Just outside Nazareth where Jesus grew up you can see them on both sides of the road. They grow everywhere out of that dry, rocky soil. They are the grapevines mentioned in John 15.

When I stepped off the tourist bus to take pictures, I was amazed to see these short stumps of vines lying over close to the ground and propped up with a rock to keep them off the hot red soil.

I had pictured in my mind all these years, grape arbors like grandpa’s that ran from the house to the garage in the backyard and which were full of green leaves, shade, and blue grapes.

In Israel it’s different. The vine is pruned back drastically. That way it has a better chance of maturing and bearing the grapes.

Jesus grew up with those vines all around his little village. He knew how you had to cut the wood to get the productive plant. He used the whole analogy as to how it is to have him as savior and belong to him.

The vine and the branches’ relationship teaches us something of what our relationship to Christ is like. It teaches a Christ centrality. Whenever we forget that Christ is the heart of everything, everything goes crooked. This is true of preaching, teaching, family life, vocation -- everything. Sometimes in meetings and discussions among Christians, I wish we could stop and ask, “Where does Christ fit into all of this?” Branches are grafted to the vine or they are no longer branches.

When I was a young lad on the farm in Darke County, Ohio, “Grandpa Miller,” who lived across the road from us, was great for doing several things. He always helped me put rings in the nose of my pet hog, Solomi. He also was great for raising bees and rendering out the honey. But the thing that was the most fascinating about Grandpa Miller was the way he grafted apple trees. He would cut back the start of a crooked old runt tree and graft to it a fine, producing twig of a purebread tree which would mature and bring great fruit. It got its source from the strength of that stumpy tree which was cut back to the very source of life. Jesus is the very central source of our life.

One of the great evidences of the aliveness of Christ in our church and lives now is his centrality in all we do and say. The branch just can’t survive without its source of life, the vine. So, too, our family of God can’t be alive and survive without God being central in everything.

As we go out into the community to tell the good news to others, it must not be to feed our own ego or to get church members for our “fine church.” Rather, Christ must be central; we go and witness because we love him who loves us. We go because we know the joy of being in him and want to share that privilege with others, and because we know the one who saves and wants others to know him, too.

As we serve in the church, singing in the choir, serving on a committee, working in the women’s organization, we don’t do it for our own gratification, but for God’s. He is central; he is our vine, and from him we get our life. When we make decisions about education, where to spend our money, whom to choose as friends, what kind of lifestyle to follow, we do it with God as central. What is appropriate for one of his people is what we consider.

If God is our vine and we are his branches, then how we treat the people who live next to us becomes a religious issue. How we raise our children, how we relate to our spouse and parents are all critical issues for us who live from the vine.

When God is central:

revenge changes to support, hate turns to love, greed moves to sharing, don’t care looks like concern, and me first becomes after you. Not only that -- to be a branch of the vine and have God central means:

we can relax, we have the source of life; we can forgive, we have been forgiven;we can share, he provides all we need; we can care, he shows the way.

A vital sign of the alive, risen Christ of Easter is that we branches are healthy and alive, too. When it is evident we are alive and responding to the vine, then it is obvious it is an alive vine to which we are attached.

The second emphasis in our gospel is Jesus’ encouraging affirmation of his disciples and us as well. Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Gethsemane. It was one of the nastiest moments of their life together. Judas had left the group in disgust; all the dreams they had dreamed about Christ’s glorious future were beginning to crumble. They were nervous, edgy, and about to desert him. He affirmed them! We all need that kind of affirmation from God and from each other. Through the vine we are related to one another, and we need to support and affirm each other.

Now then, “Just how are we like the vine and the branches? Who was Jesus thinking of when he spoke of the fruitless branches?

“There are two answers to that: First, he was thinking of the Jews. They were branches of God’s vine. That’s the picture that prophet after prophet had drawn of them. But, they refused to listen to him; they refused to accept him; and, therefore, they were withered and useless branches.

“Second, he was thinking of something more general than that. He was thinking of Christians whose Christianity consisted of profession rather than practice, Christians whose Christianity consisted of words without deeds. He was thinking of Christians who were useless branches, all leaves and no fruit! He was also thinking of Christians who became members of the faith, who heard the message and accepted it and then fell away, who abandoned their faith, and who became traitors to the Master whom they had once pledged themselves to serve.

“So, then, there are several ways in which we can be useless branches. We can refuse to listen to Jesus Christ at all. We can listen to him, and then render him lip service unsupported by offerings or deeds. We can also accept him as Master and, then in face of the difficulties of the way or moved by the desire to do as we like and not as he likes, we can abandon him.”1

This lesson can help us clarify some of the tension between grace and works. A branch is a branch not because of the fruit it bears, but because it belongs to the vine. If it bore no fruit, it would be a dead and useless branch. But it can’t bear fruit on its own, either. It needs the nourishment, support, and growth that the roots and trunk provide.

There is something here which is imperative for us to understand. It is very risky to be one of those branches of the vine and simply not produce any fruit. In fact, if we are not fruitbearing branches, we’d better check to see into what vine we are joined! The New Testament is rather plain that if we are joined to Christ -- we will produce a good fruit. If we are not producing good fruit, it probably is an indication that we aren’t joined to Christ. Perhaps our vine and source of life are tradition, habit, ego, love of money, prestige, power or any of the many vines that want us for a branch.

Over and over we are asked to “… remain united to me (v. 4).” Paul often talks about this same idea in a mystical way. We are to be in Christ and Christ in us.

Perhaps Jesus thought of this in a much more practical fashion. He simply wanted us to know that we should keep close to him, be with others who love him, come to him often, and that way he could continue to provide us the strength and advice and love that we need to get through our days. In other words, if we want to remain the genuine grape branch we need continually to tap into the genuine grape vine.

It’s just impossible to remain the good, honest, loving Christian we can be unless we continually remain close to others like that and especially to the source of all that is good and right and that’s our God.

In a church building where I used to serve, we converted five Sunday school rooms into small apartments for people needing help in their lives. As long as those people lived in those apartments in the church, with all the associations of pastors and staff, they got along fine. But when they would move out into the world by themselves, they would often drift back into trouble again. They got strength and resolution for the good and decent life from its source, the Body of Christ. But when they got very far away from that source, they gave in to the ways of the world again.

An employee of the Meredith Company was walking to the parking lot after work. A train was across the walkway and a trainman encouraged her to crawl through rather than wait. Just as she started to climb over between two cars the train started up. She rode that train clear out to the edge of the city and into the country before the train slowed enough so she could get off. She said the taxi driver laughed all the way back to town as he transported her back to the Meredith parking lot.

We can get on the wrong track like that. When we once get off our right path, we can so easily be carried away to areas of life where we really don’t belong. We get further and further from that which should be our goal in life. It is in times like that we realize we have, often by accident, gone on the wrong track, and that track has carried us far from where we should be.

Our Lord knew that would be the case. He doesn’t laugh at us like the cab driver; but, he does come after us and return us to where we ought to be. That is, in him, the real and true source of our lives.

It is when we remain united to him that we are then capable of producing good fruit in our lives. As long as we are far from him all the other interests of the world sap all our talents and energy. When we are united to him, then we can once more forgive, love, have sympathy, serve others, understand, and continually do the good thing. He shows us where and how and supplies the motivation and the technique.

We must keep in contact with the fine thing in order to defeat the evil and the lower thing. It’s dangerous to allow ourselves to “wither on the vine” and to lose contact with Christ and his Church. Every congregation has a number on its rolls who are called “dead wood” or the inactive.These are the people who have allowed themselves to get away from the vine and get outside living in Christ.

“Being united in Christ means something like that. The vine is like a family tree. We are part of that family of God. The secret of the life of Jesus was his contact with God, his Father. Again and again, he withdrew into some solitary place to meet God.

“Jesus was always united to God. It must be so with us as we unite to Jesus. We must keep contact with him. We cannot do that unless we take definite steps to do so.”2 This is the reason for communion over and over and for regular weekly worship and for daily devotions. It’s the reason the church always offers Bible study and retreats and other ways to continually deepen and strengthen our spiritual lives and our connection with the vine.

Here is a super good reason for regular worship and study. Sure, you can come to church only occasionally and still claim to be a Christian. However, there is a vine here which gives life and sustenance that we all need, and very often.

The body and blood of Jesus in the sacrament of communion are something we don’t just take if communion is offered on a day we happen to come to worship. Jesus gave us this resource for life, knowing we would fall short of our discipleship, that we’d get discouraged, depressed, begin to doubt and often need that source of strength and healing forgiveness. He gave it to the disciples for that reason. We have it here for the same reason.

God knew our enthusiasm would grow weak and dissipate. He knew we’d need to hear the good news again and again from this pulpit so we might take heart again. Those who have this need have that same good news available over and over. Thus, we can be reminded, encouraged, and instructed here. It’s part of being joined to the vine.

He knew we would have constant need to uphold each other, to develop deep and meaningful relationships here in his family. So he gave us this, his house, and this, his fellowship, which we might experience and enjoy. Not once when we join, but again and again. Thus, we come with the other branches to celebrate our belonging, our attachment to the vine which is God.

He knew we would need to continue to feed on him who is the source of an abundant life, that we must grow in grace all our lives. He gave us these opportunities to learn in Sunday school, in adult classes, in many ways to study and share insights about his Word.

When a medical doctor wants to check the vital signs of a body, one thing he/she checks is the pulse, that is, how is the blood flowing throughout the body. A vital sign here is if we, who are the branches, are circulating the source of life through us, and others, from the vine which is God. If Christ is out of the grave and alive with us, a vital sign will be the heartbeat; the pulse can be felt and counted and we learn, grow, expand, deepen, and continue to allow to flow throughout us, his life-giving strength and power.

Once we have been grafted to the real vine, our God, and have tasted of this spirited source of life, we’ll never again be satisfied with the dry, withered life without that vine and the source. Even as the heart pumps our blood out through arteries and veins, so God wants to give from his heart life-giving strength to all of us. And, too, he wants us to be the vital sign that he is also alive and here in this place.

We have all witnessed it many times. Persons join this church and seem alive, vital, active in their spiritual lives. But, over the years, they fail to continue to grow and mature in that faith. So they “wither on the vine” and not only lose out in their own spiritual lives and possibilities, but also cause a heavy weight which drags down the entire congregation. The vine gives the life and a branch which detaches soon dries up and dies.

A vital sign of the Easter Savior alive after Good Friday is how well his disciples are attached to him, the real vine and source of life.

P. T. Forsyth wrote: “Unless there is within us that which is above us, we shall soon yield to that which is around us.”

For a few of us, being united in Christ will be a mystical experience which is beyond words to express. For most of us, it will mean a constant contact with Jesus Christ. It will mean arranging life, and prayer, and worship, and silence in such a way that there is never a day when we give ourselves a chance to forget him.

Many years ago there was a convention of the Barbers Supply Association. As a publicity stunt, they went into the skidrow section of the city and found the worst drunk. He was unshaven, emaciated, and sad. They took him to a hotel, gave him a bath, a shave, a haircut, and bought him a new suit, overcoat and shoes. When he was finished, he was a marvelous example of the barbers’ art. The story appeared in the press. The manager of the hotel saw it and was impressed. He told the man he would give him a job. He was to report the next day at 8 a.m. He did not appear. The manager looked for him. He went back where they found him in the first place. There he was found sleeping on some newspapers in an alley, drunk, his new clothes gone, barefooted and unshaven. Changing the outward appearance is not enough; the heart must change. We must get our sustenance from the vine which is Christ. “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 (v. 5).”

Now just one warning. More drift out of the Christian life of worship and of faith than fall out. Few get angry and leave all of a sudden. But for the most part, we just drift away.

An American liner was wrecked off the Scilly Isles. The sea was calm; the weather was clear. But the ship was caught in a treacherous current which slowly, but surely, lured it out of its course.

The Associated Press carried a story that stated the following article:

“Agriculture Department scientists say a tiny parasite called a pinewood nematode poses a threat to U.S. ornamental pine trees, including Christmas tree plantings that help supplement the incomes of many farmers.

“It also is a potential threat to the nation’s pine forests, says the department’s Science and Education Administration. So far, in the eastern United States, the nematodes have been identified in Scotch, Austrian, White, Japanese Black, and other pine species.

“Agency scientists said they now have the methods to identify the parasite and diagnose infested wood. They hope to devise ways to control the spread of the parasite. The nematode is transmitted by beetles from infested to healthy trees.”

Continually we have to be on the alert for those nematodes which will infect the branches:

those who say don’t take it so seriously, those who say it doesn’t matter what you believe, those who by their example encourage a casual attitude toward worship and service,and the more demonic ones who cause division and disruption in our ranks.

Jesus advised us to remain in him, not in a preacher, a choir director, a building, a denomination, but rather, in him. We can easily get all confused and direct our loyalty to all sorts of people and causes and emotions rather than the one true vine.

One of the vital signs of the Easter Christ risen and alive is that his saved people remain faithful in him and he remains faithful to them.

In life, there are treacherous currents which get the soul in their grip and slowly, but surely, carry it toward the shores of ruin and wreck. Every drift ends in a wreck. When one awakens to the fact that one has been drifting, that there is not the same moral resistance, not the same eager purpose to know the truth and to do it, then it is the time to put a trumpet to the lips. It is time to live in Christ and take our proper place as a branch of the vine of Christ.

“I am the vine and you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit, for you can do nothing without me.” Amen.