Jesus describes the community gathered in his name -- and that would be all of us -- using the imagery of the vine. We, individually, are the various branches of the vine. Jesus is, as John describes him, "the true vine." And God is the vinegrower. Jesus is shaped and empowered by God, and we -- as branches -- are shaped, empowered, and nourished by the presence of the risen Christ. 

We are strongly impacted by images; no surprise here. Early in the Bush administration when Vice President Cheney left the hospital after treatment for chest pain, it was obviously extremely important, from the standpoint of image, that he walk out confidently under his own power. Imagine the fallout if, by contrast, he had been pushed out in a wheelchair and helped into his waiting automobile. Whenever poss…