From the Pastor |
John 15: 1-8
Today, the Gospel of John gives us another metaphor Jesus provides… “I am the true vine”. Jesus uses these metaphors to reveal…not only his own identity, nature and character, but to also reveal aspects of the covenant relationship of God with God’s people. “I am the true vine” Now this would have been a powerful statement for those listening to Jesus speak. This was a metaphor they understood. Vineyards were not uncommon and the care of vineyards was well known. Every year those who tended the vineyards would prune the vines… cutting off the dead wood and trimming the living branches so the yield would be more plentiful. On top of that… the Hebrew Scriptures were filled with references to vines and vineyards. The Psalms and the prophets all use the image of Israel as the Lord’s vineyard. The people were the vine God had uprooted from Egypt and replanted in the Promised Land. A vine that withered because it became disconnected from the source of nourishment and strength. So for Jesus to say, "I am the true vine", was an astounding revelation. As the Messiah, Jesus declares that he has become the true point of connection… of strength and life for God’s people. Jesus is the true vine and God’s people are the branches. God is the one who tends the vineyard and like any grape grower… God expects for the branches to bear fruit. Today… WE are the branches. However we need to understand a few things about branches. Branches do not grow of their own accord. It is not something the branches can control… as the vine shares its nourishment and life… the branches begin to grow. There is actually something very passive about the branches… they just kind of sit there. Soaking up all the life the vine provides. And yet… even with being passive, branches manage to do what they were created to do… They soak up the life the vine provides and then they bear fruit. Over and over again. This is where the metaphor breaks down a bit… because let’s face it… we are human beings… not branches. Unlike a ‘branch,’ we are not very good at being passive…in fact, human beings have a tendency to believe that we know what is best for us… that we are smarter, and stronger on our own. We forget that we were given the gift of life… created by God. We are easily bored and distracted and begin to think that our life and power comes from the things of this world… As a result we end up cutting ourselves off from the vine… from the source of life itself. We wither away… becoming filled with things like indifference, apathy and hate. Those are not the fruit we are called to bear… but these days they seem like the easiest to find. The fruit we are called to bear is, first and foremost, love…caring, compassion, mercy, forgiveness… Paul even gave us a list of what he referred to as “fruit of the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. How do we successfully bear such fruit? What must we do? Where to begin? Jesus gives us the answer… clearly… boldly… What must we do? “Abide”… Abide in him. There you have it! Now we just need to figure out what that means. Jesus tells his disciples to abide in him… but he tells them this on the eve of his death. He knows he is leaving them and he is trying to prepare them… so this was his command… Abide in me! Jesus says to Abide… now and always abide in me. He was leaving but he was not leaving them alone. Jesus promised to be with them always… connected to them through the Holy Spirit. That is what ‘abide’ means… to remain in… stay near… connected. When we abide in Jesus, we remain connected to his life-giving, sustaining, strengthening presence. “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” [vs.4] This is so much more than good advice… it is more than an invitation… it is a promise that no matter what happens… Jesus will be with us through it all. The vine is grounded… set… it doesn’t go anywhere. The vine patiently provides what is needed for the branches to life and grow… supporting and strengthening them… allowing life to flow through the branches so that they will bear fruit. This is all about relationship. Jesus spoke often about how he and God were connected… “I am in the Father… the Father is in me” [John 14:10] When we abide in him… we too are brought into relationship of mutual indwelling… We live in Christ and Christ lives in us. And just like the vine metaphor… we are united together through him... We are connected and intertwined… the One Body of Christ. Even the best of us… the most faithful… can find that there are times when our spiritual energy seems to wither… when our connection to Christ… the vine… does not feel very strong. Times when doubts and fears can take hold. The truth of the matter is that as human beings, it's easy to get disconnected from the vine… complacency, apathy, fear… anger, greed… laziness and even busyness… these things pull at us… drawing us away from Christ. In fact… it's far too easy to let the things of the world get hold of us causing us to separate ourselves from the true source of life, light and love. Those who abide in Jesus' word don't give up when things are difficult or allow their fruitfulness to be choked by the "weeds" of worldly pressures. We need to consciously remain connected to Christ. It is not automatic, but it is necessary. We can do that by studying God’s word… through our times of worship, communion and praise… through frequent prayer and intentionally taking the time to commune with God. It is our connection to Christ… that enables us to be fruitful… then our lives will reflect that mutual indwelling of Christ’s life in ours and our life in his. We need that connection… the life and power… the love that comes through Jesus. For as John’s letter reminds us: “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” [vs. 12-13] The greatest fruit we can bear are acts of love… Our love for God revealed in the ways we treat one another, and others. It is love that is shown when we abide in Christ… who abides in us through the Holy Spirit. We must remain connected to him. Otherwise we become like a branch that cannot produce fruit any longer… that branch is thrown into the fire… This is why Jesus says “Abide in me, and I will abide in you.” We can’t do it on our own. Just as the branches must be connected to the vine before they can produce fruit, you and I must stay connected to Jesus to produce the good fruit that God expects of us. Amen.
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Yeon Shin
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