John 15.1-8: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser…” etc.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“…apart from me you can do nothing” but “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”
In another Gospel passage, Matthew (17), Jesus says: “I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” And in last week’s Gospel lesson, the Lord said:
“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”
Today’s reading is the corollary of such passages: “apart from me you can do nothing” but “if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”
Clearly the Lord teaches that those who have faith in him can do anything. But in today’s reading we find that the opposite is also true: apart from Christ, you can do nothing.
Here again is an uncomfortable teaching. And its very likely not merely the inability to do anything that rattles us. The most uncomfortable facet of the Lord’s teaching lies behind both of these related teachings: In Christ, anything is possible; and apart from Christ, nothing is possible.
The most audacious fact here is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus sets himself up as the wellspring of all power: its his proclamation of himself that is so scandalous, the outrageous claim that he is the source of all ability, all potential – he’s not even saying that he is the source of all power TO DO GOOD – that might be understandable. Rather he says: “apart from me you can do NOTHING.”
The key to understanding this saying is in the Lord’s words about the vine and the branches: “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit…”
Jesus proclaims himself to be the source of all life, the main body of the plant through which the branches are nourished, from which life-giving liquids are directed and delivered, through which the nutrients course out to the dependent shoots. And when we are fed by Christ, receptive to what he delivers to us, when we soak up his doctrine, when we are nourished by his body and blood, then we become fruitful – we are enabled to act in such a way that others may in turn receive nourishment from us.
But without him, we are like branches cut off from the main plant – unable to sustain ourselves, disconnected from the roots and without any means of nourishment. We lie there seemingly alive for a time, but ultimately and necessarily dry, withered – lifeless refuse, to brittle to be useful, fit only for kindling.
This is hard, but it is the implied by Jesus being the true life, and truly the source of all life. And this is why the most important thing is Christ himself: why he proclaims himself, why we must seek him, hold to him, look to him for guidance, for strength, for nourishment – not because he punishes us for not seeking him, but because apart from him we can do nothing – apart from him there are only shadows and illusions that lead to NOTHING.
In Deuteronomy God said to the Children of Israel: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live” (Deut. 30.19). This injunction comes to fruition in Christ. Our choice must be for him: because to choose him is to choose life and blessing. And the choice of anything other than him is ultimately the choice of cursing and death.
We get a taste of such separation from Christ in those moments when we indulge our feelings of despair, or hopelessness, or anger, or ennui, or dissipation, or whatever. When we willfully act without Christ as our frame of reference; when we use ourselves up in the pursuit of anything apart from Christ – whatever it is: money, relationships, happiness, even church. Apart from Christ, there’s nothing, and it leads only to more nothing. And this is why its critical for us to form an intentional habit of SEEKING – to spend time daily in prayer, looking with our hearts and our minds, with our INNER BEING – looking for Christ… reading the Gospels, turning over its tropes in our minds, always asking ourselves the Lord’s meaning by this phrase or that, why too we must often avail ourselves of the sacraments – because the Lord has promised to meet us there. “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”
My favorite philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, once said: “What is eternal and important is often hidden from a man by an impenetrable veil. He knows: there’s something under there, but he cannot see it. The veil reflects the daylight” (Culture and Value, 80). It is not always easy to EXPERIENCE Christ at work in us, to FEEL his word abiding in us, his presence making all things possible. But that’s why patient and persistent ABIDING is necessary: As the prophet Isaiah said: “they who WAIT FOR THE LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40.31).
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”
One of my favorite stories from the “Sayings of the Desert Fathers” is the following:
Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, 'Abba as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace, and, as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?' Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, 'If you will, you can become all flame.'”
That’s the difference. Apart from Christ, you can do NOTHING. Saying the office, a little fasting, a little prayer and meditation, not bothering anyone, trying to be good… its all NOTHING apart from Christ. But if you ABIDE in Christ, and if his words abide in you, you can become all flame… you can do ANYTHING.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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