Scripture: John 15:1-17
This passages is normally
separated into two chunks, one being verses 1-8, the other being 9-17. In some
ways, this makes sense, because there is a ton of stuff here, and there is
absolutely no way to touch on it all, even if we only were to look at half. So
just so you know, we aren’t going to talk about the branches that get removed,
but there is a lot we can discuss there later if you want. It involves digging
into some horticultural learning about vines and what it means to tend vines.
Good stuff actually, and yes, it is a vine the passage talks about, like what
grapes grow on, and not a tree, which is what I tend to picture in my head. And
while will talk about what it means to love one another, we’re also not going
to dig into Jesus saying, “Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s
life for a friend.” But, it is important to know that this whole speech happens
while they are gathered for the Last Supper. We’re reading in John, so two
chapters earlier, at this same meal, Jesus had washed the disciples feet, which
was normally a servant’s task. Jesus has shown his disciples and friends that
he loves them. There is so much here, and it is so rich, we could go in any
number of directions. But what we are going to focus on, and why we read this
whole passage, is what does it mean to abide in Jesus, and how this is
absolutely necessary if we are going to be able to bear good fruit and truly
love one another.
Jesus makes it clear that we
are meant to abide in him, and there is no way around that this means making
time for Jesus and God in our lives. Jesus doesn’t specify what this looks
like, but that it is critical to our ability to bear good fruit. Using the vine
metaphor Jesus uses hear, in order to produce fruit, the branches literally have
to be connected to the vine, or they die. And this will probably look like a
whole bunch of different things for each of us, from prayer, to worship, to
serving, to retreating from normal life to be with God, it can and does look
like a lot of things, and part of that is because abiding in God provides us
with many different things. We abide in Christ to find rest, which was part of
what we talked about at our retreat this past weekend. We looked at Matthew
11:28-30, where Jesus says, 28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy
burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.” When we abide in Jesus, we are given rest, a chance to trade in a heavy
yoke for one that is light and easy. But we also abide in Jesus
because in doing so, we are challenged, challenged to live into who God wants
for us to be, challenged to not be complacent about the injustices of the
world, challenged to live life as a disciple of Christ. When we abide in
Christ, we are able to be sure of our identity as Children of God, and we have
knowledge of who we truly are. Sure, we will experience seasons of doubt, and even
dark nights of the soul, but even in the midst of those we can seek to abide,
to rest, to dwell, to live in and with Christ.
The
passage tells us that if we abide in Christ, we will bear much fruit. And this
is true. When we live into the life that Jesus offers us and calls us to, we
enter a space in which we can thrive, in which as Frederich Buechner said, our
greatest passion meets the world’s deepest needs. Jesus also commands us to
live one another. Which is, in many ways, what makes life worth living, have
community, family and friends, and even strangers, who we are called to love.
But we all know that while fulfilling, this also is demanding, and requires
energy, patience, strength, service, a willingness to put others ahead of
ourselves, or to lay down our life for a friend. That’s not always easy to do,
and in fact, we can’t do it on our own. Loving one another is part of the fruit
that we bear, and that we can produce only when we remain close to the vine.
There’s a poem by poet Ann Weems, talks about living love, and what it really
looks like. She writes:
“Living love is a
complicated, painstaking, patient path.
An all-the-time, every time,
watch-where-you’re-going
way.
Living love means making decisions all day long
to
love,
Living love means patience with those who don’t
care about living love,
Living love means watching our words
as well as our actions,
Living love means treating others as we
ourselves want to be treated,
Living love means not hitting
back,
Living love means loving our enemies,
Living love means loving
those who speak all
manner of evil against
us.
And these things are just the
beginning of living Love.
Living Love means forgiving,
means forgetting,
Living Love means there is no room for
self-righteousness,
Living Love means being
the people of God
together,
a community of those who love
one another
and who love all the one
anothers that God created.
Living Love means understanding those
who hate.
Living Love means going into
all the world and telling
God’s story.”
This living love she
describes isn’t going to be easy, but it is what God calls us to. And we can
only do so when we abide in Jesus, who gives us the strength to do so. So may
you abide in the vine, and be branches that bear good fruit. Amen.
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