Do you know what a Mayhaw bush and berry are? It is a hawthorn berry family bush that produces fruit in the early summer…..or May usually in wetlands in the southeast. They are used to make a sweet jelly or jam. There were at least two ways to get the very small berries off of the big bush. One way was to put down a large tarp or piece of plastic around the tree and shake the limbs until the fruit falls off. The second way, the way that my grandmother required, was to hand pick only the ripe or ready berries. The shaking method would bring down both ripe and un-ripened fruit….a waste, according to my grandmother. Of course, she was correct.

Jesus was talking to his disciples in the Upper Room where they had just finished the Passover meal. Just before His betrayal in the garden. He had shared with them many things, one of which was about how they were picked by Him to bear fruit, lasting fruit. Jesus selected them (and us) specifically. He didn’t shake the branches, He didn’t get the ones not ready, and He selected them specifically. He has selected us specifically also. This message is about how we come to know God as we obey Him and He accomplishes His work through us.