Day 31: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you
The disciples are still nodding and reflecting on how Jesus has taught them. Phillip rubs his hands together and blows warm air into them to ward off the spring night chill. Jesus is still watching him with those piercingly kind eyes, full of truth and love. He crosses his arms and looks away, shaking his head slightly. If he were honest, he still does not understand how Jesus could be in the Father and the Father in Jesus. How can that be? And all this talk about being in Jesus, in the Vine, is just confusing and hard to understand.
Jesus takes a deep breath and presses on in his teaching as he looks intently around the small gathering. Maybe he calls to their minds the early days of being together. Perhaps he reminds Phillip about how he used to follow John the Baptist, but willingly began following Jesus, bringing Nathanael along. Maybe he recalls the day Peter, Andrew, and James started following Jesus, or the time when he invited Matthew to join the group amid protests from Simon. The memories are vivid. Jesus waits until the chatter dies down and says,
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you…”
Phillip furrows his brow. He thought he chose Jesus over John. Maybe Jesus looks at Phillip again, shaking his head, and says, “I chose you.”
Vineyard Metaphor
There are so many choices that must be made in a vineyard in order for the vines to produce beautiful fruit that will make great wine.
Before a vineyard is even planted, the vineyard owner and winemaker must decide what varietal to plant. This decision will impact decades, maybe even a century, of winemaking. They must take into consideration the topography, the soil, and the climate of the area. Is the vineyard on a hill or in a valley? Will it get morning sun, afternoon sun, or both? Is there generally fog in the morning? How many degrees does the temperature vary from midday to midnight? What is the profile of the soil…is it clay, sandy, loam, rocky…a combination? What kind of wine do we want to make? All these and dozens more questions must be answered before they can choose to plant pinot noir, zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, chardonnay, or any one of dozens of varietals.
Once they settle on a varietal, other choices must be made. Which root stock to use? How to graft the varietal onto the root stock? Which direction to orient the rows and what kind of trellis system to install? And so on.
Every healthy, established vineyard sustainably produces beautiful fruit for excellent wine because of the myriad of choices that have been made from the beginning, the most important one being which varietal to plant.
Reflection and Meditation
Take a moment to imagine Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit discussing you before you were born.
They created a beautiful plan for your life and considered how it would fit into the grand scheme of the whole world. They thought about the “soil” in which you would be planted, where you would live, what access you would have to education, and what the climate of your home would be. They considered the unique struggles you would have that would contribute to the complexity of the juice of your fruit. In the end, you are a wonderful and unique “varietal.”
Close your eyes and feel the joy of the Trinity as they fashioned you. You are God’s chosen and beloved child.
If you enjoy wine, perhaps you’d like to ponder what varietal you are most like. Are you a tender, sensitive pinot noir? Maybe you’re an old vine zinfandel or a hardy cabernet sauvignon? Are you a vibrant pinot gris or a smooth riesling?
Regardless, you were created with care. Savor this moment.
“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because
I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.”