Jesus said: “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit” (John 15.4-5a)
(Jesus) made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side…And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake…Peter (said), “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14.22a, 25, 28-30)
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Jesus, You are the vine,
my vine;
for, by faith, believing that You are my Lord,
my…the Provider of the life that is life,
I am a branch, Your branch,
connected to You, an extension of You,
through Your Spirit, to breathe, to be Your Life in the world.
But Jesus, sometimes…these times
(when the ether I, we all breathe,
infused with noxious fear and anger,
hurt and sulfurous hate,
is as a blotting cloud eclipsing our sight;
we unable to behold the holy,
timeless vision of our common humanity
made in the universality of the Imago Dei)
it’s hard for me to bear, to be Your love’s fruit;
to bear, to be e’en the smallest sprouting bud
or the tiniest promise-laden leaf of Your Life.
Jesus, as Peter,
wary of the blustering wind and billowing waves,
beginning to sink,
cried, “Lord, save me!”
teach me again (and again and again and again and…)
to look not at the conditions of this world,
but to seek and to see only You and Your Word (You Who are God’s Word);
and, thus, refortified by faith,
to bear again, to be again Your fruit.
Amen.
Illustration: Jesus saving Peter from sinking, Caspar Luyken (1672-1708)
occasional observations of mind and heart, soul and spirit 
Paul,
It sure is hard not to look at the conditions of the world right now. But what I’ve learned this week so far is that if and when we concentrate on our work that we do for God all will be well. It may not feel like it, but I hope that we can focus and get it done. I have to say that it can be HARD to re-fortify our faith every day?? Yikes… I get up in the morning and the first thing I can do is to look at the news to see if we are at war with anyone and if I should really get up and go to work. I believe the lesson to take from this blog post is to bear our fruit, no matter what!
Much love!
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Yes, yes, yes, a faithful prescription in the face of the world’s woes – concentrate on the work we’ve been given to do by God. That is my greatest takeaway from Peter paying more attention to the wind and waves than to Jesus who had bid him step out of the boat and come to him. Thus, when I look more – too much – to the conditions of this world than to Jesus and his word, verily, Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, then I, as Peter, falter. Another danger? In faltering – in failing to keep my attention focused on Jesus – I fall prey to the temptation (every time!) that it, doing God’s work or doing the work of God, all depends on me.
Love
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