School Theme
The theme for the 2024-25 school year at BACS comes from the gospel of John,
“I am the Vine, you are the branches.”
John 15:5
These words and those that follow, which were spoken by Jesus during the Last Supper, are a symbol of our relationship with the Lord. He is the Vine—the source of life—providing structure, nourishment, and happiness. As branches in this picture, we are utterly reliant on our connection with the Vine for all that we have. And the maintenance of that connection with the Lord depends on us “abiding” in Him. What does it mean to abide in the Lord? It means living His Commandments, loving the neighbor, shunning our selfish habits.
Beyond the general symbolism of needing to be connected to the Lord, the vine-branch relationship has a more specific meaning: spiritually speaking, “The vine means faith in the Lord, consequently the Lord as to faith; for the Lord is faith, because faith is from Him. Hence also the vine denotes the faith which is directed to Him” (Secrets of Heaven 9139.5). The faith here referred to is not some foundationless thought, but rather a solid belief that leads to commitment and action for the Lord.
What happens when we are branches connected to the Vine? What happens when a true faith is lived? We bear fruit. We are blessed with a quality of life that we cannot even imagine. This is not a life that is defined and limited by our earthly possessions or what people think of us, but is rather a happiness, joy, and peace that can be independent and free from the external trappings of this world. Just a few verses later, in verse 11, Jesus tells us: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
For the school community at BACS, this means teaching our students that the only way to truly be happy in this world is to seek the Lord, to open the door to Him, to stay connected with Him as a branch on a Vine.
This year, our hope and prayer for the school community is that we may find that full joy from looking to the Lord and from living in His Commandments, so that He may live in us.
Rev. Jeffrey Smith
School Pastor, Bryn Athyn Church School
Here is the school theme, in verse 5, with the surrounding verses for context:
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 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. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 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.
5 “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. 6 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. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
John 15:1-11
