Day 11: Remain in me, as I also remain in you
Jesus takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, pondering his next words. He reaches out and thoughtfully touches the place where the newly tucked branch is connected to the vine. The branch is still tender at this time in the spring and could easily be broken off.
“Remain in me,”
he says slowly, looking at Philip, emphasizing each word. Philip shifts his weight slightly and purses his lips, remembering what Jesus had said just a couple of hours ago. Then Jesus, placing his hand on his chest and motioning around the gathering, continues,
“...as I also remain in you.”
Keeping his hand firmly on his heart, he surveys the faces illuminated by the flickering light of the torches. He notices how each person uniquely expresses their effort to understand. He knows this is a difficult teaching. He looks again at Philip, who is particularly uncomfortable.
While the disciples were eating the Passover meal earlier that evening, Philip had asked Jesus to show them the Father.
“Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you for such a long time?” Jesus asked quietly. “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father,” and then with more fervor, he added, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (John 14:9a, 11a).
He knew this was a new, radical concept for any descendant of Abraham. He knew their thoughts. How could Yahweh be in someone? The God who created the heavens and the earth. The God who cannot be contained in a temple, whose footstool is the earth. How could this God inhabit a human being? And the most complex of all, how were the disciples to understand that they were to dwell in HIM, in Jesus, himself?
Vineyard Metaphor
The metaphor of the vine is helpful. There is a symbiotic relationship between the vine and the branches.
The roots of the vine draw up water from the earth much like straws and distribute it along a system of long, end-to-end cells called xylem that exist around the circumference of the trunk, just under the bark. Xylem not only delivers water to all the parts of the vine and branches, but also creates a stiff structure that supports the plant. The water only flows one direction, from the roots up to the branches. Each year, the xylem cells die, leaving a stiff skeleton and new ones are created for the coming season. We can observe this rhythm when we count the rings in a cross section of a trunk.
Another system that is present in the vine is phloem. Much like xylem, phloem tissue is a transportation system, but, instead of water, phloem distributes soluble organic substances, like sugars, that feed the plant. Similar to xylem, phloem encircles the trunk and is found between the xylem and the bark. Phloem is bi-directional, moving sugars that are created during photosynthesis in the leaves, back along the branch, and down to the trunk where it is stored until needed. In the spring when the sun begins to warm the earth, the sugars that have been stored in the trunk during the colder winter season become activated and move towards the buds, pushing them out to create new branches, leaves, and fruit. The stored sugars, or energy, in the vine is responsible for feeding the branches until the leaves are big enough to efficiently metabolize sunlight and create more sugars for this season of growth.
Reflection and Meditation
Remaining IN Jesus means there's a total transfer of life-giving water from Jesus (the vine) to us (the branches)...through the xylem. Nothing is held back.
The branch that remains in the vine reciprocates in the life-giving relationship, by sending all the sugar it has created during photosynthesis (which uses the water from the vine) back to the vine through the system of phloem. It's an intimate relationship of deep belonging!
As you ponder this metaphor, what could it mean for you to be in Christ and Christ to be in you?
What would it look like to be so connected to the life-giving water and support of the Vine that it pushes out new growth in your life?
Perhaps you’d like to ask God for more water, more nutrients. There’s nothing that would please God more than to send more sustenance your way!
Take time to reflect and receive.
“Jesus invites us to abide in his love. That means to dwell with all that I am in him. It is an invitation to a total belonging, to full intimacy, to an unlimited being-with.”