Saturday, May 7, 2022

John 15 - I AM the True Vine.
Take Away the Non-Bearing, Cleanse for More Fruit


We are definitely ("defiantly" - as most people spell the word) in rose season. Roses follow the same pattern as grapes in Jesus' simple yet profound I AM lesson.

The Gospel of John irritated the Tuebingen German scholars because Jesus proclaimed His divinity in that Gospel in such plain, simple words. The rationalists made an idol out of their attack on the Gospel of Mark, where they removed the divinity (Mark 1) and the resurrection of Christ (Mark 16:9-20; Voelz' stunningly bad CPH commentary). 

The Fourth Gospel is the capstone, uniting, enriching, and explaining Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

A rose gardener, at the earliest stages, takes away the dead and crossing branches, because they do not bear fruit or contribute to the rose bush. This cutting makes the plant grow even better, above and below the surface.

When a rose branch buds and flowers, the gardener prunes the branch, because cleansing or purging is another boost for the rose, making it even more fruitful.

Those who fear and neglect roses are too timid to do the pruning. The rose full of dead wood will become dormant and produce very little (like most District Presidents and self-styled bishops). When I spent a long time pruning all the dead wood from my sister-in-law's two plants, she burst into tears, with about 30% of each one in the garbage barrel. I said, "Roses do not grow on dead wood. Give it two weeks, and water it. Roses are not part of the cactus family." She phoned two weeks later, she was crying again, because both bushes were packed with beautiful flowers.

The point of the John 15 passage is first of all to declare the Father-Son relationship. The Father works through the Son to take away those people aligned with Christ and yet content to be dead wood. They may be indifferent, but they are often leaders who glory in their false doctrine (like DPs and professors) and grow angry with any attempt to teach the Word as it is.

Nobody is more alert than these people, only in the reverse. They know the meaning behind a challenge, and they instantly respond through proxies or through their deep and abiding love for Holy Mother Synod.

Consider - the LCMS and WELS, with most of the parts of the future ELCA - previously taught Justification by Faith, the Chief Article of Christianity. But now, nobody important teaches the Chief Article. There has been a dedicated and ongoing effort to remove sound doctrine from all Lutheran synods and sects.

Need I point out that the most divergent and perverted Lutheran sect, ELCA, is closing down seminary properties across the fruited plain? Like raisins left out in the sun to dry, these seminaries are selling off property:
  1. Trinity in Columbus, the merger of Cap and Hamma, now the cemetery for Loy, Leupold, and Lenski. They had a massive scandal after a known predator was ordained.
  2. Berkeley in California, selling out to the Muslims, once on the mountain, now at the bottom, is now part of the mainline union of seminaries;
  3. United Lutheran, once two influential seminaries - Gettysburg and Philadelphia, led by a fake pastor who became an instant bishop, making a mockery of marriage, the pastorate, and church leadership. Cemetery - Krauth, Schmauk, Jacobs.
  4. Luther Seminary, which digested the more conservative Northwestern Seminary, is holding a fire sale to stay alive;
  5. Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, the tragic result of roughly six seminaries merging, is now selling its property to the University of Chicago.
  6. Southern Seminary survived by aligning with a college. That seminary was another merger from another age.

KJV John 15 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 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. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Stephanus (Traditional or Majority Text) John 15 εγω ειμι η αμπελος η αληθινη και ο πατηρ μου ο γεωργος εστιν

2 παν κλημα εν εμοι μη φερον καρπον αιρει αυτο και παν το καρπον φερον καθαιρει αυτο ινα πλειονα καρπον φερη

3 ηδη υμεις καθαροι εστε δια τον λογον ον λελαληκα υμιν

4 μεινατε εν εμοι καγω εν υμιν - καθως το κλημα ου δυναται καρπον φερειν αφ εαυτου εαν μη μεινη εν τη αμπελω, ουτως ουδε υμεις - εαν μη εν εμοι μεινητε

5 εγω ειμι η αμπελος υμεις τα κληματα ο μενων εν εμοι καγω εν αυτω ουτος φερει καρπον πολυν οτι χωρις εμου ου δυνασθε ποιειν ουδεν

6 εαν μη τις μεινη εν εμοι εβληθη εξω ως το κλημα και εξηρανθη και συναγουσιν αυτα και εις πυρ βαλλουσιν και καιεται

7 εαν μεινητε εν εμοι και τα ρηματα μου εν υμιν μεινη ο εαν θελητε αιτησεσθε και γενησεται υμιν

8 εν τουτω εδοξασθη ο πατηρ μου ινα καρπον πολυν φερητε και γενησεσθε εμοι μαθηται

Posted by Ichabod the Glory Has Departed at 6:42 AM
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Friday, May 6, 2022

The Creation Garden Emerging

Blue-green Humpback Whale Hostas. The ribbing is intense, as Prince Charles would say. 


The rain let up today, with some mist to remind us it could continue. Rainwater continued down the sloping front yards for a long time, especially those with no mulch. Ranger Bob gave me a truckload, and I used most of it before the rain. Wood mulch absorbs the rain, and the rotting wood feeds the soil, holding water back and in the soil.

Creation is all around us and often not noticed.
Who did this? - John 1:3 - The Logos.



Roses love lots of rainwater, so our old and new ones leafed out and built buds ready for blooming. The bonanza of usable nitrogen also greened up the other plants and sent them out of the ground:
  1. Joe Pye Weed
  2. Bee Balm
  3. Poke Weed (free bird feeders in the backyard)
  4. Lilies 
  5. Calla Lilies
  6. Violets
  7. Wild Strawberries
  8. Dandelions (an herb used by Hummers, good for the soil, great for its leaves as salad, and good for a coffee substitute in the roots - I'll pass on that)
  9. Mountain Mint and Cat Mint
  10. Clethra leafed out, Hostas everywhere.
I laboriously listed them because they are great to see popping up as the Daffodils are fading away, far too slowly.

If something is growing up without having much value, I let it grow a while and cut it off at the ground level. Deep roots are good for the soil, soil creatures, and fertility in general. Some plants, like Spirea are obnoxious, so they get dug out. 

Our next weeding will be the wild roses blooming early and then snagging gardeners the rest of the summer. 

Joe Pye is definitely a bully plant, positive and negative. Based on Carbon Cowboy information, I could grow them just for soil and drainage improvement. On the bullying side, they easily dominate most plants, but they can be cut back. On the positive side, they attract Hummers, Butterflies, and bees.

The two backyards got dog-patchy for various reasons, so they are being revised this year. Last fall, Howard removed and mulched over the former Triple Crown blackberry patch, aka Jackson's Folly. I started some Clethra there last fall and now they are like tiny sticks with tiny flowers. 

A few Joe Pye will fill in the two backyard gardens and allow space for future bulbs.

Last fall, Dottie removed the Spirea and moved the Hosta mostly to the backyard, under the formerly jungle-like green fence. Some Hostas burst into perfect form with less sunlight.

Hostas seem to be readily eaten when they are tiny, tasty, crunchy, appealing. However, the critters left a few behind, so small ones are gathering momentum in the front yard.

Elderberries are prized for their medicinal value.




 Elderflowers are covering with beneficial insects, then become Elderberries.


Posted by Ichabod the Glory Has Departed at 10:08 PM
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