Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Abiding in Love -- A Message for May 2, 2021

 


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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