Hello friends,
This is Mark Ludman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks,
Welcoming you to our last week as we reflect on the I Am statements of Jesus as found in the Gospel of John on our journey through Lent.
Before we begin today,
I just want to raise your attention towards our last session,
Which will technically be Day 47,
And this one will be a live event.
You may have seen it at the top of my teacher's page.
And in this session,
We will be reflecting on where we've been on this journey and asking ourselves the question,
If that's who Jesus is,
Then who am I as we enter the Easter weekend?
For me,
It will be early on Easter Sunday morning,
But for most of the people in the United States,
In the UK and in South America,
It will be sometime on Saturday between midday and eight o'clock in the evening.
So I invite you to join me for that,
To register at the top of the teacher's page and join us for that special live reflection.
And as we start today,
As always,
I invite you to sit and to settle,
To breathe in and out.
Let go of the distractions.
Settle down into the stillness.
Be here and now in the presence of God.
And listen to the words of Jesus saying,
I am the true vine and God is the vineyard grower.
Abide in me as I abide in you.
Allow these words from John 15 verses 1 and verse 4 to rest in your heart.
Hear them as if Jesus is speaking them directly to you.
I am the true vine and God is the vine grower.
Abide in me as I abide in you.
With your eyes closed,
Imagine yourself standing in a vineyard at dawn.
The air is crisp,
Filled with the scent of earth and leaves.
A gentle breeze stirs the vines and the golden light of morning begins to spill over the landscape.
And before you,
There's a vine that's stretching its branches in every direction,
Strong and full of life.
And on the vine,
Clusters of grapes hang heavy,
Rich with promise.
You reach out and you run your fingers along one of the branches.
It is firm and it's firm because it's connected.
It's part of something greater than itself.
You trace the branch back to its source,
The vine,
That stem that has sunk to the ground.
Deep in the ground.
This is where the life comes from.
Where strength and nourishment flow.
The branch doesn't strive on its own.
All the branch does is abide.
It abides in the vine,
Remains there,
Receiving all that it needs to bear the rich fruit that hangs from it.
And as you see this image,
Just take a moment to pause with those words,
Abide in me.
Have you ever thought about what that word abide means?
At its depth,
The word means to stay,
To dwell,
To linger,
To remain.
When you're abiding,
You're fully connected,
Not in fleeting moments,
But an enduring connection an enduring relationship that when it comes to God is based on trust.
I wonder,
Where in your life do you need to simply stop striving and rest and just abide and be with Jesus?
Are there places where you're striving alone,
Forgetting that your source that strengthens you and nourishes you is always with you?
Perhaps there's areas in your life where you feel disconnected,
Weary,
Uncertain even.
Maybe there's burdens that you're carrying,
Struggles that you're trying to navigate through life and you're doing it alone,
Disconnected,
Or at least feeling disconnected.
What I encourage you to do just for a moment is imagine yourself as a branch,
Still attached but in need of renewal.
And so in resting with the vine,
Feel the life,
The nutrients,
The nourishment of that vine flowing towards you,
Bringing you restoration and strength.
Breathe in deeply and out.
Now as you inhale again,
Imagine drawing strength from the vine.
And as you exhale,
Release anything that separates you from this abiding presence,
The worries,
The fears,
The need to control,
The striving,
The feeling like you have to do this or that just to stay connected.
Surrender them to the hands of the vine grower who lifts you up,
Prunes back what is unnecessary and nurtures you back to wholeness.
I invite you now just to spend a moment just breathing in and out just three times,
Nice and deep,
Breathing in what you need,
The strength,
The nourishment.
And as you breathe out,
Release those other things.
Let's do that together.
And one more time.
In.
Jesus says,
Apart from me,
You can do nothing.
But I want you to hear this not in a way that says,
Don't leave me or you'll be useless,
But rather a reminder that in doing it on your own strength,
We're blocking off that channel of strength and nourishment that God wants to flow into us.
Jesus is reminding us you're not separate.
You're not apart.
You're not alone.
You're still connected.
And all that strength is available to you.
My presence is here,
He says.
My love is here.
My life is flowing through you.
And friend,
We bear fruit that reflects that,
That reflects the heart of God,
Love,
Joy,
Peace,
Patience,
Kindness,
Goodness,
Faithfulness,
Gentleness and self-control.
And Jesus doesn't ask you to strive for this fruit by yourself.
He simply asks you to abide,
To make your home in him as he has made his home in you,
To live in the awareness that you're never separate,
No matter how you may feel.
The divine is always holding you,
Always sustaining you,
Always drawing you deeper into the love of God.
As we come towards the end of our time together,
I invite you to pray with me.
Jesus,
You are the true vine.
Help me to remain in you,
To trust that I'm never alone,
To draw my life from you,
Not from my own strength.
Prune what is not needed.
Lift me up when I struggle and help me bear fruit that reflects your love for the world.
Amen.
As we finish,
Take one more deep breath in and out.
May gratitude fill you and may grace,
Peace and love go with you as you draw strength from the vine today and every day.
Amen.
Peace be with you,
My friends.
Until tomorrow.
Bye for now.
