| John 15:1-17 "Waking Up" |
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| Written by Rev. Don Lee | |
| Saturday, 01 April 2006 | |
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I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. 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. 9As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. 12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. I am the vine, you are the branches says Jesus. It’s a simple analogy. B.C., before children, my wife and I took a trip to California to see my family and to do a little vacationing. We traveled to Danish community of Solvang for a little shopping and lunch, and then drove up highway 101 or Kings Highway, stopping occasionally to admire the beautiful coastline. We toured the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma; took the wine train, enjoyed the slow picturesque view over a gourmet meal. We toured wineries, did the sip and spit thing. We even took a hot air balloon ride over Sacramento valley. My wife called it a once in a lifetime experience (she was referring to the balloon ride!) We learned a whole lot about grape vine cultivation, most of which I don’t remember. I did learn that growing grapes is not as easy as you’d think. Grape cultivation is almost an art. Some varieties do well in certain climates, others do not. Careful selective pruning, soil ph balance, the right temperatures and controlled watering all effect the quality and quantity of the grape harvest. Our guide explained the lessons that came from a statewide drought. Because water was limited, vinedressers were forced to severely limit how often they irrigated their vines. Everyone assumed that the production of grapes that year would be poor and the fruit, substandard. He said, “Boy, were they wrong!” To everyone’s surprise the quality and quantity of the harvest was one of the best on record. They discovered that when the vines had to fight for water, the fruit they produced was exceedingly sweet (high in sugar content) and flavorful. The lessons of that drought led grape growers to instill drip systems on their grapevines, a practice used to this day. Coming from the primarily agrigarian world of 1st century Palestine, Jesus’ analogy wasn’t lost upon the disciples. If Jesus is the vine and God, the vinedresser, then we are the branches who’s sole purpose is to produce fruit (both in quantity and quality), for the harvest. John the Baptist told his followers to produce “fruit worthy of repentance.” Jesus was more specific about the fruit we are to produce. Verse 12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. The fruit of discipleship is not “doing nice things” or even “doing great things.” The fruit of discipleship is showing great love. Love that is sacrificial and self-less is the fruit that God believes will address the deepest longings and hunger of our world. There’s a bizarre story in Matthew 21:10-21, the Gospels about Jesus and a fruit tree. One day, shortly before his passion, Jesus walks up to a fig tree and seeing that it as failed to produce its fruit in season “curses the tree!” And its dies, right then and there! Curls up and does the limp noodle thing. Some writers suggest Jesus was fulfilling a prophecy by the prophet Jeremiah, "I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them." -Jeremiah 8:13 What I think Jesus was trying to do was burn an indelible image in the minds of his followers. The Church that Jesus established, died for and lives through, is like a vine that bears its fruit in season. But when it fails to serve its innate, God-breathed purpose, it becomes useless, deadwood. In an interview, Denzel Washington was quoted to say, "God is first. That's the breath of life. For me, that's why I'm here. I've been blessed with these abilities. I believe that it's not what you're given, it's what you do with what you have. I learned that from the Bible. What are you doing with what you have? Everybody has gifts to give. Who did you lift today? Who did you make better today?" --Denzel Washington in the Independent Jesus is saying we are created by the pleasure of God, for the harvest. And folks, that’s a radically countercultural concept for a society that covets independence and self-determination. If we’d truly buy into this kind of God’ breathed identity it would radically change the way we live. The truth is, most of us are much better at eating fruit then “bearing it,” the vast majority of our resources spent on living the good life. And nothing wrong with that except that Jesus says that’s not why we are here. You and I are much more then a laundry list of appetites. It’s incredibly hard to bear fruit when your time and energy are focused on eating it. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I may not be the man I should be or the man, with Christ's help, I someday will be-but praise God I am not the man I used to be!” And if the Gospel hasn’t changed us maybe its because we don’t want it to. Jesus is giving his Church a wake up call. He’s saying, “You claim to be my disciples, where’s the evidence? Or has it all been eaten up?” What does this look like in real time? The senate is wrestling with the question, “what to do with illegal immigrants?” I know there’s a lot of concern that illegal immigrants are stealing our jobs, flooding our schools and overtaxing our hospitals. Then there’s the concern for National Security. And hear this; these are real concerns that need to be addressed and not ignored. In fact the Church ought to be involved in this discussion. But what I am deeply concerned about is our failure as the Church of Jesus Christ to honor his command to love one another because if we are truly being loving, then these are not the questions you or I as people of faith ought to be asking (at least not initially, anyway). What do I mean by this? Abiding in God (as God abides in us) suggests at a very fundamental level that we share the concerns that God shares; that what is important to God is important to us. Right? The command to love one another reveals God’s predisposition toward all of humanity (not just the privileged or the poor). That is, God loves all God’s children. Black, white, brown, whatever; they are all equally loved and of sacred worth to God. That being the case, rather then asking what to do with immigrants; what to do about their use of hospitals and schools; ought to be asking the question, “How best can we help the immigrant?” For example, consider the parable of the Good Samaritan. You know the story. A traveler is left beaten and left for dead. A priest and Levite (the professional religious leaders) pass by on the other side. It is a Samaritan, an enemy to the Jews who stops to render this man aid. Who bandages his wounds, puts him on his mount, and barring out-of-pocket expense gets the man to safe place and provides for his needs. Just what part of Jesus’ parable tells us that our concern should be limited to legal residents? Or that our laws, our economic concerns, our cultural prejudices should come into play when we see someone in need? On the contrary, the Good Samaritan does the one thing least expected of him and that’s why this story is so counter-cultural; and why Jesus was called mad and even demon possessed. What’s so radical about Jesus’ theology is that he redefines who our neighbor is. He simply states that our neighbor is anyone in need regardless of their status. In the parable it is the lawmakers, the Priests and Levites, the political leaders of Jesus’ day who “pass by on the other side.” Which raises the question, just who’s SIDE are we on? Because Jesus’ side s on the side of love. In the words of one writer, “Jesus’ parable… shatters the stereotypes of social boundaries and class division, and renders void any system of religious quid pro quo. Neighbors do not recognize social class. Neither is mercy the conduct of a calculating heart, nor eternal life the reward for doing prescribed duties. Eternal life-the life of the age to come-is that quality of life characterized by showing mercy for those in need, regardless of their race, religion, or region, -and with no thought of reward. Mercy sees only need and responds with compassion.” P.230 Interpreters Bible Commentary Vol.9 I might argue that the story of the Good Samaritan is exactly what is being played out in the Senate and Jesus is waiting to see whether this nation is going to care enough to stop and render aid; spare the expense to help them find a safe place or whether we are going to use our laws to justify passing by “on the other side,” avoiding the uneducated immigrant child or the sick illegal because, well, “they are not our responsibility!” Regardless of what politicians or media tell us, scripture states they are our responsibility. And we can choose to side with Jesus or simply pass him by, “on by the other side.” But I don’t think that’s following Jesus and maybe we ought to take a good look at what we are following. I’m not going to ask you to agree with me. I am asking you, what would Jesus do? Because ultimately “what Jesus would do” is the difference between abiding in Jesus and abiding somewhere else. If you abide in me you will keep my commandments. As Christians, the question we must ask is not what to do ‘WITH” the immigrant but what to do FOR the immigrant. The very essence of the Christian faith, “loving God and neighbor” and “Doing unto others as you would have them do to you…” commands this. I think sometimes we forget that Jesus and his parents were once themselves immigrants, (fleeing to Egypt) believing God had a safe place for their child to grow up; a life without fear. And I wonder how the story would have ended if in the name of national security, they had been turned back at the border? Verse 16-17, You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. As we break the bread of communion and drink from Eucharistic cup, we must consider the ever real possibility that some of the juice we are about to drink, is from fruit picked by the hands of illegal migrant workers. Does that make this sacrament any less holy or God breathed? I would argue quite the contrary. It proclaims the Good News of God’s love in Jesus for all people, even the least of these among us. For we are all created by the pleasure of God, for the harvest. |
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