All Linked Up

Where does the following phrase come from? I don’t know; it is something like, “Stick with me, kid, and together we will really go places.” Maybe it is from the old-time movies, and it sounds like a light and casual invitation, for some big-time help. The person needing direction is getting guidance from another who knows things.

That is something of how I view the Bible readings coming up for the Eucharist this Sunday. It is bigger, of course than, “Stick with me, kid…” because it is a theme of how love and deep spiritual connection is the redemption for this life and the next which we so greatly need. Both the Epistle and the Gospel have the language about abiding in God:

So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. (1John 4:16)

Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the true vine…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.” (John 14:1, 4-5a)

Consider whether, in these passages, you hear from God, “Stick with me, together we will really go places.” There truly is an invitation we receive from the Savior. It is an invitation to stay, and an invitation to abide in God.

I am looking over a portion of the psalm we will use in the Sunday liturgy, with this meaning in mind. I am seeing an invitation to be part of God through the family of faith.  We bring our praises for God to the gathered worshiping community; we bring our vows. Those who are so in need (which is all of us) will be fed, we will be satisfied. I think of how plump are the clusters of grapes fed using the branch that abides in the vine. With God, there is nourishment and fulfillment for all the peoples of the earth. The invitation to a fulfilled life extends to all families. Read through just these three verses:

Psalm 22:24-36

24        My praise is of him in the great assembly; *
I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.

25        The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: *
"May your heart live for ever!"

26        All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, *
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

Do you feel God drawing you in, and the draw to God’s people? We learn as we go through life that we need to celebrate our connections. Our mutual belonging is vividly known in our union with God and our union with each other. Worshiping together, we encounter the truth of how good it is to abide in the True Vine. The Holy One does invite our union, and we do well to stick with God. Doing so, we really will go places together.