• "Without Me Ye Can Do Nothing"
• Sermon for St. Mark's Day
• April 25, 2004
• The Reverend Stephen C. Scarlett

The tradition is that St. Mark was a disciple of St. Peter, in Rome, and wrote down the teachings of St. Peter in the form of St. Mark's gospel. The symbol of St. Mark the Evangelist is the lion, because his gospel begins with the words, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness."

The tradition is that Mark was sent by Peter to Alexandria, Egypt, where he is counted as the founder of the Coptic Church. A later tradition relates how St. Mark was martyred. Pagan priests in Alexandria, upset that St. Mark denounced the pagan deities, pulled St. Mark from his church as he was celebrating the Easter Day Eucharist. They put a rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets to his death.

The gospel for the feast (John 15:1f.) focuses on the organic connection between Jesus and those who live in him. Jesus said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

The image of the vine is taken from the Old Testament. Psalm 80 describes Israel as the vine that God took out of Egypt and planted in the Promised Land. Isaiah describes how God became unhappy with his unfruitful vine: "What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?" (5:4 NKJV).

In the New Testament, the parable of the wicked vinedressers (Matthew 21:33-44) describes God's judgment on the leaders whom he had placed in charge of his vineyard; and it states God's intention to "lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render him their fruits in due season."

In the light of the biblical image of Israel as a vine, we see that Jesus was making a most radical claim in the gospel. When he said, "I am the true vine," he was saying, "I am the true Israel." In judgment, God uprooted the old vine (cf. Rev 14:19-20). In redemption God planted a new vine, his Son, who is now the source of salvation and life.

In relationship to Jesus, we are like branches, or shoots, that grow out of a vine. We draw our very life from Jesus just as a branch draws its life from the vine. If a branch is broken off from the vine, it will wither and die. But if the branch remains on the vine, it grows and bears fruit.

This image is developed in spiritual terms in the Eucharist. Jesus referred to the Last Supper cup as "the fruit of the vine" (cf. Matt. 26:29, Mark 14:25, Luke 22:18). Jesus also said of the cup, "This is my blood of the New Covenant." And Jesus said, "Unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53). In the Eucharist we receive new life by feeding on Jesus, the source of life-by drinking the very lifeblood of the true vine.

The Christian life is, at root, a life giving, resurrecting connection with Jesus, the source of life. I said this on Easter and it bears repeating two weeks later. The Christian life is not, at root, either doctrine or behavior. Right doctrine is but the right understanding of who the life-giver is. Right behavior is but the fruit of new life. But the root, the heart and soul of Christian faith, is the experience of communion with God the Father, through his Son, Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit.

Thus, the root, the heart and soul of the Christian life, is prayer. Through prayer (which includes the liturgical prayers of the Eucharist and the Daily Offices, ongoing conversational prayer and the prayer of contemplation and silence) we draw the life of Jesus into ourselves.

The life of prayer is fueled by reading the Scriptures. In the life of prayer, the Holy Spirit gives us life through the biblical word; sometimes confronting our errors, sometimes giving us encouragement, sometimes teaching us to do what is right. Jesus said in the gospel, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you." As we live in prayerful communion with God, our prayers become more fruitful because we are led by the Spirit to ask for those things that are in accordance with God's word.

The consequence of a prayerful life is that we bear fruit. As we pray, as we draw the life of Jesus into our souls, the life of Jesus within us moves us to confess the wrong and do the right; the life of Jesus within us moves us, from the impulse of divine love, to love others; the life of Jesus within us moves us to bear witness; indeed, the life of Jesus within us is itself that witness that Christ is risen. "He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit."

Conversely, if we do not live a life of prayer, we are cut off from Jesus, the very source of life. We may be very busy and well-intentioned, but our labor will be increasingly fruitless from the perspective of eternity. "Apart from me you can do nothing."

The main point of the gospel is that we must stay connected to Jesus through the sacrament, prayer and fellowship of the church if we want to stay spiritually alive. "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine: no more can ye (bear fruit), except ye abide in me."