Living in the Vine, Week 2: Light, Day 1

Mar 5, 20233 min read

"I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me

will never walk in darkness

but will have the light of life.”

(John 8:12, NRSVUE)

Welcome to Week Two of our Lenten Journey. This week we will look at our need for light as we abide in the Vine. Grape vines need sunlight for photosynthesis to occur. This process helps the vine grow well and increases the sugar content in the fruit. At first the young grape leaves need to be protected from too much direct sun so they don't become sunburned, but as the grape vine and leaves mature, they are able to bear, and in fact need, more light. Gardeners must plant the vines in places where they will receive all the light that they need to grow and produce fruit.

Likewise, we need God's light to help us grow. As we abide in the vine that is Christ, we will receive the light we need to grow the fruit of the Spirit.

Song: Abide in Me (Andrew Marcus) - lyrics are available on the youtube site (under "show more")

In the January 2013 Friends of Silence newsletter, Anne Strader writes: "We must remember that the Light is always present, all around and within us. It is up to us to turn, just slightly, and find that all-encompassing Light within ourselves. When we do, we find also that we can see it without. Let us begin this new year in full awareness of the Light that we are and the Light that surrounds us. We are called to be Light-bearers, dear friends!"

Strader's encouragement to "turn, just slightly and find that all-encompassing Light" reminds me of the plants, especially flowers, which are very responsive to the movement of light through the day such as morning glories, moon flowers, and poppies. Each summer, it always fills me with delight to see the "faces" of my sunflowers turn from east to south to west as the day unfolds. As we also abide in the Vine, how might we "turn, just slightly, and find that all-encompassing Light" in the days of our lives?

So many people are walking in dark and shadowed times. As "Light-bearers" we are called to share the Light that is given to us. As branches abiding in the vine, this is the fruit we can bear for the world. In her book, "My Grandfather's Blessings" Rachel Naomi Remen shares:

"There is a place in everyone that can carry the light. God has made it this way. God has not only given us the chance to carry the light but has made it possible for us to kindle and strengthen the light in one another, passing the light along. This way God's light will shine forever in this world."

"Circle of Light - Summer" by Mary Southard, CSJ (used with permission).

Prayer:

Blessed One, Flood my soul with Thy Spirit and light ... Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy Presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me, but only You. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light for others. Amen.

~ Prayer of Mother Teresa

For reflection:

1) As you abide in the vine, where do you find light?

2) What helps you open to, and receive, Christ's light of life?

3) Clarissa Pinkola Estes writes, "Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it." As light-bearer, how are you being called to show your light to the "struggling souls" around you?

Resources:

Anne Strader, Friends of Silence Newsletter, January 2013.

Naomi Rachel Remen, My Grandfather's Blessings, Riverhead Books, New York, NY, 2000.

Mother Teresa, Friends of Silence Newsletter, December 2000.