January 18 – 25, 2021
John 15 – The Vine and the Branches
edited by Andy Pettman and Brother Joseph Donovan
Introduction
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is actually an eight-day observance or “octave” of prayer. It has been this way since the beginnings of this international movement in 1908.
This is now the Sword of the Spirit’s 11th year of participating internationally in this worldwide observance. This year we are using the Bible passages proposed by the World Council of Churches from John 15, the vine and the branches.
After each passage there is a reflection from either Brother Joseph Donovan of the Brotherhood of Hope, based in Boston, or from Andy Pettman of the Servants of the Word based in London. They are an ecumenical team, since one is Catholic, the other Protestant, and their working together on this is a strong sign of the unity that we believe we in the Sword of the Spirit are supposed to live out.
Following the reflection is a simple prayer, and then a testimony from Sword of the Spirit members from all over the world, about why our ecumenical call is so important to them.
We do hope these reflections, testimonies and prayers, help you as you join in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this year.
Click on the links below for each meditation and testimony
John 15: 16a “You did not choose me I chose you.”
John 15: 4 – “Abide in me as I abide in you”
John 15: 12 “Love one another as I have loved you”
John 15: 15 “I do not call you servants any longer … but I have called you friends”
John 15: 1-3 “1I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
John 15: 16b “Go and bear fruit, fruit that will last”
John 15: 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15: 11 “So that my joy may be in you, and your joy complete”
Don Schwager is the editor of Living Bulwark and author of the Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation website. He is a lay religious brother and life-time member of the Servants of the Word.