October 15, 2014

Gospel, John 15: 1 - 8

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.

Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.

Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. 

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

Reflection
"Without me you can do nothing."

I recently stumbled across a TED Talk centered around stress being good for our bodies. In it, the speaker, Kelly McGonigal, mentioned how our stress response can actually help give us more energy and focus to lift us over and out of stressful situations. Furthermore, the feel-good hormone oxytocin is actually a stress hormone. As it is released in stressful moments, we biologically seek out help from other people. Recognizing both of these phenomena and embracing them as ways our bodies have been intelligently designed, can actually have positive effects on our lives. 

As I reflect upon this paradigm shifting information, I thank God for my body. I thank Him for all that it does and can do without me even knowing or thinking about it. I thank Him for the innate desire to seek out others, especially for the biological wisdom to yearn for companionship to overcome and/or endure desperate times.

As a person of faith, as I come to see this Divinely placed need for others, I also recognize my need for God. There is strength in being rooted - rooted with others, rooted in faith, rooted to God's immoveable Vine. 

No human is an island; no branch can survive without the tree. 

Apart from God we can do nothing.

With Him, and with the help of others, we can do anything.