Pastoral Prayer, Pastoral Question

Dear ones,

Here we are, a moment, a few precious moments, a few beats of the heart.

We sit here surrounded by sorrows and joys, the stuff of our lives. We sit here with friends and loved ones. We sit here alone.

An invitation.

It is a time to gather our hearts and minds, to open ourselves, as wide as we can, to contemplate, to reflect, to meditate, to pray.

In the gospel according to John, a document that contains some of the worst and some of the most sublime thoughts counted as true by our sisters and brothers who follow Jesus, we hear the words “I am the vine; you are the branches.”

I invite you to consider what that might mean. Vine and branches.

It also goes on and says “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Most Christians think that speaks to a special relationship between Christ as the one true deity, and each of us.

Vine and branches.

I suggest there are other ways of encountering this anecdote.

Vine and branches.

Does it become a barrier?

Can it be a gate that swings wide open?

I offer it for your consideration as we sit together, as we sit alone.

Let us pray…