Friends Together -- A Message for May 5, 2024

Scripture  John 15:9-17 

⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  

¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  

¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  

¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  

¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  

¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command.  

¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  

¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.  

¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other. 

Message          Friends Together  

This morning, we read a portion of a lengthy passage of Jesus’ words found in the book of John. This teaching was given by Jesus just before his crucifixion. Jesus was working to prepare his disciples for life without him.  

Before Jesus departed for the next stage in his journey as our savior, he wanted his friends to be prepared to continue his ministry. Jesus understood group-dynamics – when [n established group’s leader suddenly departs, the group can suddenly implode. In recent history, when John Lennon told the other Beatles he was leaving the group, the other members of the band did not continue together for long. When there is a power vacuum or a power imbalance, many groups falter and die. Jesus did not want this to happen to his followers. So, he gave them a new commandment – they should first and foremost love one another.  

Love for our peers can cut through tricky relationship dynamics.  Jesus understood it would take a while before his friends would be ok after his departure – he knew they would struggle after the events surrounding his death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. After Jesus ascended to heaven, his friends were terrified and sad. When people are grieving, they can be emotionally brittle. Little nuisances they would have previously ignored could become major points of contention. Annoyances they would have overlooked when they felt safe and secure with Jesus could have led to the group falling apart. Jesus wanted them to love each other. When we love other people, we can overlook and forgive them even when they hurt our feelings or make us angry. 

In today’s passage, another thing Jesus did was change the power structure of his relationship with his disciples. Before this moment, he was their Rabbi – their teacher and spiritual leader. The disciples were his followers and servants....” top-down.” Jesus neutralizes the power-dynamic in their group by saying that he would no longer see the disciples as his servants; instead, they were all going to be friends. The disciples and Jesus were peers. 

As followers of Jesus, we are all part of the body of Christ. We each have a unique role to play as part of that body. We are not all the same.... God does not call us to be carbon copies of each other. Some of us are called to be Sunday school teachers. Some of us are called to be Food Pantry volunteers. Some of us are called to sing in the choir. Some of us are called to be prayer warriors. Each of us has a role to play to support the congregation and the body of Christ. 

While we are fulfilling our unique role in the body of Christ, we must remember we are called to love and support each other. We need to work together to build God’s kingdom here on earth. Love will help us overcome the obstacles we face as individuals and as the community of faith. Love will also help us to overlook each other’s faults.  

Throughout our lives, we will come upon situations that will be difficult for us to accomplish on our own. Harry, alone, will not be able to cook and serve one-hundred and fifty chicken barbecue meals on May 18. But, working together, we will successfully cook and serve our meals in a few weeks. Melissa, alone, will not be able to run Vacation Bible School for forty children.... she will not be able to teach the Bible lessons, lead the games, instruct the crafters, cook the snacks, and make the banner with the kids. But, working together, we will make a successful and fun Vacation Bible School for the kids. If you came to church next Sunday, and i tried to play the piano, and sing the hymns as solos, and sing the choir anthem, and collect the offering, and pass out the bulletins, your ears would bleed, and you would probably fall asleep. But working together, singing together, praying together, we beautifully worship and praise God. 

Jesus told his friends he no longer related to them as master to servants. We are also friends with Jesus. Like the old song says, “Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?” and “In his arms he’ll take and shield you, you will find a solace there.” Jesus is kind of friend we need and is the kind of friend we should be to each other: loving, supportive, comforting, and kind. Let us work to love like Jesus and be friends like Jesus. Amen.  

Abiding in Love -- A Message for April 28, 2024

 Scripture John 15:1-8 

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  

² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  

³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  

⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  

⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  

⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  

⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 

Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen 

 

Sermon                                                        Abiding in Love 

 

What does it mean to bear fruit?   

When Jesus walked the earth, most of the people he met grew their own food. The main food that people ate was bread – people who lived in villages grew their own wheat and barley, processed it, and baked bread each day. In Israel, barley was easier to grow than wheat, but people thought wheat bread tasted better than barley bread. Legumes were the people’s main protein source, and they grew and ate fava beans, lentils, chickpeas, and peas. Wealthy people ate vegetables, but most of the population did not depend on them for regular nourishment. They used olives for food and oil and ate figs. People drank wine, so grapes were cultivated to support people’s “drink of choice.”  

Jesus’ audience would have been quite aware of how grapes grow. They knew each vine stems from a branch that is rooted in the ground. The vines have leaves and clusters of grapes growing from them.  

Jesus often used every-day items and occurrences to illustrate his teachings – he wanted his listeners to relate to what he said. God was the gardener. God planted, pruned, and watered the plants. Jesus said he was the true vine – the branch that is rooted in the ground. All the other vines grow from Jesus – Jesus’ followers, you and me, stem from the source of life, Jesus. It is our work to bear fruit. 

What does it mean to bear fruit?  

When we bear fruit, we work to be like Jesus. Jesus summed up the entire law of God by stating: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” So, when we bear fruit, we will love as Jesus loves. We will love God and love our fellow man and woman.  

When we start from a position of love, we will change our character and outlook to be more like Jesus. We must fight against our human drive that encourages us to be competitive and self-centered. Instead, to bear fruit, we must strive to embody what the Apostle Paul called the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  

Certainly, our lives are less dramatic and chaotic when we strive to embody Jesus’ teachings – when we respond to others with love and generosity, when we work to be patient and kind, when we try to be gentle and have self-control we live more peaceful lives. 

Jesus wants us to bear fruit.  

When grapes are growing, the healthier branches make more fruit. This is where the God’s pruning comes in. We are called to be life-long learners and practitioners of the Christian-faith. If we have things that distract us from Jesus and work against our being loving to others, we must prune them from our lives. If we become workaholics and do not have time for God, we need to change our focus. If we are too distracted by our tv shows or scrolling on our phones, we need to change our focus. If we spend time with unhealthy people or doing unhealthy activities, we need to change our focus. We are called to be focused on God and on embodying Jesus’ example in our lives.  

When we are bearing fruit, we are still growing, changing, and striving to be more and more like Jesus. Jesus wants his followers to share his message of love with others – to bear fruit by spreading our faith. Our friends and contemporaries are often searching to understand the purpose of life – our faith is key to understanding why we are alive right now and the direction we are headed.  We are called to be generous in our love and in our sharing of the good news. We are connected to Jesus and are called to serve God by supporting and caring for God’s people.  

I just read a book that talked about how lonely most American adults are. Our loneliness leads us to feel disconnected from each other. Our loneliness leads to depression and to self-destructive behaviors and activities. People are hurting, and they often have few close friends or relatives they can talk to about their pain.   

Considering the reality of how lonely and exposed many people are, the church and the community of believers can step into the void.... this is where the interconnected vines of the followers of God can really make a difference. As we welcome people to become a part of the church, of our church, we are called to lovingly listen to eachother's pain and offer support. We are called to be kind and compassionate to one another. We are called to provide a listening ear to people who are struggling with grief or loneliness. We are called to be nurturing to the children who belong to the church – children who are not related to us by blood but through baptismal promises. We are called to reach out in support to fellow church members who are unable to drive or are contending with illnesses that keep them isolated. We are called to make connections with people who are different ages than us, different genders than us, different professions than our own, and who have different interests than we have. What connects us to each other is our love and dependence on Jesus and our work to genuinely love our neighbors as ourselves. 

So, let us work to bear fruit....to model our lives on Jesus....to love one another....and to bear fruit in our support and care of each other. Amen.