches is a powerful demonstration of teaching that is visual, every day, contextual, Scriptural, ethical and profound. A parable is like a Tardis, bigger on the inside than it first appears, and John 15:5 is a gift that keeps on giving.
For part 1 see here
1. Joined to Christ means joined to others
Vine branches grow entwined. The power of the vine as a metaphor of interconnection is that, unlike a tree like an oak which has distinct, straight branches, the tendrils/climbers of a vine grow in an intermeshed tangle. Indeed, in English, consider that vine – wine – wind (as in, to wind around) – twine – entwined are all from the same root. Vine branches grow entwined together, they touch each other at many points. This, of course is not unique to English. Consider Lamentations 1:14, the verb translated as wreathed or fastened comes from the Hebrew for vine.
Entwined is a great word for the Church, for how the people of God relate, for our common life. At times journeying together, at times tightly interwoven, at other times diverging from one another for the sake of continued growth.
2. Joined to others makes us stronger
Twine is comprised of numerous thin strands joined together to make a stronger rope. Vine tendrils on their own are flimsy, but together are strong.
Ecc 4:12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
This, again, speaks to the power of a shared life, of Christian co-labor, of togetherness. Alone, we are flimsy. Together we are stronger.
3. One Church, different branches
One common objection to Christianity is the divided nature of the global Church – the lack of unity. The vine metaphor is one way of responding to this objection. Some parts of the vine can trace their heritage back thousands of years. Other denominations are newer, and perhaps more closely related to one another. But we are all branches of the One Vine. The messiness and different growth speeds of a large, mature vine is probably a better way of articulating the complex web of connections that is the global catholic Church of the creeds and world Christianity today than a more linear “family tree” approach. We have many nodes of commonality.
In some places right now there is energetic, powerful growth and the putting out of new shoots – like China and many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. In other places, the vine seems more dormant, barely budding, all but clinging on. Yet we are one gloriously interconnected whole.
4. Growth is at the growing edges, not in the center
The visible growth of vines is fastest at the growing edge – furthest from the trunk. It is the ends of tendrils which produce more tendrils. Their growth is multi-directional, not linear. Branches produce more branches. Centralized control would kill a vine’s momentum.
This type of energized, organic life and extension is a beautiful aspiration for the mission of God. At any given time there is growth in multiple locations and directions. Alan Hirsch sees this as a challenge to the institutional way Church growth has often been understood;
“Here we are on fertile biblical ground, because organic images of the church and the kingdom abound in the Scriptures – images like body, field, yeast, seeds, trees, living temples, vines, animals etc… We must find a new way to experience ourselves, beyond the static, mechanistic and institutional paradigm that predominates in our ecclesial life.”
In the final post, we will reflect on what it means to “bear much fruit”.
