For the next 15 weeks we will be writing reflections based on the scripture passage, John 15:1-15 and its theme, Abiding in the Vine. We will take one verse per week and invite you to join us in first meditating and digesting this passage slowly using lectio divina and then read the reflection. Our writers will be sharing testimony of how this scripture has impacted their lives personally.
For those new to our community, lectio divina is a traditional monastic practice of engaging with Scripture not just for intellectual understanding but to allow the Word of God to speak to the heart and transform our lives. It involves prayerfully reading the scripture four times, pausing to notice the following:
- Read the verse and listen for the word or phrase that the Holy Spirit highlights for you.
- Read the verse and ask the question, how is my life touched by this word? What in my life needs to hear this word?
- Read the verse and ask what is my response to God because of what I have read and encountered? What am I feeling, talk to God about it, listen to Him, feel His uninterrupted love and attention toward you and follow His lead in any way He is prompting you to respond.
- Read and rest in the Word and resolve to live it out.
Listen:
“You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. (John 15:3)”
Reflect:
Through Lectio Divina, the word “cleansed” struck me today, a clear pure sound, deep in my heart.
At first, I was confused. I remembered this verse as being ‘pruned’ by God’s word. I did a Biblegateway search, and saw that most bible versions use the words Clean, or Cleansed.
Cleansed.
This week at work, there were many problems involving hot water supply contamination by a bacteria called legionella. It can cause Legionnaires’ disease, which may kill if untreated. A bane for hospitals and nursing homes with complex water distribution systems, the risk is when there is water stagnation, where hot water turns lukewarm, becoming the perfect habitat for this bacteria.
Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the true Vine”, in verse one, and “Remain in me”, follows in verse 4. Here in verse three, He reminds them, and us, “You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.” Cleansed, purified, pruned. Christ has already poured living water into us. There is nothing we can do, it is given freely, we are cleansed purely by grace. Now He teaches us, remain in connection with Him, that we may not stagnate nor turn lukewarm. His word will show us the way to Light.
How a Word can clean us– a Word of forgiveness, a Word of mercy, a Word of hope. It is done. Now go, as people cleansed, set free from tangled unruly growth, no more offshoots in the wrong direction, let the Living Water flow through you, that you may bear good fruit.
Prayer of Response:
Father, thank you for your Word, that cleansed us and keeps us clean. Let your living water flow through us, help us remain in You, that we may be purified, and bear good fruit. Amen.
Questions to Ponder:
Listen. Is the Spirit bringing to your mind an unruly growth, an offshoot in the wrong direction, a point of stagnation, in your life?
Feel it like dirt and soil in your hands. Then rub your hands together, under Christ’ cleansing water, open your hands, palm upwards, and give it to God. It’s perfectly ok to do this as often as you need, remain in Him and return to Him as often as you need, till the end of our earthly days, He never forsakes us.
Breath prayers:
As a new weekly rhythm, join us in praying breath prayers each day. We invite you to write your own as well.
Inhale(Breathe in): Cleanse me O Lord
Exhale(Breathe out): let your Living Water flow through me.
—Submitted by: Kae Ting Trouilloud
Kae Ting met Lifesprings more than fifteen years ago in Lyon, France, and is glad to stay connected to this international community of ezers. As a healthcare professional, she works gladly with clean water and hygiene measures, and as a member of Lifesprings France, she is looking forward to the upcoming retreat in May in the haven of Champfleuri, Grenoble, where we will reflect together on Staying grounded, connected, and directed: How to thrive in difficult times.