John 15:1-8
“I am the
true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
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.
You are
already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
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.
“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.
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.
If you remain
in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done
for you.
This is to my
Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my
disciples.
Prayer for Understanding
Holy Spirit,
move in us and among us as we listen to the scriptures be read and interpreted.
Open our minds and hearts to receive the Living Word so that we may be
transformed to live as your Easter people. Amen.
I am a city girl, and I did not grow
up around fruit trees. But, when I was little,
a favorite field trip for my classmates and me was to Eckert’s Family Farm in
Belleville, Illinois. Eckert’s Farm is a
7th generation family farm and pick-your-own tourist
attraction. In the fall, busloads of
kids descend on the Eckert’s family apple trees to pick a bag of apples, drink
their fresh apple cider, and possibly eat a piece of their homemade fudge. We loved spending the day outdoors running
around the orchards and climbing the trees when our teachers weren’t looking.
Despite these trips, I learned
little about the care of fruit trees. As
I have learned more about agriculture, I have discovered the trees don’t just
grow from apple seeds and produce the golden delicious or granny smith apples
we bake into pies. Instead, most of the
trees have branches from other fruit bearing trees grafted onto them. And, in order for the trees to grow branches
that are close to the ground and able to handle the weight of their fruit, they
have to be carefully pruned. Fruit trees
need to be pruned. Grape vines need to be pruned. Berry bushes need to be pruned.
In our scripture reading this
morning, Jesus talks about his relationship to God and his relationship to his
followers as being similar to a fruit-bearing vine. God is the gardener – God does the pruning of
the branches that don’t bear fruit.
Jesus is the vine that grows into the ground – Jesus is attached to the
roots of the plant. We are the branches
that grow off of the vine. If we are not
fruitful, we are going to be pruned away.
We are supposed to bear fruit.
Jesus was a connector. He wanted his followers to be connected to
him and live out his teachings. And, he wanted people to be connected to God
and live out God’s ambitions for the people of the world.
We are called to bear fruit. And, what do we think Jesus meant when he
said this? What is the “fruit” we are
supposed to produce?
In his letter to the church at
Galatia, Paul wrote about the “fruit” produced by Christians. He wrote: “…But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” So, as we
live out the teachings of Jesus and follow the path established by our Gracious
God, we are called to work to embody the fruits of the Spirit. We are called to spread love. We are called to
be joyful. We are called to be
peacemakers. We are called to forbearance – this means we are restrained and
tolerant of other people. We are kind and spread goodness. We are faithful to
God and to the people to whom we make commitments. We are to be gentle and
self-controlled.
We are called as Christians to live
in imitation of the life of Jesus. Jesus
set the bar really high, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work to live like Jesus
even though we won’t be perfect. Jesus
told the truth. Jesus asks us to be
serious about our commitment to God – we must worship God, we must read the
Bible, we must pray, we must listen to God.
Jesus consistently loved and valued all people – not just people in his
tribe, not just people who were his religion, not just people who looked like
him – all people. Jesus cared about the most vulnerable people in our society –
the poor, the sick, refugees, children, widows, orphans, and those cast out by
the rest of society. Jesus forgave
people – Jesus even forgave the people who sentenced and put him to death.
We are called to bear fruit. Let us work to live like Jesus and spread the
love and compassion of God to everyone we encounter.
May it be so. Amen
Our painting is "Lutheran Reformers in the Vineyard of the Lord" by Lucas Cranach
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