On Wednesday 10 June, I found myself doing something I don’t usually enjoy: getting up very early for a 6.30am prayer meeting at the ICC. It felt too early at the time, but it quickly became clear that God was doing something special. Around 1,800 believers gathered from a wide range of disciplines (including many Anglican schools) to pray for Sydney. Together, we lifted up our city: our communities, the media and arts, schools, the marginalised and those working in the health industry. It was a powerful reminder that Jesus is working in many fields through his people.
The main speaker, Tim Kirk, was a charismatic Catholic theologian and winemaker! He shared a compelling picture of faith through the lens of his craft. He spoke about the esprit de terroir - the “soul” of a vineyard’s environment. A good winemaker, he explained, doesn’t fight the conditions but works with what has been given. This reminded me that, to be a good teacher and parent, I had to know what God had given me to work with.
Tim also gave us three rules for being a successful vintner, which he applied to being a Christian:
- - We need a genuine quality product. Am I producing good fruit?
- - We need an optimistic vision: How will the product bless people?
- - We need the capacity to communicate well. We need to be creative so people can share the fire Jesus inspires.
I saw it through a College context. Am I giving students quality? Are my lessons worth being part of? How can I bless students with Jesus? Do I know my students? Do I know their esprit de terroir? Knowing their strengths and weaknesses, have I been creative in communicating Jesus to them?
Whether in my capacity as a parent or teacher, this is hard work. But I am not doing it alone.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener… Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself… I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
- John 15