Sermons for the Month
Abide! Endure Pruning! Be Fruitful!
DATE: May 18th 2003
SERVICE: Fifth Sunday of Easter
TEXT: John 15:1-8“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
It's a day for gardening in the church as Jesus calls himself a vine and us the branches. What perfect timing it is for such an image as many people are getting their yards and gardens into shape for the summer. So, I decided to bring a visual aid for us today, and especially for Explorer Club Worship at 9:15 a.m. remembering that what helps children understand also is helpful to adults. This interesting plant I brought is about 10 years old. After a summer of riotous growth I trim it back to bareness. And then all fall, winter and spring I water it every Sunday morning before I leave at 7 a.m. (In fact that's when I water all my plants; I guess it's a symbolic gesture for me of the task that is before me every Sunday here at church as I encourage growth in faith.) It's not long before the plant begins to flourish and bloom. I pick off the dead leaves and flowers weekly. And then, along about now, I give it its summer haircut and put it outside where the cycle begins again. Jesus is saying we are like this plant. (He actually uses grape vines in his illustration since that was a familiar plant in his part of the world.) We are like these branches that grow and flourish as long as we are firmly attached to the plant, the source of life, and receive the nourishment we need. When that's the case, we can flourish, just as my plant has. The growth is great, and yet, every once in a while we need to be pruned in order to grow in a more productive and beautiful way. However, if something goes wrong with the connection between the branch and the plant, the growth stops, the branch withers and it becomes useless, producing nothing. When that happens it's a sad day. Our goal then, as Christians, is to maintain that connection with our source of life, Jesus Christ, to accept the pruning that is required, and to bear fruit. If any of those three things are not occurring, then our usefulness as followers of Jesus has withered and died. Oh, we still are saved because of our faith in him, but we are falling way short when it comes to being his disciples and that has a negative effect on us, on the church and on the world. So, let's talk about each one of those steps. I'm going to start with the last one first and ask you to think about what it means to bear fruit. Our tendency is to think of bearing fruit as measurable production that can be tallied up at the end of the year. If that was the case then fruit would be our tangible contributions to the church, or our success in welcoming visitors, or our good works. While those things are important they are not the fruit but what results IF we are truly bearing fruit. Are you totally confused? If so then let me remind you that in the 5th chapter of Galatians the fruits of the Spirit are clearly stated. They are love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. So, when Jesus says that we are to bear much fruit he's saying that love, joy and peace must be a part of us. We are to cultivate goodness, gentleness and generosity. We are to be faithful and to practice self-control. If we are producing such fruit, then the ways for these attributes to be reflected in our lives is unending. They will be seen in our interactions with others; we'll find ourselves with love sufficient to reach out to the unlovable and doing so will fill us with joy. We'll seek peaceful resolutions for conflict. We will have the patience to be a leader in Explorer Club. Goodness and gentleness will mark what we say to and about others. Faithfully giving of our resources will come naturally, and we'll see doing so as a way to thank God for all we have been given. We'll even be bearing fruit when we treat our bodies with respect. After all, self-control covers many areas from intimate relationships to what we eat and drink. To bear fruit means that we are being transformed from the inside out, that we are becoming - in character - the people God wants us to be. But, in order for this fruit to flourish, there must be pruning and abiding. Let's talk about the pruning process first. In verse 2 we read, "Every branch that bears fruit God prunes to make it bear more fruit." Somehow this does not seem fair. After all, if one is bearing fruit already, isn't that enough? Evidently not; God wants us to bear more, to be the best that we can be. It's difficult to describe the pruning process in our lives as Christians. If you think about a time in your life that was challenging, or when you had to make a difficult decision, or perhaps it was a joyful, yet complicated time, it could be said that those were periods when God was pruning you. It happens during particular periods, but pruning also is an on-going process. For example, in my life, I'm constantly trying to cultivate patience. But, I'm not quite "there" yet. I fall short; I want things to go as planned and according to my time schedule. Since I strive to be open to the Spirit's work in my life it does not take long for me to recognize my mistake and to say a prayer that sounds like this: "God, I'm so impatient. I want people to do things according to my plan. Help me to bear the fruit of patience." And do you know what happens? I'm given another opportunity to develop patience. (That's why they say to be careful what you pray.)That's one of the many ways we are pruned. However, before we can bear fruit, before we go through the pruning process, we must abide in Jesus; that's the first step. It's essential. With out him any attempts we make will be fruitless. I know that my link with Jesus is not as strong as it should be when I find myself being pessimistic and cynical. Perhaps you too are aware of when your connection with Jesus is weak. So, we must abide; I usually think of that in terms of a relationship. My close friend Julie and I have a strong relationship. I trust that if I needed her, she would be there for me if that was possible. But, developing that friendship has taken effot; we have had to spend time together and talk to and learn about one another. We have shared our joys and sorrows. And, as a result, we have grown in trust. And, doing so has required intentionality. Our friendship has not just happened. The same is true of abiding with Jesus; we must intentionally build a relationship with him. Perhaps that happens by attending worship, by receiving Holy Communion or through prayer and private devotion. We are focusing on Small Group ministry here at Faith to provide a setting where people can develop that relationship with Jesus. We each must decide how to strengthen our connection with our Lord. There's no doubt about one thing; doing so will require time and commitment. The result, though, will be Christians who are fruitful. And, if there is anything the world needs it is fruitful Christians. I want to encourage you, then, to abide in Jesus, to endure the pruning and then to flourish, just as my plant has done. I recently received such encouragement in a delightful way. I don't know if you've ever noticed that on our attendance card there's a place to mark that you've left a message for the pastor on the back of the card. People do so every once in a while, usually requesting a visit or a prayer or imparting some needed information. But one day I received a message from one of our children. It said, "Let the Lord always be with you! Bear fruit!" I'm not making this up; that's exactly what it said. What more wonderful word could I have received? It encapsulates my goal as a Christian, to recognize the presence of God, of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit in my life - to let the Lord be with me - and then to be empowered to bear fruit, to become the person God wants me to be for the sake of the church and the world. So, I pass that word of encouragement on to you, "Let the Lord always be with you! Bear fruit!" AMEN