A church at peace, growing, and in awe of the Lord. A God who can overcome our limitations. A Lord to whom we are joined as branches to a vine. The readings for this Sunday exude a sense of well-being, a kind of Easter confidence.

How do you know that something or someone is successful? You go by the numbers! An organization that attracts 20 members is better than one with only five. A person making a six-figure salary is doing well compared with someone earning minimum wage.

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.

This morning our 4-year-old came into our room, upset because a Lego tower he had built had broken. “It's OK,” my wife said to him, “you can fix it. You can rebuild it.” “No!” he cried, “It was hard work.” It was hard work.

Today we have a lesson in produce. A number of years ago, researchers found that in order to get people to eat more grapes, they had to do something about the seeds.

If you’ve ever been given the task of pruning branches on a vine, you know that it is no easy feat. It is often impossible to tell where the vine ends and the branches begin because they are so intertwined and interconnected.

Certain memories remain vivid as years go by. One that stands out clearly in my mind is a memory of my wife sitting in a gold chair in the living room of our first house. It was the middle of the night and she was nursing our newborn daughter.

As we continue on our Easter journey, we ask for new life in God.

Every time the serious business of the life-giving gospel is presented as “business as usual,” what is beyond price becomes nothing more than a low-budget sale item.