I have noticed that the ground outside my front door is breaking open once again. Flowering plants are coming back, perhaps far too soon. Their reappearance reminds me that survival for all things depends on their being rooted, grounded, or otherwise connected to the Earth.

In one of his parables, Jesus speaks about vines and branches. He is the vine and we are the branches. Branches die when cut off from the vine. They are gathered up and burned with the rubbish. Our survival, vitality, and prospering, both physical and spiritual, require that we remain connected to him. He is our grounding and our life source. As Saint Paul wrote, “In him we live and move and have our being.”

The texts of the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds tell us in simple, factual statements about this person who is our grounding. It is significant that most of the text of the creeds is given to stating the divine nature and earthly life of Jesus. For example, in the standard formatting of the Apostles’ Creed, just two lines speak of God the Father, while ten are devoted to Jesus. While the ongoing theological debates at the time of their writing have something to do with this, it is also the essential place in our faith and our being that Jesus fills that explains this emphasis. He is the ground of our being and the source of our life. And this make us unique among faith traditions - that God came in human form as Jesus to affirm a way of life and give life now and forevermore.

The early church was appropriately called “The Way” because to be a follower of Jesus was to live a way of life trusting and abiding, remaining connected to, and grounded in the way of Jesus. To be a follower is not merely to profess a belief, but to live. Those members of The Way were later called Christians because their way of living was as “little Christs.” Jesus Christ was the vine, they were the branches. Branches look like the vine and live like the vine because of the vine. To be a Christian is to be an icon of Christ and to be a reflection of his ways. To profess as the Creeds states, “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord” means to live as he lived - lovingly, compassionately, humbly, sacrificially, full of grace and truth. It is only by maintaining our vital connection with Jesus that we can remain in the way. Reading your Bible, spending time with God in prayer, serving others, and staying active in this church community are key disciplines for the health of that connection. The upcoming season of Lent is a traditional time for working on our spiritual disciples. To be firmly grounded is essential. Nature is also trying to remind us of that.

Grace and peace, Fr Bill+