One for John 15, on the vine and the branches:
O Christ, enlivening vine,
surround us with your leaves
and take our substance for your wine,
our harvest for your feast.
From springtime's tender green
'til growing time is through,
within your tendrils let us cling.
Let us remain in you
that all we bear and make
in your own good may share;
that all we do will have the taste
of your enfolding care;
and all that flows in you
may run into our veins,
as every day we are renewed
by wind and sun and rain.
So root us in your love
and hold us ever near
that our leaves, too, spread out above
to shelter others here.
Graft us into your life
and there forever keep
to grow still more like you, O Christ,
and make our joy complete.
Vineyard. Picture from popular bible encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nicephorus (1891). By Unknown author – Popular Bible Encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nicephorus (1891) RSL, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67480264
Kate Bluett 