I Am the Vine

*** Revised Common Lectionary *** Lectionary Reading: John 15:1-8 CLASSIC POEM: The Beloved Compared to a Sweet Garden Rumi “We bow down our heads before His edict and ordinance, We stake precious life to gain His favour. While the thought of the Beloved fills our hearts, All our work is to do Him service and spend life for Him. Wherever He kindles His destructive torch, Myriads of lovers’ souls are burnt therewith. The lovers who dwell within the sanctuary Are moths burnt with the torch of the Beloved’s face.” O heart, haste thither, for God will shine upon you, And seem to you a sweet garden instead of a terror. He will infuse into your soul a new Soul, So as to fill you, like a goblet, with wine. Take up your abode in His Soul! Take up your abode in heaven, O bright full moon! Like the heavenly Scribe, He will open your heart’s book That He may reveal mysteries unto you. *** This poem is in the public domain, and may be read in a live-streamed worship service. CONTEMPORARY POEM: I Am the Vine Malcolm Guite SNIPPET: How might it feel to be part of the vine? Not just to see the vineyard from afar Or even pluck the clusters, press the wine, But to be grafted in, to feel the stir Of inward sap that rises from our root, Himself deep planted in the ground of Love, … [ READ THE FULL POEM ]