An Easter Monday Reflection
Today is known as Easter Monday, and in some countries is a national holiday. In Eastern Christianity, it is the second day of what is known as “Bright Week.” I hope Easter Sunday was for you a “Bright” day as you celebrated the resurrection of Jesus.
In an earlier post, I mentioned that during Holy Week, I try to read Chapters 12-19 from the book of John since these chapters focus on the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry prior to his resurrection. Reading these events always prompts me to stop and ponder how I would spend my time and use my words if I knew I had only one week to live. Though perhaps strange to some, I find these musings clarifying rather than depressing.
The story that captured my attention particularly this year was from John 15 when Jesus uses the metaphor of the grapevine to illustrate who God is—the gardener; who he [Jesus] is—the vine; and who his disciples are—the branches affixed to the vine.
My friend and respected mentor, Jodi Detrick, in her excellent Bible study/devotional, The Settled Soul – Tenaciously Abiding with a Tender God, opens Day 1 of Week 1 asking some BIG questions: Who is God? What is He like? What does He ask of Me and want for me? Jodi then unpacks answers to these questions in the six-week study of John 15:1-17.
Jesus begins his illustration with these words: “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.” (John 15:1) In verse 4, Jesus reminds his disciples, “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
Recently, my husband traveled to an agricultural region in Eastern Washington, hoping to get photos of the long-legged, long-necked Sandhill Cranes, which migrate to the region in early spring. The cranes were a bit elusive that day, but Ron captured the scene of a field of well-pruned plants, which struck me as a perfect Holy Week photo.
How does this field of barren branches speak to me this Easter Monday? Well, even though they seem bleak, I observe that the gardener has pruned them carefully so that when the time is just right, the branches will bear lots of delicious and nutritious fruit. One friend commented the beautiful blue sky with fluffy clouds spoke hope into her heart, and I loved that observation.
On this Easter Monday, the second day of “Bright Week,” is there a BIG question you’ve been asking God? Or perhaps, do you find yourself in a barren, bleak place? How might the metaphor of the “True Grapevine” and the “Master Gardener” help you discover the answer you are seeking or enable you to wait hopefully until a new season arrives?
Blessing throughout this “Bright Week,”
