Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Spring is now in full bloom and summer is around the bend. Watching the new growth appear has been awesome, but it feels like in the blink of an eye this new growth has become over-abundant, over growth if you will. So much so that it seems time to trim the bushes even earlier than usual. Trimming the many plants helps shape their new growth and ultimately it will call forth new life. We see this also in the flowers like geraniums that we must dead-head in order to have more flowers come forth.
Why do we not recognize overgrowth in our own lives? In fact, it seems like we will spend more of our summer days working on the lawn, bushes and flowers then we may on our own spiritual lives. While an over-generalization, the truth is that we sometimes may even skip Sunday Eucharist to get these chores done. Still gardening can be a spiritual experience if we bring the process of gardening to prayer. Years ago this was a lesson my father taught me when he told me that tilling, planting and pruning are all opportunities for prayer. While pruning he would pray that the Lord take off that which was unhealthy in his own life. When dead heading our own flowers we can say a prayer that appreciates the flower that is gone and invites new life to come forth. How much more can this prayer apply to our lives?
How do we allow God to dead-head or prune the unnecessary elements in our faith journey; so that our lives would yield better fruit? In allowing God to take such action in our lives, what new growth would bloom? For Jesus says: that those who remain in Him will bear much fruit, because without him we can do nothing.
The early church community was joined to Christ, through their lived experience of Jesus. Their discipleship was formed and informed by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The first disciples were Jewish and they were joined to the Body of Christ through both their Jewish faith and through their baptism. In some early church circles the believers thought you needed to become Jewish in order to follow Christ. As time went on the Holy Spirit made clear to Paul, Barnabas and even Peter that it was Christ himself ‘The True Vine’ to whom everyone must be grafted.
Staying connected to the vine and the vine grower is not as simple as being baptized or claiming Christ as your Lord and Savior. Jesus reminds us that being a branch on his vine will allow us to bear the best fruit. This fruit will invite people, through us, to encounter Christ. Our spiritual growth will invite others to do the same.
Lord every day you challenge us to remain in You, for without You we are not complete. Grow our discipleship so that our lives actively reflect that we are joined to You, the ‘True Vine’ who lives and reigns one God forever. Amen! Alleluia!
- Michael Montgomery