We have a giant ash tree in our backyard that arborists believe is about the age of our house, likely just over 100 years old.  Between our sixty-plus foot high ash tree and our neighbors’ giant overhanging maple tree of equal height, our backyard and driveway often have branches, twigs and withered branches that fall down due to wind and storms. Dutifully, in an effort to keep our lawn free from sticks and dead branches, my husband picks up the fallen twigs and branches by hand whenever any have come down.  Usually my young children jump in to help, too.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.

Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.

It’s springtime here in the Midwestern United States, after a long, dreary, cold winter.  I am reminded of spring through the new life that is popping up – the flowers and buds - all around my yard and on Creighton’s campus.  At this point in the season, I often find myself reassured.  For several months, balancing the tension inside of myself, that relates to my spiritual life, finds me skeptical that there will be any new life coming at all.  During the cold and lifeless winter, we have faith that the bare, lonely branches are indeed connected to the tree’s trunk or the plant’s stem and will flourish in the coming weeks and months.  Yet, looking at these barren, isolated branches (the ones still connected to the trunk and the small fallen branches on our lawn), the skepticism creeps into my thoughts. It’s really hard to imagine that anything green is going to come from these seemingly dead branches, and, then…signs of springtime arrive…slowly, confidently, exponentially.  And, this year, it seemed to take so long (longer than usual), for signs of spring to appear.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

I think that this springtime hope is a good analogy for us, as persons of faith.  We hold onto the trust that God is in us and working quietly and effectively even if the visible signs are not yet clear. 

Our Gospel reading confirms that we who are rooted in God’s love and “remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”  The trust that we have enables us to stay aware of God’s loving presence working in our lives and through our lives.

By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

A few questions for us to reflect on today: What areas of our lives need the trust and hope that God will bear fruit?  What areas of my life are becoming withered and lifeless because I have separated God from them?  For which areas is it easy for me to grateful …which are flourishing… like buds and flowers confidently growing up though the winter ground?