Grapevines will grow almost anywhere. Perhaps you've had to clear away unwanted grapevines from your yard and know what unruly and vigorous climbers they are: they will wind and twist around anything! Growing far and fast seems to be their only goal. But grapevines can be tamed and trained to grow on many desired surfaces: pergola, trellis, fence, or wire. It is a critical part of the pruning. When grapevines are shaped, pruned, and trained to grow along a particular structure, the branches can rest against the support, and put all their energy into growing sweet abundant fruit.
Like rambling grapevines, it can be all too easy for us to get caught up in our pursuit of security, approval, esteem, and control, attaching ourselves to whatever offers false and fleeting promise. But like the grapevines, we also have sweet fruit to share with the world around us - if we will stop running, be still, and trust in the vine that holds us.
Song: "He Will Hold Me Fast: A song for Ukraine" Taryn Harbridge.
What holds you fast when life gets hard, and you are surrounded by pain and loss? When the news overwhelms? Or when you find yourself caught in a frenzy of activity that exhausts but does not nourish? The song lyrics on the above video contain some beautiful images and hope-filled verses. Perhaps you could choose one that speaks most deeply to you, and write it out to keep with you this week.
As the grapevines are fastened to their trellis, so may our souls be fastened to God:
Prayer of Fastening
"Prayer fastens the soul to God" ~Julian of Norwich
Fasten my entire heart to you, Love of all Loves,
that all I am and do finds its motivation in you.
Fasten my mind to you, Inner Peace,
that whatever stirs within leads to tranquility.
Fasten my days to you, Divine Presence,
that in each happening I remain united with you.
Fasten my nights to you, Holy Darkness,
that I find restoration in your embracing silence.
Fasten my joys to you, Delight of My Soul,
that these memories comfort me in times of trouble.
Fasten my sorrows to you, Compassionate One,
that I experience solace in your kindheartedness.
Fasten my desires to you, Eternal Flame,
that my yearnings reflect the fire in your great heart.
Fasten my concerns to you, Trustworthy Confidante,
that I withdraw from the fears and place my trust in you.
Fasten my responsibilities to you, Sustainer of Strength,
that my daily efforts evolve from a non-resistant spirit.
Fasten my relationships to you, Friend of My Heart,
that your profuse love nurtures and sustains them.
Fasten my anguished world to you, Holder of Hope,
that my dreams for justice and peace become a reality.
Fasten my prayer to you, Giver of Grace,
that I might give myself ever more fully to you.
~Joyce Rupp
Temenos:
The early Greeks had a word "temenos" meaning a piece of land separated from the everyday landscape to create a holy sanctuary. Jasper Goodall writes, "The earliest examples of temenos are thought to be simple boundary stones surrounding a scared grove, spring or pool. Enclosed within this boundary was a sacred space... Temenos can also be a very personal experience: the bench under a shady tree where you go to think; your ‘special’ chair where you quietly sip your tea; any place where you differentiate from the hectic world and create space."
When I think about a place of sanctuary, I often think of trees, especially hemlocks. They seem to create a natural "temple" with their soft brown needle floor, gently sloping branches, and wonderful fragrance. Last week my family walked in an arboretum near Philadelphia. About halfway through the mile-long path, we passed a shady grove of hemlock trees. "I need to go in there," I whispered, and quickly stepped off the paved pathway, entering the hushed and soft-needled circle of trees. In her poem "When I Am Among the Trees," Mary Oliver writes of trees, "I would almost say that they save me, and daily." I know that sacred rescue well.
The trellis of a grapevine constrains the vine's wild wandering, and provides a tended boundary to grow within. Similarly, temenos places can give us a sense of groundedness and support, or as Loder writes below, "a resting place... a kneeling place... a tip-toe place." Perhaps this Lent will offer you an opportunity to create or locate a "temenos space" in your home or outdoor place nearby.
Blessings as you discover your temenos!
Closing Prayer:
(from "Catch Me in My Scurrying" by Ted Loder)
Catch me in my aimless scurrying, Lord,
and hold me in this Lenten season:
hold my heart to the beat of your grace
and create in me a resting place,
a kneeling place,
a tip-toe place...
Song: Oh the Deep Deep Love of Jesus (Paul Zach, Lent Hymns)
Sources:
Joyce Rupp, Prayer Seeds, Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books, 2017, p. 145.
Jasper Goodall, "Tenemos -- A Sacred Place of Sanctuary," October 21, 2022, www.jaspergoodall.com/blog
Mary Oliver, Devotions, New York: Penguin Books, 2017, p. 123
Ted Loder, Guerillas of Grace, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1981, p. 123
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