Easter 6 (John 15) 6th May 2018

Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan

 

In today’s gospel we hear again the word ‘abide’. Christ invites us to abide in him, to inhabit him, by keeping the law of love – love for God and love for one another. Last week the same word was used, when Christ offers us the image of the vine. It is a glorious image, so I would like to ‘abide’ with this week also.

Just after we celebrated the Orthodox Easter Lynne and I had a few day’s holiday in Santorini. It is, as you will know, a spectacular geological phenomenon, being formed into what is referred to as the Kaldera, and it is the result of a volcanic eruption. As the volcano erupted the earth imploded, creating a vast new area for the waters of the Aegean to flow into and fill. It is thought that the tsunami that followed was enough to wipe out the Minoan civilization in Crete, and there is some suggestion that the water as it was pulled into filling this new vast area may have caused the waters to recess in the Red Sea, thus allowing dry land for a short time that allowed Moses and the Hebrew people to cross. The story of the undersea city of Atlantis which was destroyed  by the volcanic eruption also comes from here.

Santorini is famous for its wines, the most famous perhaps being Vinsanto. The black volcanic rock is a hard environment for vines to grow, and being an island there can be scathing winds that blow. On account of this we discovered that the vineyards in Santorini look very different to vineyards in Western Europe and other parts of the world. Instead of growing the vines along supports and wires, the Santorini vines are plaited into little ground hugging bushes. They create with the vine what looks like a crown. As the vine grows so it is protected from the cold winds, but also as the leaves grow they create a shade under which it is possible to retain the moisture of morning dew, or rain water from the very infrequent rains.

Often you will see old plaited crowns of vines as decoration hanging in shops or restaurants. When I saw them I couldn’t help but make some theological connections. 2 things in particular. ‘I am the true vine, and my father is the vinegrower’ – words that Jesus uses in John 15, just before this morning’s gospel, which is a passage set for the Easter season when we are still thinking of the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus. But also, secondly, ‘they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, “Hail King of the Jews. “

These twisted and gnarled vine branches were a powerful reminder to me that we can never be far away from the crucified Christ, and even as the True Vine, we must always remember that crucifixion is required before Christ walked away from an empty tomb.

Both the crucified and risen Christ is the one who feeds us and quenches us  with the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation. These Eucharistic signs of bread and wine are the outward expressions of Christ nurturing his community of followers.

‘Draw near with faith. Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ which he gives for you and his blood which he sheds for you. Eat and drink in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.’

As the Eucharistic community it is required of us to be signs to the world of what it is both to live the life of resurrection – but also to show the joy of the mystery of the cross. The signs of life are the signs of death also. If we are to follow the risen Christ, we are to take up our cross. If we are to bring forth good fruits it is essential that we die to ourselves.

We abide in the mystery of the crucified and risen Lord. It is central to our Eucharistic action in this Liturgy this morning. ‘Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.’ It is into this life, this mystery that we are invited. It is a new relationship; a new way of understanding what it is to be a person, what other people are. We are a people bound together in love , because it is in doing this that we abide in Christ.

Jesus says, ‘if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.’

Friends, what more could we ever hope for or expect in life than ‘complete joy’. It far exceeds just feeling happy, though goodness me, even a little happiness would be a good thing in the world at the moment. Joy is about rejoicing in faith, rejoicing in worship, rejoicing in building personal relationships, rejoicing in the good news we have to share with others about ‘abiding in Christ’ and allowing him to inhabit our lives.

If we say yes to this invitation from Christ, then he will do all the rest and we will bear fruit that will last.