Scripture Reflections

As we saw in the readings on Sunday, a vineyard is one of the primary metaphors for Israel. God is the vigneron—the cultivator and farmer—and the people are his vines. He cleared a space and planted them in a fertile location, and then pruned, tended, and guarded them, so that they would produce a harvest. Peel away the metaphor, and we see God giving Canaan to his people, protecting them from foreign armies, correcting their moral failings, and giving them instructions on life and worship, all so that their lives produced goodness.
 
The goodness, or fruit, that they were supposed to produce is made clear by the prophets: justice and mercy (particularly for orphans, widows, the poor, and immigrants), honesty, sexual purity and fidelity, pure and authentic worship (according to God’s prescription), generosity with money and property instead of greed, enjoyment of God’s gifts without being ruled by pleasure, and freedom from idolatry. But the metaphor of fruit has an intriguing element to it—fruit is not for the sake of the vine.
 
God’s desire for his people is that they would live with the sort of character that the Law and the prophets describe. In other words, he wanted his own character to take root in his people and grow to fill their lives—he wanted it to blossom in their habits and actions. And he described all of this as fruit! Fruit is not for the vine; instead, it brings enjoyment to and sustains life for others.
 
Our world is driven by the idea of living for ourselves. God’s vision for his people is each one living for the others. We speak of achieving our dreams or goals, yet he asks whether we are bearing fruit that might strengthen or gladden another. We shouldn’t try to do the things he asks so that we can be proud of ourselves—we should do them so that the life of someone else is strengthened and enriched. When your honesty is tested, when covetousness arises, when lust comes knocking, or when compassion for another fails, remember that our fruit is for the sake of the others around you.
 
A vine without fruit is useless, but a vine that produces for itself is non-sensical!
 
In Christ,
Steven+