Day 17: Apart from me, you can do nothing
Jesus has just declared the beautiful outcome of abiding…remaining…living… dwelling IN him. Whoever remains IN Jesus will bear much fruit. The disciples murmur approvingly, shifting and nodding. They are happy about bearing much fruit but still a little confused about the idea of living IN Jesus. Jesus looks down and picks up a small, dry branch and thoughtfully turns it over in his hand. He senses how hard it is to understand what this really means and knows they will need more metaphors, a more complete framework to grasp the true meaning. He leans forward and pushes himself up to stand. The disciples anticipate his next words as Jesus looks intently at the group. Jesus measures his words and slowly speaks to each one.
“Apart from me, you can do nothing.”
The contrast of fruitfulness with nothing stuns the disciples. They take it in. No one dares to move or say anything. Jesus snaps the branch in half, drops the two pieces to the ground, and rubs the dust from the dry branch off his fingers.
Vineyard Metaphor
In the vineyard, grafting is the process by which the living tissues of two plants are joined together and continue living as one plant. It is done in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons, but the main purpose is always “much fruit.” Sometimes a vineyard manager needs to change the varietal of a whole vineyard because it has proven not to be best suited for that vineyard, or perhaps the winemaker is calling for a small amount of a different varietal to blend with other varietals to produce a particular wine. Whatever the reason, the vineyard manager can choose to take out a whole vineyard and replant it with a new varietal, which would take at least three years to produce fruit. Or, if the vines are healthy, the vineyard manager may choose to cut the top off the vines and graft a new varietal into the vines that will produce fruit in one year’s time.
A graft that does not take, or a branch that is broken or cut off the vine, dies.
When there is no exchange of life, when there is no water, when there are no nutrients passing between the branch and the vine, it’s not the vine that dies, it’s the branch that dies. The vine continues to live because it is nourished by the roots. The vine does not need the branches to live, but the branches need the vine for life. The branches must be attached to the vine to bear fruit. A branch that is isolated from the vine cannot live.
Reflection and Meditation
Sit with this stark metaphor for a minute.
Imagine holding a dry, brittle twig or small branch in your hand. Ponder how it got to be so dry and dead.
Are there places in your soul that feel like a dead twig, isolated, cut off from the living, nourishing water of the vine? Courageously name those places. How did you get here? Maybe you have chosen to disconnect from what gives you life, or perhaps you have become detached from the Vine for some other reason.
Acknowledge the reality of being separated, of being apart. What longings can you name in this moment? Tell Jesus about your longings and where you feel dry.
Feel the loving eyes of Jesus inviting you to reconnect.
“Good things as well as bad, you know, are caught by a kind of infection…. You want to be warm, you must stand near a fire: if you want to be wet, you must get in the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them….They are a great fountain of energy spurting up out the very center of reality. If you are close to it, the spray will wet you: if you are not, you will remain dry. Once a man is united to God, how could he not live forever? Once separated from God, what can he do but wither and die?”