Christ’s Identity in Our Lives

Dear EPC,

For the Fifth Sunday of Eastertide, the Lectionary continues to give us passages that tell us more about Christ’s identity in our lives, His function for us throughout our lives, and how we can experience our connection to Him. The entire Bible gives us a multiplicity of metaphors and similes that help broaden and deepen our concept of God. When words and ideas are all we have to grasp the deep and mysterious reality of God, the rich tapestry of symbols and images the Bible offers are lifegiving and lifesaving.

This Sunday, in the account from the Gospel of John 15:1-8, Jesus tells us he is the vine, the source of life. We stay connected to him, and our souls find renewal over and over in life, through all the seasons of rest and growth and harvest, even brought back to life after bad weather or pestilence.

The passages offered from the Book of Acts and 1st John give us more clues as to what that lifegiving vine looks like and feels like: in short, love and acceptance.

In 1 John 4: 7-21, we are told that love is the hallmark of God’s presence in our lives, and Acts 8:26-40 tells us that even our most unacceptable “selves” are invited into the heart of God for healing and renewal, and to play a part in the work of God.

For a complete listing of the Lectionary passages for Sunday, May 2, here is a link to the Revised Common Lectionary:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=90

See you Sunday!

Jane