Sermons for the Month
Who are you? What do you want?
DATE: May 14th, 2006
SERVICE: Fifth Sunday of Easter
TEXT: John 15:1-8, 1 John 4:7-21“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
What is the greeting on your answering machine or voice mail? At home mine is, "You have reached (my phone number), no one is able to come to the phone right now, but it would be great to talk to you. So, please leave your name and phone number after the beep and your call will be returned as soon as possible. Thanks for calling, and have a great day." On my cell phone, which, as you can see is quite antiquated, I basically tell people that it's never on and if they really want to reach me they should leave a message at the church. In other words, these "greetings" are useful, but boring and would not cause someone to really perk up and pay attention. Most of us have phones that are equipped so that we can convey a message and the caller can leave one. I've noticed that because I expect an electronic greeting I do not really pay attention to it; then I'm forced to hang up and call again because I did not hear what number to push to access the person I wanted to reach. I guess this technology is so much a part of our day-to-day lives that it seldom surprises us. But, perhaps there are exceptions. For example, if this was the greeting on at a phone number I called, you can bet I'd pay attention. "Hello. This is Pastor Jones. At the tone, please answer the following questions. Who are you? And what do you want? Lest you think me inappropriate or even rude, let me remind you that most people live their entire lifetime without answering either of these questions." Beeeep! In one of his radio broadcasts Dr. John Landgraf, former president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, said that was the greeting on the answering machine of one of his colleagues. It raises two important questions for us to consider, and not just so someone will return a call. We should ask ourselves, who am I and what do I want? (1) As I reflected on that it occurred to me that today's scripture readings may help us answer those questions. So, let's start with, who are we? Well, according to vs. 5 of John 15, we are the branches. To understand what that means we must grasp, first of all, that these verses are an allegory - each thing in the story represents someone and expresses a deeper meaning. In this allegory God is the vine grower; Jesus is the vine; his followers are the branches and those who do not abide in Jesus are the useless branches. As the braches, our goal is to be productive, but for that to happen pruning is required. People who had seen grapes grown understood exactly what Jesus meant. If we looked at a vineyard we would see that the braches grow from the vine - the main plant - and break into leaf and tendril. Left to themselves, they branches will grow and grow and grow at the expense of the grapes that are trying to form on the vine. The plant is so busy sending energy to the farthest reaches of the branches that the grapes get by-passed. So, the branches' enthusiasm has to be curbed, and they are pruned back so that the nutrients are channeled to the grapes - into fruitfulness, not foliage. At the same time, any branches not bearing fruit are removed so that they do not drain energy from the grapes.(2) It's important to note that either way - whether the branch is productive or not - the vine grower prunes it. So, who are we? We are the branches that bear the fruit, and God prunes us so that we can be more fruitful. I would guess that most of us are not thrilled at the prospect of being pruned. After all, a knife is involved, and it just might hurt. Pruning could involve things like severing debilitating relationships or cutting loose burdensome things or eliminating meaningless pursuits (3) In other words - if you were here last week you'll know what I mean - throwing out the hired hands who take, take, take from us. You would think that pruning them out of our lives would be a welcome relief, but we've grown accustomed to them, and saying goodbye may not be all that easy. Pruning also might involve being removed from the illusion of perfection and having to grow strong in the face of the imperfections of this life - like illness, death, injustice, etc…. As we face the challenge of pruning it's important that we are reminded of what we want. If it's not to keep giving to the hired hands, or to become bitter in the face of life's challenges, then what is it? Well, what would any branch want, but to bear fruit? Branches on grapevines bear grapes, branches on apple trees bear apples, branches on cherry trees bear cherries and branches on the Jesus vine bear little Jesus'. There are many ways to do that; in chapter 15 of John alone Jesus tells his branches to love (vs. 12), to keep his commandments (vs. 10) and to testify on his behalf (vs. 27). In Chapter 5 of Galatians Paul mentions the fruit of the Spirit as being love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That's a good start, don't you think? Then, add to that using the individual gifts that God has given us, and the potential positive effect of fruit bearing is too great to measure. Wow, we could change the world … maybe that's worth being pruned! Well, it probably is, but there's only one way it can happen - and this is the point at which the whole thing can fall apart. The only way we can put the pruning in helpful perspective (rather than feeling that God is picking on us) AND become fruitful is to abide in Jesus. Abide - that's not a word we use much any more. It has to do with persevering, continuing, staying with - which is what Jesus has done with us. But do we do it with him? This is a significant connection I'm talking about; it implies trust. As one writer put it, "Jesus is not just inviting us to become his house guest. He is inviting us to abide with, that is to belong to him, to let him call the shots instead of us." (4) Now, that's another thing altogether, isn't it? I mean, it's one thing to put up with adjustments here and there so that we can bear the fruit of patience, kindness and self-control, but to actually let go of trusting ourselves and our ways, now that's a bit much, don't you think? It is a lot, that's true, but what if Jesus meant what he said? "I 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." What if it's true that when we are not connected with Jesus the value of our work is not just diminished, but worthless? Could it be that when we depend on our own resources one of two things happen, either total fruitlessness or wild growth that may look good, but since it's not guided by Jesus, is self-centered and in the end destructive. But, on the positive side, when we abide in him, amazing things happen. Consider the reading from 1 John (which isn't easy because it's so convoluted). It says that if we love one another - remember love is not something we conjure up ourselves, it's a fruit that is produced by abiding in the vine - if we love one another then God's love will be perfected in us. Say what, God's love is perfected in us? And then, take is one step further. There is no fear in perfect love. Please pause for a moment and think about what I'm saying. We abide in Jesus; we trust him as the guiding force in our lives and strive to love him above all else. As we abide in him we bear fruit. Of course, we must also bear some pruning, but as we do, we bear more fruit. Among that fruit is love - sacrificial love - the love that hopes for the best but endures the worst. Through the power of the Spirit that love is perfected in us and it casts out all fear. Do you realize what that means? Nearly everything in this world that we label as evil can be traced to fear; what would a world without fear look like? It's nearly impossible for us to imagine, and yet Jesus says that's the direct result of bearing fruit. Now do you see why it's so important that we answer the two questions on that answering machine message? Who are you? The best answer is not Jean, or a pastor, or a middle-aged woman, or a hiker, or a kitten owner. The best answer is that I am a branch on the Jesus vine. What do you want? The best answer is not a car that gets good gas mileage, or a comfortable home, or new clothes, or trusted friends, or even peace of mind. The best answer is that I want to abide in Jesus so that I can bear fruit. You see, everything else will fall into place if those two things are true in my life. (Pause for "illustration".) I guess I left it on for a change! But since I do not want to talk right now, while I'm talking to all of you, I'll offer this greeting. "Hello, this is Pastor Jean. After the beep, please answer these two questions: Who are you? What do you want?" Beeep…. (1) "Four Steps Toward Finding the Real You" by John Landgraf, Program #4211, December 20, 1999, pg. 3, www.csed.org
(2) "Wellspring of Scripture, Easter 2006: Fifth Sunday of Easter", pg. 1, www.wellspring.org
(3) Sermonwriter, Easter 5B (May 14) John 15:1-8, pg. 4, www.sermonwriter.com
(4) "Fruitful Only in Christ" by James Squire and Ed Schroeder, John 15:1-8, Fifth Sunday of Easter, pg. 1, www.crossings.org
AMEN