It’s been called a brainy thriller. Exceedingly clever. A gripping mix of murder and myth. A spellbinding re-examination of 2,000 years of religious history.

You know what I’m talking about: The Da Vinci Code.

Dan Brown’s popular page-turner soared to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, and became the topic of discussions and debates in book clubs and Bible studies across the country. It also inspired an army of writers to crank up their word processors and fire back with books such as Da Vinci Code Decoded, The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code, Secrets of the Code, Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code, Breaking the Da Vinci Code, Exploring the Da Vinci Code, and Cracking Da Vinci’s Code.

Entire forests have been cut down to satisfy our craving for books about the Code.

And now, beginning next month, we can see the movie version of The Da Vinci Code, starring Tom Hanks as religious symbology expert Robert Langdon. The story begins with the murder of a historian at the Louvre in Paris, and the discovery of a chain of cryptic codes and puzzles. At the heart of the mystery is a secret that goes back to Leonardo Da Vinci, and even earlier — to the days of Jesus Christ.

Langdon becomes a suspect in the murder of the historian, and is chased across the city of Paris and then into England. As he runs from the law, he searches for the true killer, as well as for the ancient secret that the historian was trying to protect. The secret, which has ignited a controversy across our country, is this: Jesus was not the single, celibate man that most Christians assume he was. No, Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child, and they began a bloodline that continues to the present day.

This is scandalous stuff. No wonder people are anxious to Crack, Break, Explore and Decode the Code!

One of the most fascinating questions in The Da Vinci Code involves the identity of the disciple seated at the right hand of Jesus in Da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper. Is the feminine-looking figure in this picture the disciple John — a youthful, clean-shaven man? Or is it Mary Magdalene, the follower of Jesus who would go on to be the first person to see the Risen Christ? The Da Vinci Code wants you to believe that the figure is Mary, and it encourages you to embrace the idea that she was not only a follower of Jesus, but also his wife.

If you look closely at Da Vinci’s Last Supper, you’ll see that there is no Holy Grail on the table. That’s because, according to the Code, the Holy Grail is not the wine-filled cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper. No, the Grail is actually Mary Magdalene herself, because she was the vessel that carried the child of Jesus.

So John is not John — he’s Mary. And Mary is the Holy Grail. Think about this as we gather next week at Providence Presbyterian for our Maundy Thursday service, on the night of the Last Supper.

The Da Vinci Code raises a number of provocative questions, but unfortunately it fails to make a convincing case for most of its answers. While the disciple John certainly does look feminine in Da Vinci’s Last Supper, this was a popular painting style at the time. And the absence of the Holy Grail doesn’t make a case for Mary Magdalene as a human vessel. Da Vinci based his painting on the Gospel of John, and John’s story of the Last Supper doesn’t include a cup.

In this story, the focus is on washing feet, not drinking wine.

As it turns out, the best way to crack the Code and get the goods on the Grail is to go straight to the source: The Gospel of John. In today’s passage of Scripture, we learn that Jesus is the True Vine, and that each and every one of us is a sign of his fruitfulness. To be connected to Christ has nothing to do with a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary, but everything to do with being a productive branch on the Jesus Vine.

There is a child of Jesus, yes. But it’s not the child that Dan Brown talks about.

She’s sitting right here, at the end of the first row.

And he’s halfway to the back, slouching in his seat.

Two others are married to each other, exhausted from raising children of their own.

You are the child of Jesus. And you. And you. And me. Each one of us is a child of Jesus, with a direct link to the True Vine. This is an ancient and awesome secret, one that has been hidden by the church for far too long.

So what’s it like to be part of this family tree?

If you are a branch on the Jesus Vine, you are productive because you are rooted in Jesus. Just as a tree cannot thrive without a deep root system, none of us can reach our potential without a strong connection to the Son of God. Jesus is the one who keeps us from being blown away by the storms of job loss and personal failure and family conflict. Jesus is the one who offers us “living water” when we are feeling dried out and lifeless (John 4:10), and who nourishes us with his teachings when we are wandering aimlessly along a dangerous path. Jesus is the one who supports us when we fall, forgives us when we sin, and even breathes new life into us when we are feeling dead inside. Our rootedness in Jesus is what gives us the ability to be truly productive, because no good can come from a branch that is broken, dried out, fallen or dead.

Keep connected, says Jesus, “because apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). To live a full life is all about relationship — a relationship that unites us with Jesus.

At the same time, branches on the Jesus Vine know that it is better to bunch together than to stand out. The True Vine is always healthiest when its branches grow together instead of shooting off in a thousand different directions. Brilliant loners like Robert Langdon may serve as dashing heroes in novels like The Da Vinci Code, but they don’t make much of a contribution to a community that is trying to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind (Luke 4:18). To do the work of Christ requires commitment and coordination, not occasional flashes of brilliance and daring individual efforts. To be true disciples, we need to love one another, just as Jesus has loved us (John 15:12). I know that I am much more effective as one of this church’s Midlife Men on a Mission, and you are bound to be much more productive when you participate in one of our church’s many small groups.

Keep together, says Jesus, “bear much fruit and become my disciples” (John 15:8). Being a fruitful disciple is always a team sport, not an individual activity.

Finally, branches are supposed to be united by their fruitfulness, not divided by their distinctive gifts. I know this gets tricky, because the Bible speaks elsewhere of the wonderful variety of gifts that we are given by God (1 Corinthians 12). But I don’t think that this diversity of talents is ever supposed to fracture our fundamental unity as disciples of Christ. Our job is not simply to use our talents, it is to be fruitful — remembering that God removes every branch “that bears no fruit” (John 15:2). Our mission is not simply to enjoy our status as gifted people, it is to live as disciples of Christ — keeping in mind that whoever does not abide in him “is thrown away like a branch and withers” (v. 6). As Martin Luther King said so well, “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace.. A soul generated by love.” Greatness comes through graceful, loving service — not through the exercise of impressive intellectual gifts.

Focus on fruitfulness, says Jesus. “I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last” (v. 16). Acts of loving service are always more productive than flashes of mental brilliance.

In a surprising way, one of the characters in The Da Vinci Code actually serves as a warning to us about the danger of becoming disconnected from the Jesus Vine. A man named Silas is orphaned as a young man, falls into a life of crime, and spends time in prison. After escaping, he finds refuge with a young Spanish priest who goes on to become the head of a strict Catholic group called Opus Dei. Under this priest’s guidance, Silas is given a mission that is said to be critical to saving the true Word of God — a mission that involves murdering four leaders of a group called the Priory of Sion, in pursuit of a secret “keystone.” Silas commits these crimes reluctantly, knowing that murder is a sin, but he carries out his mission because he is told that his actions will save the Catholic Church. In the end, he learns that he has been duped, and he goes from being a menacing character to a truly tragic figure.

There’s a message here for us, even though we are not likely to be influenced by Opus Dei:

First, keep connected to Jesus. We have no other master.

Second, stay together, in the community of faith. Don’t take off on an isolated, individualistic mission from God.

Third, focus on fruitfulness, and on graceful, loving service. Violence and murder are never going to save the church or advance the kingdom of God.

That’s the Christ Code. There’s nothing secret about it. Amen.

Sources:
The Da Vinci Code — Official Website of Dan Brown. www.danbrown.com.
Welborn, Amy. “The Da Vinci Code: The facts behind the fiction.” Catholic Educator’s Resource Center. www.catholiceducation.org.
O’Day, Gail. “The Gospel of John.” The New Interpreter’s Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995). 760-761.