Parable of the Vine
The parable of the vine is a wonderful metaphor for thinking about what it means to call oneself or another person a “Christian”. What do you expect a Christian to look like, to act like, to do, say? How do you know you are a Christian?
The key, according to John’s gospel is being connected, being branches of the vine, abiding. We should take time to think about what vines do, which vines are productive and which are destructive.
Kudzu is a perennial vine native to Asia. There are 5 species, all closely related. Each leaf is large with two or three lobes each and hair on the underside. The leaves can fix atmospheric nitrogen supplying the vital nutrient in poor soil. Along the vines are nodes, points that generate new tendrils that can attach to structures. The nodes also can root when near soil. Up to 40% of the plant’s biomass is root structure. The plant reproduces clonally, spreading rapidly, growing vibrantly in shade or sun. The plant covers hillsides, poles, trees, any and every structure in its growth zone.
The plant was introduced to the US in 1876 at the centennial exposition in Philadelphia. It entered the south in 1883 at the exposition in New Orleans. The appeal originally was as an ornamental plant to shade porches and to prevent soil erosion. For the later effort the government funded the planting of 85 million seedlings which by 1946 covered over 3 million acres. When the boil weevil caused cotton crops to rail, farmers moved into urban centers leaving the Kudzu to grow unchecked.
The USDA listed it as a week in 1970. By 1997, the vine was on the “Federal Noxious Weed List. The Kudzu vine is an invasive plant that spreads in the southern U.S. at the rate of 150,000 acres annually, increasing the cost of herbicide spraying to $6 million each year. Now the vine covered 7 ½ million acres of land in the SE US. It has the nickname: “the vine that ate the South.”
The vine has utility. It has been used as livestock feed; the root is used in herbal remedies and teas in China to treat alcohol related problems. In Japan, the Kudzu root starch is used in cooking and natural medicines, Japanese cuisine. Finally it has potential as a biofuel.
The good news about Kudzu is that it is healthy, full of life, vibrant, hearty. It spreads everywhere, without much discrimination. The problem is that it smoothers all the plants in its path. That is a really good reason to have one vine with many branches, like a grape vine.
The best grapes are those that grow nearest to the vine. Every season the branches are pruned and kept short so that they bear good fruit. The grape vine has been used as a symbol since ancient times. In Greek mythology Dionysus was God of the vintage and the vine with bunches of grapes is one of his attributes. The Greek wine cup was often decorated with vine and grapes. The Old Testament uses the vine as symbol of the chosen people.
Israel saw the community as a vine planted and cared for by God. The OT teaches that they disappointed God by failing to be faithful to the laws, compassionate to neighbors, hospitable to strangers. The Johannine community struggled with how they would remain faithful, how to define their community relative to their Jewish ancestry and their experience of Jesus. In John’s writing we get the sense that there are some in the community that do not bear fruit: they do not live in love and are only concerned with themselves…they think it is about them and not about the whole community. So this passage is not anti-Jewish, nor does it criticize other faiths.
We live in a culture that prizes individual accomplishment. We like to think we can go it alone. In a choral piece based on the text, I am the vine, by John Bell and Graham Maule, we hear the counsel of Jesus:
“For on your own, what can you dare? / Left to yourself no sap you share:
Branches that serve their own desire / find themselves broken as fuel for fire”
(John Bell and Graham Maule, 1989 WCRG, Iona Community)
No doubt the disciples were dependent on Jesus during his lifetime. Jesus is well aware of the hardships he and they face. He knows it can be tough, but he is offering encouragement, hope and trust. Staying connected to the vine is a way of weathering whatever storms may come: Abide in me.
Many of us know that when we go through a difficult experience we need the sense of presence. We don’t so much “hang in there” as “hang ON” to someone/something steady, secure, sure. Living, abiding, finding our roots anchored in the vine we have security. We along withy the first disciples are told to remain close by placing our trust in him. We look back on “hard times” and often see growth during it. We find out what really matters when life has its way of getting our attention.
I am not suggesting that life has to batter us to get us to produce fruit. I am saying that unless we are connected to the vine we will be blown about by every crisis, and we will find our energy consumed in things that are not worthy of being called fruit of the vine.
We are branches of the vine. Are we connected to the aggressive suffocating Kudzu vine good for some things but harmful overall – or are we connected to the grape vine that gets pruned, tended by the master gardener? It might be natural to shy away from the pruning part, but think about where the best fruit is found: near the vine! God as gardener is present, tending, caring for the plant. Pruning gives new growth. The parable is comforting because it tells us God is in control! The vine and the fruit are gifts of God.
Jesus takes the everyday image of a vine and transforms it into a symbol of community, mission and love. This community is interdependent, mutually respectful, united in the embrace of divine presence. Are we that kind of community? Are we good branches of the true VINE? YES