15) Birthrite: The Vine

 

“Do not plant, O Varus, any tree before the sacred vine.”
With thanks to www.guadoalmelo.it 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

If you forget everything about the stories of the bible...  Question: Is this possible?  Answer: Yes, people who experience a brain hemorrhage can loose the links to very familiar scripts such as the prayer book they read multiple times a week, as happened to my father in law.  ....never forget that Jesus says he will never leave us.  Here is the message.

"And behold (or lo, remember, surely, hinei, look, dependent on which translation you read) I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20.

The picture of the vine reminds us that we are connected to the source of life.  The baby is part of this bigger picture.  New life is what keep hope alive.  Without new life culture, language, history and religion collapse.   Here we are, stuck in time, with a beginning, middle and end.  Jesus comes to speak of something that goes 'to the end of the age'. When is the end?  Trying to conceive of  this is like trying to conceive of infinite space (where does space end?) is about as mind boggling as trying to imagine that we will find life forms on Europa. (No, not Europe- see Birthrite 3.)

Also, by the way, if you have the time, notice that 'hinei' is the word song about by Leonard Cohen in "You want it darker".  I understand this to mean 'I am alert, receptive, ready to receive'.  

As the baby comes, I say 'hinei, hinei', "come Lord Jesus, your servant is listening."

PRAYER: I want more than anything to be in the right place at the right time.  Guide me and help my confidence.