"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. (John 15:1-11 NASB)One stormy night many years ago, an older man and his wife entered the lobby of a hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, the couple approached the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the night.
"Could you possibly give us a room here?" the husband asked. The manager, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and explained that there were three conventions in town. "All of our rooms are taken," the clerk said. "But I can't send a nice couple like you out into the rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It's not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night."
When the couple declined, the young manager pressed on. "Don't worry about me; I'll make out just fine," the clerk told them. So the couple agreed.
As he paid his bill the next morning, the older man said to the clerk, "You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I'll build one for you."
The manager looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good laugh. As they drove away, the older couple agreed that the helpful manager was indeed exceptional, as finding people who are both friendly and helpful isn't easy.
Two years passed. The manager had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the man. It recalled that stormy night and enclosed a round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit.
The older man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He then pointed to a great new building there, a palace of reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky. "That," said the older man, "is the hotel I have just built for you to manage."
"You must be joking," the man said.
"I can assure you I am not," said the older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth. The older man's name was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent structure was the original Waldorf Hotel. The young manager who became its first manager was George C. Boldt.
This young manager never foresaw the turn of events that would lead him to become the manager of one of the world's most glamorous hotels. What you also may not know is that when Boldt first arrived in the US in the 1860’s from Europe, he was only a teenager, had little money and the only job he could find was as a dishwasher at the Merchant’s Exchange Hotel in New York.
There is never anyway to know how deeply one action may impact others. Boldt employeed over 1,000 employees at the Waldorf and later was a trustee at Cornell University. He was a poor dishwasher who made a difference in the lives of those connected to him. It had been three years since Jesus first called to Simon Peter and the others to follow him. Jesus, the poor Jewish carpenter from Nazareth, had then set out on a course to make a difference in the lives of all those he too came connected with. No one left hanging out with Jesus the same. For some it was good. For some it was not so good.
Some had chosen to follow Him. They heard in Jesus’ message the truth about God. That God forgives, God redeems, God takes those others looked down upon and said, “Come follow me.” Those who were divorced, heard it. Those who were sick and who no one would touch, heard it. Those who worked the late shifts, they heard it. Those who had cheated others, heard it. Everyone who had been cut off, they heard that God had come to for them.
Jesus said to his disciples that those who were connected to him would grow and flourish in life. He said that those who followed Him, they would be grafted in, added to the vine and be allowed to experience all God’s blessings. Now, I’ve never done it (successfully) but I’ve read about grafting. You see you can take a branch of the same plant or in some cases even a different plant, and taken care of the right way, you can attach the two together and both continue to grow.
When it comes to the grafting God does, now that I’ve done. Growing up, I saw that image seemed to be everything. People judged others on what they could do, how they dressed, what they had and what they knew. I came to realize I just could not measure up with what the world demanded. I grew angry without hope for my future. But a couple of leaders who were in my Scout troop and who volunteered at church, accepted me for who I was. Their actions showed me grace, that God saw me differently. Because of His grace, his offer to accept me, I chose to follow Jesus and was grafted into a new life under Jesus’ leadership.
Those guys were living the vine life. They were grafted in and growing like vines in my life. Remember, that is what vines do, they grow everywhere. Just look at kudzu. Generally, any vine will take over, creep into cracks and crevices, overcome obstacles or cover over obstacles. When Jesus said that he was the vine, it was more than just referring to Old Testament descriptions. God is working and is able to bring the world to Himself. Any life, any history, any mistake, any sorrow and anyone can be grafted in. The new life in Christ, the connection to the vine is intended to expel all the trash from our lives and replacing it with joy.
This joy isn’t about us getting what we want. Often we confuse the blessings of God with something of our design. But the change Joy brings is more subtle but incredibly significant. Patrick Morley in the book, The Man In the Mirror describes it as contentment but “… the secret of [joy] isn’t getting what you want but redefining what you need.”
Jesus redefines what we need. It is Him. Jesus calls us to connect to the vine. For in the vine, we find the way we are to go, we find the truth we need to believe and we find the life we were created to live. Getting becomes giving. Having becomes helping. Rejecting gives way to redeeming.
A simple act of kindness on a stormy night made a world of difference for one man. An incredible act of love by God’s Son on a cross made the difference for the world.
We remember that act of love in the sacrament of communion. We set aside the same two elements Jesus did, the fruit of the vine and the wheat of the field. It is a way we connect with Jesus and time where you and I invite him into our lives.
May I Ask: Who in your life has been there to guide you in your faith journey? Where has God’s grace “creeped” into your life?
May I Suggest: There are those who need you to help them get connected. Consider finding someone who you can share your faith and life with.
(check out the fuller story of Boldt & Astor @
Snopes.com)
I remember my grandfather saying that it is only an upset to broadcasters and news people. I doubt the headline really meant it: 
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