Vine and Branches; Pruning and Bearing Fruit
Easter V (April 28, 2024)
“He removes every branch in me that does not bear fruit.” These words often sound threatening and cause us to ask: “Am I one of the branches that will be pruned or not?”
Pastor Rob invites us to see this a bit differently. Rather than be concerned with “Who is in and who is out?” instead we are to ask ourselves “Which me is in and which is out? Each of us a side of ourselves — truly a version of ourselves — that needs to be pruned. Yet, each of us has another side — another version — that is bearing fruit. Our life in Christ, abiding in him, means that we are constantly being pruned, yet also raised up to new life to bear fruit.
Once we embrace ourselves as people who are pruned to bear fruit, we can embrace the humility and charity Christ intends for us. This humility and charity, as it turns out, is what enables us to live in community; these virtues are also, as it turns out, in short supply right now. This presents an opportunity and challenge for us at St. Paul.