The Vine- Grower ~ Norma

God the Father is a vine-grower whose intention is to produce good wine. God the Father plants a vine. That vine is Jesus, Our Lord. That vine, like all grapevines, is composed of roots, stalk, branches, leaves, and ultimately, grapes We are the branches; we have been made a part of this vine through our being born again, which brings us into relationship with Jesus. If we remain remain in relationship with Christ, we will produce fruit. If our relationshipo in Christ is healthy as He intends, we will produce grapes abundantly, those grapes will be full of juice. At the right time, those grapes which we produce will be harvested and pressed. Their abundant juice will ferment into good wine which will, as scripture says of wine, bring joy to the heart – not only our heart - but the hearts of others .So, according to this metaphor, God our Father is the origin of the good wine which is holiness and human perfection. Jesus his Son is the vine which the Father plants. We are the branches which the Vine produces by its internal power. Drawing from the vitality of the vine, we branches produce grapes, meaning the good works of virtue, filled with the juice of human accomplishment and perfection. Following our natural inclination as a vine follows its vegetable tendency, we will produce more shoots and leaves than are necessary for a good grape harvest. So the Father will come with his pruning hook or knife and cut away that which He doesn't want so as to direct our vitality into the clusters of grapes that He does want. This pruning may be frustrating and painful, but it is necessary to make us really productive and not just good to look at. Then comes the harvest, the cutting of the clusters, the pressing of the grapes in a winepress, the collecting of the juice in containers, and then the fermentation into wine, which is what the Divine Vinegrower has intended all along. Let us try to remain closely, intimately incorporated into the Vine which is Jesus our Lord, so that He may produce in us what His Father wants, and we may bear the fruit of virtue and become authentic disciples of Our Lord.