figure and language - In this chapter and gospel lesson, we
have an interweaving of a traditional image (the vine) with that of language that speaks
directly of Jesus and his disciples. "The language indeed changes two and fro between
the literal and the metaphorical in a way which would be bewildering, if the reader were
not conscious all through that all the statements made really refer to Christ and his
disciples, under the symbol of a vine and its branches." [1]
appointed - This passage includes the sense of election,
commissioning, and vocation. The operative word is tithemi, "anointed" and is
used in verse 13and throughout to speak of laying down one’s life. The verb describes
the disciples’ commission as being grounded in the core of Jesus’ gift of his
life. [2]
body and members-In Paul’s metaphor-the Church as the Body of
Christ-the great diversity and individualism of the members are showcased in a way that
builds up the entire Christian community. In the Iamthevineyouarethebranches metaphor, the
image undercuts any celebration of individual gifts and by extension, challenges our
Western understanding of individualism, and self-expression. Both images attempt to define
what the distinctive marks of a Christ-community are. [3]
What
are the implications within Jesus’ use of the term, "friend?"
What image of the Church means the most to you-the Church as individual and gifted
members of the body of Christ or the Church as the branches that grow from
How is your love for Christ most evident at this place in your life?
I think I
would explore more fully the implications that the vine/branches image contain for the
local and global church community. And I would probably listen to the image carefully in
direct conversation with Paul’s contrastive teaching of the Church as the "Body
of Christ," doing the same with that image.
______________________________________________
[1] C. H. Dodd, The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1953), page1 136.
[2] The New Interpreter’s Bible IX (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), page
758.
[3] Ibid, page 761.
