First of Two Sermons on John 15
WILLS EMPHASIS SUNDAY
©Thomas B. Cundiff
John
15
1“I am
the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2He removes every branch in
me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes£ to make it
bear more fruit. 3You have already been cleansed£ by the word that I have
spoken to you. 4Abide 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. 5I am the vine, you are the
branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because
apart from me you can do nothing. 6Whoever
does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such
branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you abide in me,
and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for
you. 8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my
disciples.
I.
I really
like the gospel of John – and I’ve been spending time this spring reflecting on
a favorite chapter, the 15th chapter. Every time I read through this scripture I
discover something fresh and new. With
God as the vinegrower Jesus says in verse 5:
5I am the vine, you are
the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because
apart from me you can do nothing.
My focus today in this
message will be the first sentence:
“I am the vine, you are
the branches.”
There is also a contemporary rendition of this
verse that has Jesus saying:
“Live in me as I live in
you.”
The Bible is a wonderful book. The Bible!
Holy and Sacred Scripture! God’s
Word that becomes the flesh of our lord dwelling among us…..
To fully
understand this text I first want to look at the entire gospel of John and John’s
special way of writing and unique message:
II. JOHN AND THE OTHER THREE GOSPELS
The gospel of John was written between 90 AD and
100 AD. This was 20 to 30 years after
the other gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
So many people think of the gospels being written at the same time Jesus
lived. Yet so much of what we get from
scripture has gone through the filter of many years experience and cycles of
story telling before being written down.
These stories had a chance to be told and re-told before they became canonized
as gospels.
Scholars ask:
What actually happened when Jesus lived?
What did he actually say? What
was embellished by the gospel writers? Can
we verity certain facts? Why did the
four authors of these gospels write the way they did – so many stories that are
identical and yet others that seem to contradict each other. And who were the audiences of these gospel authors
were writing for? We know for a fact
some 2000 years later we are one of those audiences!
The neat thing in asking these questions: We always come back to the fact that Matthew, Mark and Luke and John were different
men from different backgrounds writing at different times in different places
with different audiences & yet, at the same time – they were MEN OF FAITH in
Jesus Christ and within their writings captured the CORE CONCEPTS we find
running through the entire bible.
While the content and message of all four
gospels is consistent in many ways, John is uniquely different. One big difference: The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke were written
for the people – crowds of people longing to learn more about Jesus gathering
all around Galilee – gospels written for the consumption of the
general public.
The gospel of John has more of a focus in
telling about Jesus’ personal, private life. It’s more intimate. John focuss more on Jesus’ spirituality. John shares more about Jesus’ character and
relationship with God as the incarnate Christ—the living Christ who continues
to live in our lives and hearts today.
This is an important point in in that John does
not focus simply on speaking God’s words and doing God’s work, rather, for John
Jesus
is God’s Word and Work in the world. The key text behind this affirmation is found
in the first statement John makes:
“In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God…..and this Word became
flesh to dwell among us!”
From beginning to end, the gospel of John bears
witness to the gift that God gives the world through Jesus the living, present,
in-grown, incarnate Christ.
The concept that runs through this gospel of
John and all of scripture: GOD IS WITH
US! Simple. I talk often about God with us and Jesus who
lives in and between us. In reading the
gospel of John, we are called to internalize this affirmation: GOD IS NOT ONLY WITH US BUT ALSO IN US!
Jesus says, “I
am the vine and you are the branches”. This is RELATIONAL scripture at its best! Unlike anything found in the other gospels,
John wants us to focus on who we are in relationship to Jesus as his disciples. There is no mistaking the fact that these gospels
are written for those of us searching to understand what it means to have a
close relationship with Jesus. In my
mind I see John as the gospel that is written not for the person seeking
Christ, but the person who has already found Christ and wants to learn more!
“I am the
vine and you are the branches.” This
is a timeless message that has the potential of touching all who believe in
Jesus on a personal level—for in Jesus’ time on this earth who didn’t know
about vineyards and vines and how they grow.
Simply, Jesus is the vine. God is the vinegrower. We are the branches that in turn bear
fruit. We pray that the fruit of our
lives is good fruit, wholesome fruit, fruit worth consuming.
Together we do God’s work in this world. Every branch, YOU and ME, has an important
role to play in God’s vineyard in producing all the god things in life worthy
of praise. We are the branches and how
we live our lives as disciples is the fruit our branches bear. The whole point of this sermon today: WE ARE CONNECTED! The vine – Jesus – ceases to have purpose
without our caring for ourselves as branches on this vine of Christ.
Worth repeating:
Being true to the gospel of John, we need to know this scripture is not
written for those engaged in the intellectual exercise of getting into the mind
of John in contemplating from a distance what this vineyard of God might look
like or how this vineyard might function.
John wants us to get into this life in this
vineyard – not as observers but participants.
We are the branches on the vine! Each branch has a name!
My name and your name is on every branch in God’s vineyard
of life!
It was some years ago I went to a seminar At
Garrett Seminary in Evanston, Illinois with an instructor who asked us to get
into the scripture story using our imaginations in new and different ways. While I can’t remember the specifics, the
exercise the instructor put before us went like this:
She
turned off the lights and asked us to focus on some pictures of a calm lake on
a screen. The pictures were of a calm
lake. We were asked to imagine in our
minds not just seeing this lake from a distance but also being on this lake in
a boat.
Asked
to close our eyes we were invited to see the boat in our minds & describe what
we see around us. Big boat or small boat? What were the colors? What
is on this boat. Who is with you in this
boat? What are you doing? What is the weather like? How are you feeling being on this boat? Comfortable and at peace? Perhaps – a bit anxious? What are you feeling?
The
instructor then asked us to imagine – A SUDDEN STORM
ON LAKE
What
are you going to do? --- and from this point on we are to create the rest of
this story in our minds……
After
a long pause: Where is God on this
lake? Is Jesus with you? What does he say to you? How does Jesus help you through this storm?
Now, I would like for you to envision this vineyard
of God….this vine of Jesus…..and your part on this vine? It’s not quite as easy as being on a boat,
but the point is the same. YOU, I, WE
are the branches on the vine named CHRIST!
We have a part on this vine.
Without us and the fruit we bear, the vine withers and dies. What does it take for the vine to grow? What nutrients do we need? Water?
Air? Movement toward light – the
light of God – as we grow as the vineyard of God?
John challenges us to not just intellectualize
being the branches on the vine.
Scripture from the perspective of John is meant to be experiential. How do we experience life in relationship with
the living Christ --- Christ who is a part of our lives?
IV. WE ARE CONNECTED
There is a wonderful Allstate Insurance commercial. The long-haired young man in casual clothes driving
an older model car who rear ends the more mature executive type person in a
suit driving a big car….the younger man saying to the more mature man after
this accident – because they share the same type of insurance: “We are connected.” The older gentleman says, “NO--NO WE’RE NOT”. “Yes we
are.” With the young man tilting his
head and looking at the man – don’t you get it?
WE ARE CONNECTED!
Another image:
BAPTISM. We are baptized in
Christ! We are connected! We are branches on the vine! As members of this church we are connected
and we have a name: The Warren Avenue
Presbyterian Church. We are connected with
other Presbyterian Churches. We share in
mission – doing Christ’s work together.
We are also connected ecumenically with churches in this downtown
area. We are connected with other
churches through doctrine and polity? We
are also connected because we have friends worshipping the same living Christ in
churches throughout this community!
Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are connected with
Christians around the globe. Really stretching
our imaginations…..we are connected through time and space who for centuries
have nurtured life as branches in the vineyards of our lord.
This is the theme that runs through all of
scripture. WE ARE CONNECTED. We are CONNECTED with Jesus. We are CONNECTED with friends and neighbors
in CHRIST. We are CONNECTED with the
clouds of witnesses who have given their lives to our Lord for centuries –
hundreds of thoudsands (millions) of disciples connected with our lord.
Today and in this worship we are CONNECTED! We need each other. We need God.
We work together. We share good
times together. We grieve together. We are CONNECTED!
V. A FEW QUESTIONS
To ask a few questions for you to take home with
you today: Who is on the vine “named church” with you today? How do we experience life in relationship with
those around you? With whom are you connected? What are you doing together? What are other branches doing?
What do those of us who are stronger branches do
to support the weaker, younger branches around us? What about the new branches, the new buds –
the children and grandchildren….here today and not here today yet on the
branches of faith….connected with us…..those who are children and grandchildren
and great grandchildren who are connected with us….HONESTLY -- oh so many children
of ours we wish were more active in the church!
This past week I found a message on the internet
from the new pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Mt. Pleasant: Quote
“Children are not the future. They are the church right now!”
How true.
We are connected, young and old….all of us,
together – we are connected – those of us who see ourselves as branches on the
vine of our lord….and oh so many young people we wish would join us in this vineyard…..if
only our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren would embrace the
fact that this is their church to grow!
I am straying a bit too much….this is a topic for another sermon…..
VI. FINAL THOUGHT – WE BELONG TO GOD!
My final thought today, a theme that runs throughout
scripture. We all belong to God. Baptized in Christ, in this vineyard of God,
Jesus is the vine and we are the branches…..a part from God and God’s eternal
love for us all -- we can do nothing.
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