Abide

by Rev. Eric Folkerth

“Abide in Me, and I in you…I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit.”

It’s hard not to jump straight to the “Big Lebowski” jokes when I think of the word “Abide” in this Gospel lesson. But “Abide” is the word that spoke to me as I read this scripture this week.

The word “Abide” here has a meaning that connotes a sense of static permanence. When Jesus uses this word elsewhere in the New Testament, it’s often to describe a specific physical location. It often means “to stay somewhere physical”…to stop, or rest on some journey.

For example, Jesus uses “Abide” to describe “staying in a house” when he sends out his Disciples. Jesus uses it again with his Disciples, imploring them to “stay with me” in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The writer of Luke tell us that Mary “abides” with Elizabeth for a three month family visit when they are pregnant with Jesus and John, respectively. And finally, the two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus urge Jesus himself to “abide” with them after they realize who he is.

What strikes me here is the physicality and permanence of the word “Abide.” The word clearly connotes a grounding experience of a physical place and, most often one, that brings comfort, security, sustenance.

At the same time, the overall parable here is of a plant. A vine. And vines are always growing and changing. Jesus acknowledges this and how we “prune” plants because parts become dead or unnecessary for further growth.

But facts are, whether “Vine” or “Branches,” each day brings changes to every living plant. No plant ever stays static.

I certainly see this in our gardens. This time of year I try to walk out back almost every day just to take a look at how things are progressing…
What flowers are about to bloom?
What blooms are going back to seed?
What needs a little water?
What needs to dry out more?
What needs pruning?

One of the joys I am experiencing this year is our rose bush. When we first moved to our house in the mid-90s, there was a sprawling rose bush that interwove itself into the fence. Sadly, during our time away —the years when renters lived in our house— that rose bush all but disappeared. We actually thought it was totally gone.

But in 2019, a year after we’d cleared away some old leaves and detritus, we started to notice two small new blooms….little bursts of red just above the ground….indicating that some portion of the bush had survived!

And now, this year, it’s stunning. Twenty or more blooms bursting forth. A remarkable transformation. And a remarkable reminder of the hope of New Life possible every spring.

But even more than this, a reminder at how everything is always CHANGING, even as everything is still the SAME.

Both things are true at the same time. That Rose bush is always the same Rose bush, but also never the same.

And Jesus seems to be saying the same about himself, us and our world. We are in a constant state of flux and change. Change is baked-in to our world. Change is also baked into God, too. Some part of God is changing, just like the “Vine” is constantly changing, too. There is no static, perfect state.

But some part of us also stay the same. And some part of the Vine stays the same, too. The part that “Abides” or “rests” or “stays with” us gives us a sense of mystical permanence.

But God, the world and our lives are always changing…growing…like a Vine and Branches.

And God, the world and our lives are always staying the same, or “Abiding.”

I think of our United Methodist Church with this, too. Just this morning, some incredibly positive votes took place at the United Methodist General Conference. Those votes should allow a new system of regional governance to unfold, leading to new growth and new life. The new system will be quite different from the old, but will still “Abide” in the same Spirit of God as it always has.

This is as it should be, and is incredibly hopeful to me.
More about all this soon.

For now, meditate on your own life. On your journey of faith. I am sure you have a sense of permanence in having always been YOU. Yet you also understand how you have constantly been changing.

There is a sweet spot in the midst of this all.
Life is not all change.
Nor is life every complete permanence and static place.

Life in Christ is a great mystery that unfolds for us all, giving us a trust that we abide in God and God abides in us, even as both Vine and Branches grow in ever new ways.

See you Sunday,

Eric Folkerth