“If anyone does not abide in Me,” says Jesus, “he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
Jesus cautions us about a life lived without purpose. In being connected to the vine, we understand that we have purpose and meaning by bearing fruit. The dead branches cannot bear fruit. Whatever dies withers and decays. With this metaphor, Jesus adds that room is made for the productive branches by gathering and burning the barren branches.
Now a word of caution before you start looking around for withering branches. Ours is to produce. Ours is to be connected to the Vine, to Love, so that we may produce good fruit. God is the sole Caretaker – the Vinedresser – who decides which branches remain and which are pruned.
With the lessons of the week, read the John 15 passage one more time and share the joy of your connection.
Armodoxy for Today: Not to mention raisins and iron
Raisins are dried grapes. Yes, those tasty, robust and aromatically pleasing grapes that are a product of the branch connected to the Vine, will dry up and shrivel, if not consumed. The grapes that are produced have an end goal and purpose, to offer taste, nutrition and beauty to others and the world. But at the end of their life cycle, once they come off the Vine they are dead. No matter how good they look, taste or smell, they are most certainly dead.
Jesus sets up this metaphor to remind us that beauty is only skin deep. If we are not connected to the Divine, we may be basking in wealth, beauty and luxury – that is, look, take and smell great – but we are spiritually dead. Sure, raisins also have nutritional value; they are a source of iron. Think about it: Iron is cold metal. Yes, Jesus’ metaphor works as it illustrates separation from the True Vine.
Today’s one minute for Summertime.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/iron-half-cup-766-e1755732222765.jpg1125860Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2025-08-21 00:01:052025-08-20 16:24:42Wrinkly and Cold Iron
Armodoxy for Today: Grapes, the Symbol of Productivity
In John chapter 15, Jesus sets up a metaphor, with himself being the vine, his Father the vinedresser and us, the branches. No matter how you twist or turn these three, the message is clear: Life is about productivity. Life is meant to be lived. We are the branches of the metaphor and the only way to be productive – to bear fruit, grapes – is to be connected to the vine.
The Vine, Jesus Christ, is incarnate Love. A productive life is one that is nurtured and the fueled by Love. Only when you are connected to the Vine, to Love, does life have purpose and meaning. A life of love is not selfish. The branch is not preoccupied with self-love and self-preservation. The ego is placed to one side and fruit – robust, juicy, flavorful, aromatically alluring grapes poke through the hard and rough branches to bring joy to those who partake.
Only by being connected to the vine does this happen. A branch cut from the Vine, cut from Love, only stands alone and withers.
Today’s one minute for Summertime.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Grapes-productivity-765-e1755662461355.jpg1125795Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2025-08-20 00:01:332025-08-19 21:01:31The Symbol of Productivity
The first fruits of the season, grapes, are blessed on the Feast of the Assumption of the Asdvadzadzin. Last week, we built up to the Feast with reflections on the Blessed Mother, Mary. This week, we meditate on the meaning of the grapes based the Jesus’ words, recorded in John, chapter 15:
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit….
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
A custom and tradition in the Armenian Church is to bless grapes on the Feast of Assumption. Jesus uses a grape-grapevine metaphor to describe his relationship with his followers. We’ll dive deeper into that vat next week, but for today, let’s focus on why the grape blessing is connected to the Blessed Mother Mary.
Given Armenia’s climate, the first crop of grapes would be ready by mid-August making the Feast of Assumption a convenient time for farmers to offer their first crop to the church as a symbol of thanksgiving. This offering would be blessed by the priest, in a prayer of thanksgiving for the weather and fertile soil. The grapes would then be shared with the community through the church.
The first crop was not the leftovers, but the very best of the harvest. Your very best should be offered to God – your goods, your labor, energy, talents – and through the Church they are distributed among the community. St. Mary, who knew Christ from the womb to the Resurrection, was the first Christian. On this day, the first fruits of our labor are offered.
Armodoxy for Today: St. Mary and the Grape Connection
My grandmother was one of four sisters. She was the oldest. Her name was Marie. Her sister’s names were Lousaper (the Light-bearer), Srpuhi (the Holy One) and Diruhi (The Lady, as in the feminine of Lord). All four sisters had names which were descriptive of St. Mary. No other saint is revered as much as St. Mary by Armenians, and the fact that in one family, four daughters are named after the blessed Mother is a testament to the respect and devotion she has had among the people.
St. Mary is referred to as the Asdvadzadzin which means the bearer of God, referring to her unique position of giving birth to Jesus, the Son of God. While the traditional churches celebrate the Assumption of St. Mary, only the Armenian Church has the unique tradition of the blessing grapes on that day.
My grandmother would recall how the first fruits of the harvest, the best fruits, were taken to the church on that day for a special blessing. The offering of the fruits was a gesture of thanksgiving, thanking God for the blessings He has bestowed upon the people, the temperance of weather, the fertility of the soil and the abundance of sunshine which yields the grapes. In fact, she would add that the townspeople would not eat the fruit of the vine until they were blessed on this day.
One of the reasons given for the connection between St. Mary and the grapes is that grapes can be propagated without seed, alluding to the virgin birth. But the best reason comes from Christ himself who sets up this analogy, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:1-4)
The life of a Christian is completely dependent on an unfaltering connection to Christ himself. Jesus presents the picture of the vine, the branches, and the fruit. And the operative is God the Father who prunes the branches. Just as the soil, weather and sunlight are necessary for delicious and juicy grapes, so too, our connection to Jesus the Vine is necessary for our lives to be flavorful and beautiful.
The grape blessing service is a call to productivity. God gives us a world and we are the stewards of this beautiful life. Armodoxy attests that Christianity is not an escape from this world to another but a realization that in this world we – us – are the agents to make God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
From the grape blessing prayer that is offered on the feast of Assumption, Bless, O Lord, the grapes. May we enjoy that which You have created in this world and grant that we may be worthy to eat and drink with You from the bounty of Your most fruitful vine at the table of Your Father’s Kingdom, according to the just promise which You made, to the honor and glory of Your coexisting Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the most Holy Spirit to whom is due glory, power, and honor, now and forever. Amen.
And it doesn’t end here…
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Grape-Glass.jpeg22381593Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2024-08-14 00:01:182024-08-13 21:22:11St. Mary & Grapes
Armodoxy for Today: St. Mary and the Grape Connection
My grandmother was one of four sisters. She was the oldest. Her name was Marie, a derivative of Mary. Her sister’s names were Lousaper (the Light-bearer), Srpuhi (the Holy One) and Diruhi (The Lady, as in the feminine of Lord). These names were names attributed to St. Mary. No other saint is revered as much as St. Mary by Armenians, and the fact that in one family, four daughters are named after the blessed Mother is a testament to the respect and devotion she has had among the people.
St. Mary is referred to as the Asdvadzadzin which means the bearer of God, referring to her unique position of giving birth to Jesus, the Son of God. While the traditional churches celebrate the Assumption of St. Mary, only the Armenian Church has the unique tradition of the blessings grapes on that day.
My grandmother would recall how the first-fruits, the best fruits, were taken to the church on that day for a special blessing. The offering of the fruits was a gesture of thanksgiving, thanking God for the blessings He has bestowed upon the people, the temperance of weather, the fertility of the soil and the abundance of sunshine which yield the grapes. In fact, she would add that the townspeople would not eat the fruit of the vine until they were blessed on this day.
One of the reasons given for the connection between St. Mary and the grapes is that grapes can be propagated without seed, alluding to the virgin birth. But the best reason comes from Christ himself who sets up this analogy, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:1-4)
As always, Christ’s metaphors are simple and to the point. In this case the metaphor points to productivity. It is impossible to bear fruit without being connected to the vine. The life of a Christian is completely dependent on an unfaltering connection to Christ himself. Jesus presents the picture of the vine, the branches, and the fruit. And the operative is God the Father who prunes the branches. Just as the soil, weather and sunlight are necessary for delicious and juicy grapes, so too, our connection to Jesus the Vine is necessary for our lives to be flavorful and beautiful.
The grape blessing service is a call to productivity. God gives us a world and we are the stewards of this beautiful life. Armodoxy attests that Christianity is not an escape from this world to another, but the importance being the agents that make Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Let us pray. This is from the grape blessing prayer that is offered on the feast of Assumption, Bless, O Lord, the grapes. May we enjoy that which You have created in this world and grant that we may be worthy to eat and drink with You from the bounty of Your most fruitful vine at the table of Your Father’s Kingdom, according to the just promise which You made, to the honor and glory of Your coexisting Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the most Holy Spirit to whom is due glory, power, and honor, now and forever. Amen.
And it doesn’t end here…
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DALL·E-2023-08-10-20.42.37-oil-painting-of-table-with-various-types-of-grapes-and-vineyards-in-the-background.png10241024Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2023-08-11 00:01:552023-08-10 20:47:36St. Mary and the Grape Connection
