Week of Prayer for Christian Unity reflection
Abide in Christ
Revd Gethin Rhys
John 15.1-17
Today is the penultimate day of Prayer Week for Christian Unity. Jesus’ words “I am the true vine” is the theme, and over the eight days we had the opportunity to join the sisters of the Swiss Grandchamp Community to reflect and pray on the implications of his words. Don’t worry that the week is coming to an end – all material will be available to download from the Cytûn website until at least Pentecost and I would encourage you to go there to pray with Christians of all traditions and backgrounds all over the world. Prayer is much needed at this time.
The Grandchamp Community was founded in the 1930s by members of the Swiss reformed churches, but they had no tradition of forming such communities, so they had to look to other Christian traditions to devise their liturgy and their way of life. It is no wonder then that the community has adopted an ecumenical approach and commitment to seeking the unity of the people of God. Although independent of each other, there are similarities to Grandchamp’s history and that of the more famous Taizé brothers, and there is now a close relationship between the two communities. Thanks to them for leading us this year.
Currently, when I am going on my daily walk, I come across a host of branches that have been cut following winter storms. They are not vine branches, of course, but like the branches of the vine in Jesus’ image, when they are cut off the trunk they die. Some die and decay within days; others will continue to show signs of life for weeks. But in the end, the fate of every branch that is cut off is the same – these branches will not bear fruit again. To bear fruit means to maintain contact with the trunk and roots. Contact and fruit depend on one another – without one, then without the other.
The Grandchamp sisters’ vision in compiling the service this year was that we would be able to meet and illustrate this truth by creating another image based on one of Jesus’ other sayings in the gospel of John, “I am the light of the world.” A large candle would be lit in the middle of the meeting place, with everyone standing in a series of circles, one behind the other, and lighting a candle. During the service the circles would gradually step closer to the centre. As we approach the main candle, we would also be getting close to each other.
Of course, we can’t physically get close to each other at the moment, but the Grandchamp sisters’ picture is still striking. I am afraid that the Christians of Wales in recent generations have been divided. Not so much denominationally divided – the ecumenical movement has managed to bring us closer in that respect – but divided in emphasis. Some Christians want to emphasize a personal relationship with Christ – through the Bible, through the sacraments, through prayer, through evangelism. Other Christians will want to emphasize loving a neighbour – by setting up food banks, street pastors, support groups for vulnerable people, currently by caring for neighbours who are in isolation; and also by campaigning in the public realm for rebuilding a better society after the pandemic. There is a tendency for these two groups of Christians to doubt one another – one seeing activists lacking spiritual gifts; the executives see the rest fall short of the fruit of love.
I believe that Jesus’ image of the true vine and the image of Grandchamp’s candles undermine that divisions that have harmed Welsh Christianity. Many years ago I led a Bible study at Coleg Trefeca on the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable is an answer the question “Who is my neighbour?”, but the lawyer in the story asks that question to seek clarity on a verse from the book of Leviticus – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength, and love your neighbour as
yourself.” I asked the group if anyone had been struck by something new in this familiar reading. Many had done, including one who said that she thought before that day that the verse meant that we should love God first, and that we should only love a neighbour once we loved God enough. But she realized that day that this was not what Leviticus – or Jesus – were saying. They say – love God and your neighbour at the same time, one interweaving love. It is not a choice between two different responses to God being offered here, but one compound, twofold response.
And that’s my experience both personally and in my work. Those who begin ‘spiritually’ with prayer or sacrament or Bible reading, or evangelism, find themselves soon hearing the cry of needy people and the call “love your neighbour”. As William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, said, “you cannot evangelize a man who has an empty belly”. On the other hand, time and time again I hear the stories of people who were drawn to the spiritual life of the church after initially volunteering to help neighbours through the food bank or children’s club or activity for the elderly. In the people they help, and in their fellow volunteers, they begin to see not only needy or helpful people, but God in action. And the journey towards the centre of the circle has begun.
If you are someone who comes to church because you like to be busy, like to help other people, then you are probably frustrated at the moment because so much activity has been stopped. Take the opportunity this Week of Prayer offers to move your little candle closer to the centre of the circle, to be fed by the true vine so that you can bear more fruit in due course.
If you, on the other hand, enjoy the silence and quiet reflection, are glad to come closer to God at times like this, be fed from the vine and look at it the candles, the other branches around you. Consider how you can further feed them, add the light of your little candle to the light of their candle, draw them closer to the source of light and nourishment in the middle, and strengthen each other’s faith through prayer and through deed.
And that’s why we yearn to get back together when it’s safe – for us all to feed one another with our different experiences of God, the God who speaks to our souls and hearts, and who at the same time speaks through other people and especially through the poor and needy of the world. That is why Jesus is calling on us to continue to love God, to keep our living connection with the true vine, to follow the light of the world, to abide in Christ; and at the same time calling on us to love our neighbours, to get closer to one another in church and in the world, to bear the fruit of the vine and bring light to others. There is no way that we can bear fruit without also remaining in Christ.
So I hope you will accept the invitation of the Grandchamp sisters to pray with them today, and to serve with them tomorrow. And we will do so not as two separate factions but as one church united and abiding in Christ Jesus. In his name we ask this. Amen.
Prayers for ourselves and for others
from the CTBI’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity material
https://ctbi.org.uk/resources-for-week-of-prayer-for-christianunity-2021/
Let us pray…
God of love, through Christ you said to us: “You did not choose me but I chose you.” You seek us, you invite
us to receive your friendship and abide in it. Teach us to respond more deeply to this invitation, and grow
in a life that is ever more complete. May our heart’s joy be in you.
God of the one vineyard, you call us to abide in your love in all we do and say. Touched by your goodness,
grant us to be a reflection of that love in our homes and workplaces. May we bridge rivalries and overcome tensions.
God of life, you have created every human being in your image and likeness. We sing your praise for the
gift of our many cultures, expressions of faith, traditions and ethnicities. Grant us the courage always to
stand against injustice and hatred based on race, class, gender, religion, and fear of those not like ourselves.
God in Christ, you came into the world and shared fully in our humanity. You know the hardships of life for
people who suffer in so many different ways. May the Spirit of compassion move us to share our time, life
and goods with all those in need.
Holy Spirit, you hear the fury of your wounded creation and the cries of those already suffering from
climate change. Guide us toward new behaviours. May we learn to live in harmony as part of your creation.
In a time of silent prayer, we bring to you the worries and hopes of our hearts…
We bring all those prayers together as, united, we share the prayer that Jesus taught us, in whichever
language we choose, saying,
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sin, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory.
Forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn: Many Are The Lightbeams
Many are the light-beams from the one light. Our one light is Jesus.
Many are the light-beams from the one light; we are one in Christ.
Many are the branches from the one tree. Our one tree is Jesus.
Many are the branches from the one tree; we are one in Christ.
Many are the gifts giv’n, love is all one. Love’s the gift of Jesus.
Many are the gifts giv’n, love is all one; we are one in Christ.
Many ways to serve God, the Spirit is one; servant spirit of Jesus.
Many ways to serve God, the Spirit is one; we are one in Christ.
Many are the light-beams from the one light. Our one light is Jesus.
Many are the light-beams from the one light; we are one in Christ.
Rejoice & Sing 478 © the United Reformed Church 1991.
Marty Haugen Tales of Wonder℗ 1990 GIA Publications, Inc. CCLI 67004