The Sap, the Strong Bond of Love

The strong bond that unites the vine and the branches has to do with the sap that flows through them. Jesus does not here use the word “sap,” but nonetheless gives a lengthy excursus on love in a way suggestive of the sap in a vine; this is because he speaks of the love flowing in just one direction, from Christ towards the disciples, not in the reverse direction, just as the sap flows from the vine into the branches and not the other way round. The whole picture is centered on the love that flows and gives life, like the sap in a plant.

…This way of speaking about love invites the…