“Abide in Me as I Abide in You”

Meditation on John 15:1-8

May 6, 2012

 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the Vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.

      You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 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. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

       If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. (John 15: 1-8)

     Nathan was around 12 or 13 when he became my piano student. I met Nathan’s mother through a local homeschooling group.  She had about 8 children; most of them, like Nathan, were adopted.

    And most of them, including Nathan, had special needs.

     I was teaching piano because another homeschooling neighbor asked me to teach her daughters. I was in no way a qualified piano teacher, but, when she kept asking me, I decided I would give it a try. I had no idea if I could do it or not.

    Word got around, and before long, I had 12 students—including Nathan’s younger sister.  It was a challenge for me because I was learning how to do it as I went along. I was also homeschooling Joshua and Jacob and caring for my youngest, James, who was about 2.

    But I always looked forward to lessons with Nathan.  He was different than all of the other students.  He could sit down at the keyboard and play songs he had heard—complicated songs. He was even composing.  But he couldn’t read music. And Nathan had some learning difficulties.

    Adding to the challenge was that he didn’t want to learn to play the traditional way—starting with scales and learning the notes and so forth—like most piano teachers do. 

      That was boring.

     But Nathan wanted to play, and his amazing, loving, patient mother recognized his passion. She asked me to work with him.

    At our first lesson, I asked him, “What kind of music do you like?” Turned out, he liked pop, showtunes, and jazz.  Forget “Kumbaya,” “Go Tell Aunt Rhody,” or “Michael Row Your Boat.”  He wanted to play songs from Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera or Cats.

    His first assignment was to find a song he wanted to learn and bring the sheet music to class. I would teach him how to read music using that song. And we would build his skills from there.  

    He brought “The Entertainer.” The Scott Joplin rag was the theme song from the movie The Sting, starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman. He could play it already, without looking at the music.  But that didn’t matter.  I could tell when he wasn’t reading music because he would leave out notes or add notes that weren’t on the page. 

     We’d laugh about it.  And I would show him where to place his hands—which keys corresponded with the black scribbles on the page.

    He mastered an easy version of “The Entertainer.”  Then he brought in a more difficult version.  He mastered that.  Then I introduced him to other music by Scott Joplin, such as Maple Leaf Rag.

    He mastered all those, too. And he was actually reading the music, though he would sometimes add new intros or change the ending—making it more dramatic. 

    He definitely had a gift.

    I was sad when, after 2 years, my piano teaching days with Nathan came to an end. We were moving from Maryland to Pennsylvania.

     But Nathan, at that point, was ready for a real piano teacher.

     Being Nathan’s piano teacher was the beginning of something new for me.  It was the first time I would take a risk—and venture to do a job I didn’t know how to do.  I would do that again when I became a journalist. And here I am with you now, still learning how to be a pastor.  

      Being Nathan’s teacher taught me how to help others find and develop their gifts. And I learned that I liked doing that. But it also revealed to me a weakness in myself—that I only liked trying something new if I thought I could do it well. I didn’t have enough confidence in the Lord as my guide and teacher. I was afraid to fail. The Lord needed to cut that part of my character away. Chop it off, if I were to bear spiritual fruit for Him! 

    I had to learn to be a risk taker, to do the uncomfortable thing if it meant serving the Lord with all of my being.  I had to learn to trust Him and His power to work through me—or else I would never be able to be the person God wanted me to be.

***

    Christ gives us the image of the Church as a vineyard in today’s gospel. We are connected to God, our heavenly Vinegrower, in Christ, who is the True Vine. We are His branches. The Vinegrower prunes us all, according to what He has planned for us—the shape of our character, works, and lives.  No one escapes those pruning shears!

     God cuts away at us—removing parts of our character and things in our lives that get in the way of us bearing good fruit. Don’t be alarmed when the Vinegrower starts His pruning work in you.  Expect this as part of your faith journey.

    And don’t be dismayed when our Vinegrower removes branches that DO bear good fruit. This is part of our faith journeys, too, so we will bear MORE good fruit.

     Friends, the Lord promises that if we abide in Him, He will abide in us and we will bear MUCH fruit. 

    But if we fail to abide in Him, we are incapable of good works. 

    Jesus says, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.”

 ***

     Out of the blue, I received a letter and photograph from my former piano student who had captured my heart.

       The boy I had known had become a handsome young man, graduating from high school, like Rachel and Maya this month.

     My eyes filled with tears as I read how he had continued with piano and voice lessons.  He was headed to college to study music. And he was thinking of me. He thanked me for helping him, for encouraging him.

    Nathan is now a professional singer/actor and dancer. He has performed in many Christian and secular productions. What impresses me most is that his long list of credits includes mission work in Africa.

   He thought it was cool I was studying to be a pastor. I thought it was cool he remembered me!

   I will never forget Nathan. He showed me how to follow the passion God has placed inside of us, even when there are challenges to overcome. 
   God will make a way for us to do what He wants us to do, to do what we are passionate about.  He will bring the right people into our lives to help us along the way.

   I pray that our graduates, Rachel and Maya, will trust that God will do the same for them.

   And may we all learn to trust that Christ abides in each one of us, always, as we abide in Him.

 Let us pray.  Heavenly Vinegrower, thank you for giving us The True Vine, Jesus Christ, to make a way for us to be reconciled with you.  Thank you for forgiving us for our sins and doing your pruning work in us for Your glory.  Give us courage and patience for when we need to do things that make us uncomfortable, things we aren’t sure we know how to do, and things we aren’t sure we will be able to do.  Help us to submit to Your Will for our lives and trust that You will give us everything we need to do whatever You ask—including help from other people.  Teach us how to abide in You as you abide in us.  In Christ we pray.  Amen.