Links for today’s readings:
Read: Ezekiel 15 Listen: (1:09)
Read: Philippians 2 Listen: (3:45)
Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 15.1-8
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? 3 Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? 4 And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? 5 If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred? 6 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem. 7 I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord. 8 I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Reflection: Beyond Utility
By John Tillman
God frequently called Israel a vine.
Usually, this is a beautiful metaphor. God the agriculturalist, tenderly cultivates the vines and harvests the fruit. But here, God uses a building metaphor. God points out that the flexible, soft wood of a vine can’t even make a peg in a wall to hold something up. It is useful only as fuel for the fire.
“What use is my vine?” God asks.
The question hangs ominously unanswered within the eight verses of this short chapter… It seems hopeless. It implies there is no use—no redeeming purpose.
But there is a deeper layer. In the larger narrative of Ezekiel and the rest of the Bible, God uses the unusable and redeems the unredeemable. Despite Israel’s failure, God revealed through Ezekiel that restoration was coming. The exiled would return. The discarded would be treasured. The useless would be repurposed.
The vine of Israel failed but Jesus is the true vine that is useful, productive, and faithful to God. The disciples preached, cast out demons, and healed the sick. (Mark 3.13-15) How? He was the vine, they were the branches.
I remember hearing Rich Mullins point out that Mark 3.13 says Jesus called to himself “those he wanted” not needed. It could be argued that the only disciple Jesus needed was Judas to betray him. If Jesus didn’t need the disciples, why call them? We could ask the same about ourselves.
We may, with very good intentions, desire to be “useful” to God. There may be many things that we do for God’s kingdom. But no matter what tasks we might tackle, God calls us to himself not a task.
God loves you, not your utility.
God is interested in you, not your résumé.
God wants you, not your talents. (He gave them to you anyway.)
God calls you because he wants you, not what you can do.
This is good news for the exiled, the weak, the hurt, the hopeless, and those who know the sting of failure.
You don’t need to be useful to be loved by God. No matter how weak or burned your wood is…no matter how hopeless it seems…you can be restored as part of Christ’s beautiful vine. God wants you grafted into the vine of Jesus.
Be nourished from and held by Jesus, the vine. Your fruitfulness and faithfulness depend on your connection to him.
Music: “Hold Me Jesus,” Rich Mullins.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
I put my trust in your mercy; my heart is joyful because of your saving help. — Psalm 13.5
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more about From a Curse to a Blessing
God promises that a healthy vine will grow, and fruit will swell the branches.
Listen to The Crowned Thorn
Abimelek is a bad leader…A bad leader creates a self-centered world…welcomes more power…divides the community…invites violence.