“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing... But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.
“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you."
(John 15:5-15, The Message)
In the gospel of John, Jesus shares these words and images after washing the disciples' feet. He wants to make it clear to his disciples the intimate relationship between him and His Father, and with his disciples. A relationship that ripens and matures, as fruit ripens on the vine. An abundant harvest for our lives.
Our theme for this week is Ripening. One definition of ripening is "to bring to completeness or perfection." When fruit is ripened, it reaches it's perfection and completeness to be nourishing. In this holy time of Lent, Jesus prepares himself (and his disciples) for the ultimate fulfillment of his life. The fruit of his life on earth has ripened and matured.
When writer James Finley was a young monk at the Abbey of Gethsemane, he shared with Thomas Merton (his spiritual director) that he felt "frustrated and inept in his efforts to feel God's presence in his life." Merton's response was simple: "How does an apple ripen? It just sits in the sun."
Finley writes, "We ripen in holiness and spiritual fulfillment as we learn to sit in the sun of God's mysterious, sustaining presence that energizes and guides our efforts, bringing us to realms of grace that are beyond, way beyond, anything we can achieve by our efforts alone... We might say that, as fruit ripens, it fulfills itself in giving itself to us. In a similar way, we do not undergo transformed presence for ourselves alone, but rather that our transformed presence might be a source of nurture to others."
Holy One, Holy Oneness,
You are my soul. Creation is our body.
You love, its gravity, holds me.
You pour yourself out on me, my rain, my sun, my air.
The garden of your Spirit ripens in me.
The gifts I have, the gift I am, await my giving.
You are here for me, I am here for you.
Every moment of this day may I be present for you.
Pr. Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Abide in Me - Andrew Marcus
Breath Prayer:
"This breath prayer invites you to sit with the image from Scripture of being a branch on God's vine. Allow this practice to deepen your commitment to your own slow ripening.
Breathe in: I am emerging
Breathe out: From the Sacred Source
As you inhale and say the words "I am emerging" see yourself as a tendril, a green shoot always growing and reaching. As you exhale and say the words "from the Sacred Source" see the holy vine from which you grow and are nourished.
With each breath, deepen into this image of yourself emerging from the Sacred Source. Notice how your body feels when you are aware of how you are so powerfully rooted." (Christine Valters Paintner)
Resources:
James Finley, “Ripening,” Oneing 1, no. 2, Ripening (Fall 2013): 37–38.
Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Unfolding Light, www.unfoldinglight.net.
Christine Valters Paintner, "A Different Kind of Fast," Minneapolis, MN: Broadleaf Books, 2024, p. 185.
Lenten Spiritual Practices:
It's not too late to choose a daily or weekly practice for Lent. It can be a way of placing yourself in the sun of God's Love. Here are the suggestions offered earlier in our Lenten reflections by Linda. Have you tried any of these for your Lenten practice?
Choose a spiritual practice for Lent. Perhaps 10-20 minutes of Centering Prayer or the doing the Daily Examen by yourself or with friends or family.
Make time each day for contemplative walks
There are also many wonderful devotional books for Lent. One book I recently purchased and am enjoying is A Different Kind of Fast by Christine Valters Paintner.
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