“Precise Pruning Precedes
Prodigious Production”
May 3, 2015 John 15.1-7
David R. Hosick
”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears
no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already
been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just 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. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much
fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown
away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done
for you.
Did you know that winemaking is expanding
all over the USA? Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,
Chardonnay – French grape varieties, grow in
many places from California to New York to North
Carolina to Texas to Florida.
Jesus picks up this image in John 15. It’s his
description of his relationship with us his followers.
He says he’s the true vine and we are his branches.
God’s purposes did rest on Israel but now rest on
him. His followers, people like us, are members
of God’s true people—if we abide in him. This
metaphor isn’t just a clever gardening illustration.
It’s about who Jesus and we really are, and what
is going to happen to us as a result. (4) If we are
growing to be the kind of fruitful Christians
and church that God intends us to be, then God,
the vinedresser, will need to control the canopy.
Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the
vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear
fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
Anyone who own a vineyard will have to tend
to his vines. Left to themselves, vines sprawl out
all over the place and produce huge canopies of
shoots, leaves, and branches. Unless that canopy is
tended and controlled, the vine won’t yield much
fruit, let alone top-shelf grapes. (3) Superfluous
growth must be pruned away if their vines produce
as they are capable. Vines need to focus their
energy and resources on producing good quality
grapes, rather than lots of second rate ones. Vines
need to grow toward the light, rather than getting in
a tangled mass. Pruning is required.
God wants us Christians to bear fruit. Therefore
he will prune us. He’ll prune away anything that
will divert us from producing “top shelf” fruit. Jesus
said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear
much fruit and so prove to be my disciples … I chose
you and appointed you that you should go and bear
fruit and that your fruit should abide … These things
I command you so that you will love one another.”
The fruit God wants to grow in us is love. God will
prune anything that hinders our ability to love one
another.
Throughout the Bible grapevines are used
as metaphors for a relationship with God.
In Psalm 80 God is described as bringing a vine
(the Israelites) out of Egypt and planting it in the
Promised Land. The vine had been ravaged by wild
animals and needed protecting and re-establishing.
The vineyard of Israel, said Isaiah, has borne wild
grapes instead of proper ones (Isaiah 5). Other
prophets used the same metaphorical image.
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What God prunes then is sin. Sin may be
understood as anything that hampers our ability
to love God and each other. Sin is not so much
breaking rules and regulations as it is putting
ourselves and our desires before God and the
needs of others. Things like greed, lust, jealousy,
bitterness, prejudice, laziness, dishonesty, and
self-aggrandizement have got to go. They are the
opposites of love. They must be pruned, if we are to
produce the good fruit of love.
Branches that decide to go it alone, to try to live
without the life force of the vine, soon discover
their mistake. They wither and die, and are only
usable as firewood. But branches which remain
in the vine, and submit to the pruner’s knife as
necessary, live and bear much quality fruit. That’s
the prospect Jesus offers us.
So, the question leaps at us: How do we abide
in Jesus? How do we enable him to abide in us?
Both of his meanings apply.(8) On the one hand,
we must remain in the community that knows
and loves him and celebrates him as Lord. He
promises that when and where that community
gathers he will be in the midst of it; he’ll abide with
them. There’s no such thing as a “solo” Christian.
Abiding in Christ means being connected to the
Body of Christ, the church. This community of
Christ, the church, is a fellowship. We bear on
another’s burdens, encourage one another in our
discipleship, and sometimes we hold each other
accountable to our membership vows. We pray for
each other, celebrate one another’s joys and grieve
our sorrows, because we understand that when one
part of us is impacted in some way, all are affected.
The pruning of the grapevine canopy is a
counter-intuitive activity. (5) All the greenery, all
those leaves suggest you’ve got healthy productive
branches. In fact, “it’s all show and no tell.” For
example, pick up a glass of California Sauvignon
Blanc, sniff the bouquet, examine the clarity, act like
Frazier and Niles Crane, and then take a sip. Daniel
Sogg, of Wine Spectator, says that if you catch a
flavor “reminiscent of onion skin and jalapeño
peppers,” you’ve just encountered the problem
of grapevine canopy management. (6) The vines
haven’t been pruned properly.
Jesus understands that we need pruned. He
isn’t interested in showy disciples, nor in showy
churches. He wants followers who love God and
each other well. He doesn’t care about the size of
the vine; he cares about the quality and quantity
of the fruit. He knows God wants big people rather
than big churches. Now, it is obvious that the larger
the congregation the more people and money there
are available for mission. But it’s not about church
growth; it’s about church fruit. It’s not just many
branches, but grapes that produce the bouquet,
clarity, and taste of the wine of love. The key to it all,
Jesus says, is abiding in him. “Abide in me and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it
abides in the vein, neither can you, unless you abide in
me. I am the vine; you are the branches.” Jesus earlier
told his disciples. “…you will know that I am in my
Father and you in me, and I in you.” (14:20) Now he
reveals more of what he means. On one hand, it’s
his way of speaking of himself as Israel-in-person,
and of us as members of God’s true people because
we belong to him. On the other hand, it’s his way of
speaking of the intimate relationship with him that
we’re to enjoy and cultivate. (7)
In this community of Christ we worship God
and receive the sacraments. The Communion
we share takes the juice of the grapes of which
Christ speaks and through it he comes to abide in
us as we abide in him. In our worship the Word
of God is read and expounded. It’s taught in our
church school. As we listen and respond, we abide
in Christ. Through our communion with God in
Word and Sacrament, we receive the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit is both the magnet that draws us to
Christ and the glue that adheres us to him. Abiding
in Christ means participating in the community of
Christ.
On the other hand, we remain as people of
prayer and worship in our own personal,
private, lives. Abiding in Christ means personally
relating to him by reading the gospels and praying
to him. Many people think a relationship with
Christ is like one with the government. We pay our
taxes and observe the law and receive the benefits
to which we may be entitled. It’s impersonal
and distant. Christ, however, is a person. He’s a
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human being who’s experienced every emotion,
temptation, difficulty to which humans are subject.
He understands us and wants to relate to us. He
promises, “…whoever comes to me I will never cast
out.” (6.37)
Sources:
1. Keith Dalbec, “Grapes in These Hills,” Bold
Life, May 2003, p. 18-19.
2. Catherine Hunter, “Pack family starts
new local vineyard,” Tryon Daily Bulletin,
Monday, April 7, 2003, p. 1.
Though it may hurt, we must be open to God’s
pruning knife. God is glorified, and so are we,
when we bear good, quality fruit and lots of it. For
that to happen parts of us will need to be cut away.
Greed, lust, selfishness, prejudice, cowardliness,
anger, laziness, and dishonesty must be removed
and thrown away. Then love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, gentleness, and self-control can grow.
Remember what Tom Wright says, “The vinedresser is never closer to the vine, taking more
thought over its long-term health and productivity,
than where he has the (pruning) knife in his hand.”
(9)
3. “Canopy Management” in Homiletics, Vol.
15, No. 3. P. 31-33
4. N. J. Wright, John for Everyone, SPCK, p. 6871
5. Homiletics, cited above.
6. Daniel Sogg, Wine Spectator, May 31, as
cited above.
7. Wright, cited above
8. Ibid.
Here’s the best part of all: When we abide in
Jesus, he promises his joy will be in us and our joy
will be full.
9. Ibid.
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David R. Hosick
“Reliable Remedy for Remorseful Rumunation””
701 Beach Drive NE w St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-2618 w (727) 822-2031 w www.fpc-stpete.org
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