It’s easy for Christians to fall into a rut: Church is a thing you do, prayer is a box to check, and faith seems far from “the real world.” This fall we let Jesus himself confront our ruts. “Do you believe this?” he asks (Jn. 11:26).
To believe in Jesus is to experience him. It’s more than logic, argument, and doctrine. It is intimate knowledge of God himself. This fall, let Jesus himself speak to you in his seven “I AM” statements in the gospel of John. How is he changing you? What response is he inspiring in you? To believe in him changes everything.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ponder:
Today, ponder the I AM statement: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Find, or think about, a plant with branches. Consider all the parts: vine or trunk, branches, leaves, fruit, etc. Ponder what it means to abide in Jesus as a branch remains in a vine. Ponder what fruit Christ wants you to bear.
Meditation:
The Avowel
by Denise Levertov
As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.
Prayer
Jesus, you said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” I am nothing without you. Be my source. Fill me with life so that I may grow and produce fruit that is pleasing to you. Amen.
Benediction
Bless us, O God the Father, who has created us.
Bless us, O God the Son, who has redeemed us.
Bless us, O God the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies us.
O blessed Trinity, keep us in body, soul, and spirit unto everlasting life. Amen.