A NEW PLOT IN LIFE
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Good News: Every one of us is important to Jesus.
There is a story quoted in baseball circles about Earl Weaver (when he was manager of the Baltimore Orioles) and his experience with a born-again outfielder named Pat Kelly. As the story goes, Kelly is said to have told Weaver he had learned to walk with God, to which Weaver is reported to have replied, “I’d rather have you walk with the bases loaded.” The Christian walk is incomprehensible to those who are not motivated by Christ.
Trouble in the Bible
For the apostles, the bases might have been loaded, yet there was still an empty spot on the roster—they had eleven men instead of 12, the number Jesus had originally chosen. They figured they needed to get their numbers back up to twelve. Twelve is an important number in the Bible: 12 sons of Jacob, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 disciples of Jesus, and the 12 thrones in heaven. Eleven would never work.
Yet, 120 people were smooshed into this “upper room.” How were they to choose one person from that number to replace Judas? Who was qualified? Who would do it? I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I would want to be known as the one who replaced the guy who betrayed the Savior of the world to the Romans. We all know what happened to him in the place affectionately known as “Murder Meadow.”
Time between Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost was 10 days. Two hundred forty hours of living like sardines and watching each other grow old called for a desperate act—the formation of a church nominating committee and a church election. . It seemed a good idea to hold a committee meeting, as any church would do, while they awaited further instruction from Jesus. They had not heard the prophecy that “God so loved the world that he didn’t send a committee.”
Trouble in the World
We often have a difficult time dealing with waiting. When we don’t see something happening, we assume nothing is happening. Perhaps we even feel that Jesus is ignoring us or has forgotten us, that we are not important to him. This concept is one idea we must never believe. Each one of us is as important to Jesus as if we were the only person on earth.
Jesus is at work in our lives all the time, but silence and/or perceived inaction makes us very antsy. If the wait becomes unbearable, we may wander into the territory of thinking He is telling us one thing because that is what we want to or expect to hear, Sometimes we choose to hear the safe thing, which soothes our nerves but does little to witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
A middle-aged farmer who had been desiring for years to be an evangelist was out working in the field one day when he decided to rest under a tree. As he looked into the sky he saw that the clouds seemed to form into the letters P and C. Immediately he jumped up, sold his farm, and went out to P-reach C-hrist, which he felt was God’s leading. Unfortunately, he was a horrible preacher. After one of his sermons, a neighbor came forward and whispered in his ear, “are you sure God wasn’t just trying to tell you to P-lant C-orn?
Jesus had the farmer right where he wanted him, planting corn. Yet, the farmer seemed to think that planting corn was not important enough so he sold the field of purpose for a field of dreams. He did not know how important he already was to Jesus. He did not recognize that he already had all the gifts he needed to serve Jesus. He was a planter and a harvester for the Lord, not a preacher. No one job in the kingdom is more important than another. No one job in the church is more important than another, but all jobs, gifts, pursuits in a church are to witness to the Resurrection.
If churches today used this criterion for planning its future, what are we doing today as a church today that we might keep doing and what might we eliminate from our pursuits? Each one of us is important to Jesus and each one of us has an important role to pursue in his church.
God’s Grace in the Bible
The gifts to be an apostle were already gathered in that upper room. Peter listed the requirements: (1) The new apostle must believe in the resurrection, for the resurrection is the one thing that defines Christianity from all other religions. (2) The new apostle must know Jesus as a result of living with Jesus. (3) The new apostle, in traveling all the days with Jesus and the other eleven, must be able to work with the remaining apostles.
By these requirements, two names came to mind: Joseph/Barsabas/Justus and Matthias. Matthias was chosen, but I want you to notice HOW he was chosen. Matthias met the proper requirements of an apostle, but requirements were not enough. Something more was needed. In fact, two more steps were necessary before Matthias would be confirmed to his new position.
The next steps in the process included (1) Prayer. “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of the two YOU have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place” (Acts 1:25); and (2) casting lots to determine which man would become number 12. Matthias, of course, “won.”
Very, very little is known of Matthias, and even less exists to testify to his work. His physical gospel has been lost, but we do have a few of his quotations preserved in the works of Clement of Alexandria.
“We must combat our flesh, set no value upon it, and concede to it nothing that can flatter it, but rather increase the growth of our soul by faith and knowledge.”
Is Matthias not testifying to the supreme importance of the Christian’s heart and soul? A place was chosen for Matthias, but what about Barsabas?
Was Barsabas left out? How do you suppose he felt? Maybe he knew the disappointment that so many of us experience when we are turned down for the prized position we’ve worked so hard to get. In an age of terrifying unemployment rates, how does one keep going after being rejected time after time? Many are driven to near hopelessness, while others have the faith to keep going, keep searching.
God’s Grace in the World
Each one of us is important to Jesus, and each one of us has an important role to pursue in Jesus’ church, and so we must be ready for a new plot in life. This new plot is of Christ’s own choosing. We make ourselves ready for the journey by preparing our hearts and souls through faith and knowledge of our Lord and Savior.
None of us knows enough about Jesus, yet he knows everything about us. Why does he bother to know everything about us? The answer is so simple, because each of us is important to him—he wants to know everything about us; and because he knows everything about us—he knows our hearts—he will choose the best P-lot in life for us, Whether that plot includes preaching Christ or planting corn, He has a place for us.
If we are uncertain about which direction to go, we can pray as the apostles prayed: “Lord, you know my heart. Show me the path you have chosen for me to take in this ministry.”
That’s a scary prayer for many folks, and fear is a reason we miss out on so much of life that God wants to show us. We want to be careful what we pray for because we just might get it! What if we get a sign to go somewhere or do something we don’t feel we are ready for? Then what are we supposed to do?
Two words: GET READY! You see, the thing about Barsabas is that even though he was not chosen this time to fill the twelfth spot, he was READY to do so. He knew that Jesus had a role for him to play in his resurrection witnessing. He knew he was just as important to Jesus as any of the other 120 folks in the upper room; he knew he was just as important as any of the eleven, and he knew he was just as important as Matthias. He may not have been given the title of “apostle,” yet, He kept himself ready to serve the resurrected Lord. We can take from the experience of being “not chosen this time” that we must always keep ourselves ready to do what Jesus needs us to do.
Friends, we do not get our importance from fancy titles; we are already important. Our titles may inform others of what role we play in the church, but they do not confer any special powers or privileges. They do not give us worth; we are already worthy.
· We do not need to be called a missionary in order to witness and show hospitality to strangers.
· We do not have to be a trustee to care for the facility.
· We do not need to be a choir member to sing a new song.
· We do not need to be a preacher to tell somebody about how good the Lord is, and that the He loves us for all time.
· We do not have to be an usher to welcome somebody into the house of God.
· You do not have to be on the Christian Ed Committee to teach someone about Jesus and his love for us.
· You do not have to be a deacon to show compassion and loving concern to others.
Rather than seeking a title or special position, I think it is better for us to understand ourselves as Jesus does: a person so important to him that he would go to the cross, die and be resurrected for us, even if we were the only person on earth.
When we leave here today, we can go out and walk with the bases loaded, or we can go out and walk with Jesus. The difference in the walks is mighty. With the first you score five runs, maybe slap a few hands as you round the bases and stamp your foot on home plate. With the second, you’re found ready and willing to hit it out of the park. People are instantly on their feet—are they cheering for you? Oh, no! They’re praising the Lord because you have testified to his power at work in you. That power is offered to all who are ready to step up to bat.
Those who step up to bat are given titles, but they do not mean very much in the world today. They offer no privilege, no power, no entitlement. Yet, in the church, in our faith, they mean the world to us:
· Jesus has titled us “Witness”: And you shall be my witnesses… (Luke 24:48)
· Jesus has titled us “Friend”: And I have called you friends… (John 15:15)
· And God has titled us “Beloved”: “You are my Beloved…” (Luke 3:21-22)
Beloved, let us love one another; let us discover how important we are to Jesus and express it to others, that they, too, may be given a new plot in life, a life built on Jesus Christ, for this is the true calling and purpose of the Church. Amen.
May 24, 2009
The First Parish Federated Church of South Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise
May 17, 2009
PARDON THE GLORIOUS INTERRUPTION
Acts 10; particularly verses 44-48
Today’s Good News: God shows no partiality in pouring out the Holy Spirit on people so that all may be saved.
If ever there was a case of a “God-incidence,” the meeting of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10 is one of the very best. The whole new world of Christianity was about to be gloriously interrupted and notoriously tipped on its head. Demographically and geographically, the boundaries of Judea would soon be reached. The good news of Jesus Christ seemed to be headed for the proverbial end of the road. Think about it; if God had not had bigger plans for the Judeo-Christian world, you and I might not be gathered here together right now.
Everyone—Jews and Gentiles—in biblical days believed the message of Jesus Christ was given to the Jews only. God eliminated this belief through bringing together two men of faith: Cornelius, a Gentile from Caesarea; and Peter, a Jewish man and apostle of Jesus Christ. God brought these men together for the purpose of revealing that the good news of Jesus Christ is meant for all people; that no one who believes in God and does what is right shall be denied salvation.
The only complication was that each man was shocked by the vision he was given and wanted to resist it in the worst way. Cornelius stared in terror at the angel of the Lord who told him to send for Peter in Joppa. Peter characteristically, impulsively protested when he was told to eat of the animals, even those that Jewish law proclaimed unclean. “By no means, Lord!”
Terror and fear, confusion and resistance. Peter and Cornelius were “greatly puzzled” (10:17) by their double vision. Certainly they had never even heard of each other, let alone met, yet God called them together for the purpose of bringing Jews and Gentiles together as one in Jesus Christ. Each chose to obey the word of the Lord they had received even though it called for them to take great risks for the faith.
I think we can certainly identify with Cornelius and Peter. They were not just being called to step outside their religious boxes, they were called, in the words of Anne Robertson (formerly pastor of St John’s Methodist Church in Dover, NH), to “Blow the lid of the God-Box” they lived in.
Robertson writes, “When we become closed to aspects of God that we don’t understand or to experiences of God that aren’t our own, we create the fiction that we know all there is to know of God and God’s ways. Our limited experience and expression then become the standard by which all others are measured and the truth by which all others are judged” (Robertson, Blowing the Lid off the God-Box, p x).
It is very difficult to step outside the comfort zones of our religious boxes, let alone blow the lids off them! We tend to be gut reactors to God’s call Just like Peter, we can say far too quickly, “By no means, Lord!” Yet, no matter who we are or where we are on our life’s journey, God created us good, for his purpose and for his pleasure.
We may at times find this trusting God in all things difficult. The tension we feel can only be relieved through prayer, study, meditation, and obedience; yet, it is so much easier to go with what we know rather than with what can make us grow.
The tension we feel is real, as real as the tension Peter spoke of when he entered Cornelius’ house. “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection” (Acts 10:28-29).
Peter’s entourage experienced a similar sense of tension as they witnessed Cornelius’ household receiving the Holy Spirit. Luke writes in Acts 10:45. “The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.”
Empowered by the Holy Spirit all the people in this story were able to see their way through what at first they believed was “unlawful” to do. Yet, they overcame a common, pedantic belief by risking it all for a most uncommon teaching: God shows no partiality in pouring out the Holy Spirit on all people so that all people may be saved.
A message for us today is to challenge ourselves to take risks for God. Cornelius through answered prayer and Peter through divine vision show us that not only is obedience in the face of fear possible, it is to be preferred; it is to be entered into with haste and without objection.
The same powerful Holy Spirit that was poured out on Cornelius and his household is poured on us as well. Imagine what wonders we would behold if we could really let go and let God’s Holy Spirit send us beyond the limits of our known comfort zones.
We could blow the lid off our God Boxes and speak to the world about the mighty God we serve, the gracious God who loves all without partiality, the merciful God who died once that all who believe in him and do what is right might live forever—talk about speaking in tongues!
In the middle of Peter’s preaching he sees and hears that the Holy Spirit has been poured out on the Gentiles; they’re talking in tongues and praising the Lord. You can just hear him thinking, “Enough with the preaching! The water’s merely a formality; bring on the Spirit! It’s happening to them just as it happened to us on the day of Pentecost! Good Lord, what a ride!”
Peter’s sermon was gloriously interrupted by the outpouring of the Spirit upon people he never would have believed could receive it from God. Such good news is this for us today! Christianity has spread to all nationalities, all races, all places since that day at Captain Cornelius’ house. His gift is our gift. How shall we praise the Lord for his gift of the Spirit? How shall we celebrate the good news that God shows no partiality?
We must do as Peter did. He went to places God sent him without objection. Faith is a journey God invites to take; faith is not pretty scenery God invites us to sit back and watch. Each one of us is called, by name, to join the journey.
If we struggle with a serious illness, would it not be better to share the journey with the healing power of the Holy Spirit? If we fear the darkness because we have lost our way, would it not be better to share the journey with the divine light of the Holy Spirit to guide our way? If we wrestle with doubt, or grief, or depression or fatigue, would it not be better to have the immutable strength and perseverance of the Holy Spirit working for us?
The Holy Spirit is for all people. What good news! Speak of it; give the gift a voice. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Live and empowered life for the news is good my friends: from now on there is neither Greek nor Jew; slave nor free, male or female, for we are one in Christ Jesus who is Lord of all (Galatians 3:28). This Word is not sort of true; it is not partially true; it is fully true, and upon its truth we are saved. Amen.
May 17, 2009
First Parish Federated Church of South Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise, Pastor
Acts 10; particularly verses 44-48
Today’s Good News: God shows no partiality in pouring out the Holy Spirit on people so that all may be saved.
If ever there was a case of a “God-incidence,” the meeting of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10 is one of the very best. The whole new world of Christianity was about to be gloriously interrupted and notoriously tipped on its head. Demographically and geographically, the boundaries of Judea would soon be reached. The good news of Jesus Christ seemed to be headed for the proverbial end of the road. Think about it; if God had not had bigger plans for the Judeo-Christian world, you and I might not be gathered here together right now.
Everyone—Jews and Gentiles—in biblical days believed the message of Jesus Christ was given to the Jews only. God eliminated this belief through bringing together two men of faith: Cornelius, a Gentile from Caesarea; and Peter, a Jewish man and apostle of Jesus Christ. God brought these men together for the purpose of revealing that the good news of Jesus Christ is meant for all people; that no one who believes in God and does what is right shall be denied salvation.
The only complication was that each man was shocked by the vision he was given and wanted to resist it in the worst way. Cornelius stared in terror at the angel of the Lord who told him to send for Peter in Joppa. Peter characteristically, impulsively protested when he was told to eat of the animals, even those that Jewish law proclaimed unclean. “By no means, Lord!”
Terror and fear, confusion and resistance. Peter and Cornelius were “greatly puzzled” (10:17) by their double vision. Certainly they had never even heard of each other, let alone met, yet God called them together for the purpose of bringing Jews and Gentiles together as one in Jesus Christ. Each chose to obey the word of the Lord they had received even though it called for them to take great risks for the faith.
I think we can certainly identify with Cornelius and Peter. They were not just being called to step outside their religious boxes, they were called, in the words of Anne Robertson (formerly pastor of St John’s Methodist Church in Dover, NH), to “Blow the lid of the God-Box” they lived in.
Robertson writes, “When we become closed to aspects of God that we don’t understand or to experiences of God that aren’t our own, we create the fiction that we know all there is to know of God and God’s ways. Our limited experience and expression then become the standard by which all others are measured and the truth by which all others are judged” (Robertson, Blowing the Lid off the God-Box, p x).
It is very difficult to step outside the comfort zones of our religious boxes, let alone blow the lids off them! We tend to be gut reactors to God’s call Just like Peter, we can say far too quickly, “By no means, Lord!” Yet, no matter who we are or where we are on our life’s journey, God created us good, for his purpose and for his pleasure.
We may at times find this trusting God in all things difficult. The tension we feel can only be relieved through prayer, study, meditation, and obedience; yet, it is so much easier to go with what we know rather than with what can make us grow.
The tension we feel is real, as real as the tension Peter spoke of when he entered Cornelius’ house. “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection” (Acts 10:28-29).
Peter’s entourage experienced a similar sense of tension as they witnessed Cornelius’ household receiving the Holy Spirit. Luke writes in Acts 10:45. “The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.”
Empowered by the Holy Spirit all the people in this story were able to see their way through what at first they believed was “unlawful” to do. Yet, they overcame a common, pedantic belief by risking it all for a most uncommon teaching: God shows no partiality in pouring out the Holy Spirit on all people so that all people may be saved.
A message for us today is to challenge ourselves to take risks for God. Cornelius through answered prayer and Peter through divine vision show us that not only is obedience in the face of fear possible, it is to be preferred; it is to be entered into with haste and without objection.
The same powerful Holy Spirit that was poured out on Cornelius and his household is poured on us as well. Imagine what wonders we would behold if we could really let go and let God’s Holy Spirit send us beyond the limits of our known comfort zones.
We could blow the lid off our God Boxes and speak to the world about the mighty God we serve, the gracious God who loves all without partiality, the merciful God who died once that all who believe in him and do what is right might live forever—talk about speaking in tongues!
In the middle of Peter’s preaching he sees and hears that the Holy Spirit has been poured out on the Gentiles; they’re talking in tongues and praising the Lord. You can just hear him thinking, “Enough with the preaching! The water’s merely a formality; bring on the Spirit! It’s happening to them just as it happened to us on the day of Pentecost! Good Lord, what a ride!”
Peter’s sermon was gloriously interrupted by the outpouring of the Spirit upon people he never would have believed could receive it from God. Such good news is this for us today! Christianity has spread to all nationalities, all races, all places since that day at Captain Cornelius’ house. His gift is our gift. How shall we praise the Lord for his gift of the Spirit? How shall we celebrate the good news that God shows no partiality?
We must do as Peter did. He went to places God sent him without objection. Faith is a journey God invites to take; faith is not pretty scenery God invites us to sit back and watch. Each one of us is called, by name, to join the journey.
If we struggle with a serious illness, would it not be better to share the journey with the healing power of the Holy Spirit? If we fear the darkness because we have lost our way, would it not be better to share the journey with the divine light of the Holy Spirit to guide our way? If we wrestle with doubt, or grief, or depression or fatigue, would it not be better to have the immutable strength and perseverance of the Holy Spirit working for us?
The Holy Spirit is for all people. What good news! Speak of it; give the gift a voice. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Live and empowered life for the news is good my friends: from now on there is neither Greek nor Jew; slave nor free, male or female, for we are one in Christ Jesus who is Lord of all (Galatians 3:28). This Word is not sort of true; it is not partially true; it is fully true, and upon its truth we are saved. Amen.
May 17, 2009
First Parish Federated Church of South Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise, Pastor
May 11, 2009
Put Your Life on the Vine
PUT YOUR LIFE ON THE VINE
John 15:1-8; I John 4:7-21
“I am the true vine.”
One day, Jesus decided that he needed a new robe, so he went to the shop of Finkelstein the Tailor. A few days later, when the robe was ready, Jesus tried it on and it was a perfect fit. He asked the tailor how much he owed. Finkelstein brushed him off, “No! No! No! for the Son of God? There's no charge! However, may I ask a small favor of you?”
“Anything!” Jesus responded. “Just ask!”
“Whenever you give a sermon, perhaps you could just mention that your nice new robe was made by Finkelstein the tailor?”
Jesus readily agreed and as promised, extolled the virtues of his Finkelstein robe whenever he spoke to the masses. A few months later, Jesus happened to walk past Finkelstein's shop and noted a huge line of people waiting to order Finkelstein robes. He made his way through the crowd to speak to the tailor, and as soon as Finkelstein spotted Jesus, he shouted, “Jesus! Jesus! Look what you've done for my business! Would you consider a partnership?”
“Certainly,” replied Jesus. “Jesus & Finkelstein, it is!”
“Oh, no, no,” said Finkelstein. “Finkelstein and Jesus. After all, I am the craftsman.”
The two of them debated for quite some time. Their discussion was long and spirited, but ultimately fruitful, and they finally came up with a mutually acceptable compromise. A few days later, the new sign went up over the shop. Can you guess what it read?
Before I tell you the answer, let's take a closer look at this morning's text that also teaches about being in a kind of partnership with Jesus. The word John uses is not partnership, however; the word he uses is abiding…
“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.”
We live in a time and culture where there is much suffering, much uncertainty. Anxiety, a sense of helplessness and all kinds of troubles are around every corner. We don’t know when or if the struggling will end and it's all very unsettling, discouraging, frightening. Whether examining these troubles at home or in the church, the outlook seems quite bleak.
Some churches will say that we are suffering God's judgment and punishment. Some populations say there is no God or that God has forsaken us. Others do not make any connection at all between God and what's happening in our world.
But what about this approach: cannot our understanding of these difficult times we are living in be seen as a way of God's pruning us for greater fruitfulness? I think we can, for Jesus' teaching in John 15 reaches across the centuries. Let's look at then:
During the final Passover meal that they would share, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the difficult days after Jesus has been crucified, resurrected and ascended into heaven. The eleven who remain will encounter great anxiety, sorrow, anger, betrayal, persecution, poverty, and eventually martyrdom.
The disciples are struggling to understand why and how God uses suffering to bring about greater fruitfulness. It just doesn't seem to make any sense. To help them understand how their relationships with one another, with him and with God work, Jesus uses the very familiar grapevine to explain.
Archaeological evidence from Egyptian tombs shows that grapes were being cultivated 2500 years before Christ. Grapes are the most widely grown fruit in the world. The grapevine is part of Israel's national emblem. Grapes are a big deal. But, why so much talk of grapes on the eve of Crucifixion?
The quality of the vine is only as good as the rooted stock. Individual branches are grafted onto a healthy productive stock. New plants are pruned for three to five years to “train” them before they are allowed to produce a crop. It takes a lot of feeding, watering, and pruning, pruning, pruning to yield the best grapes.
Did you know that good roots can produce fruit for as many as 100 years? That, for their size, vines are very productive, yielding as much as eighty pounds of grapes in a single season? That, disease and lack of productivity can spread from dead branches that have not been removed from the vine?
It takes an immense amount of pruning and caring to develop a fruitful vineyard. Equally so, it takes an immense amount of care and pruning to develop a faithful disciple who will yield much fruit for the Lord.
We are facing difficult days in our lives: we are anxious about our jobs, our mortgages, our expenses, our debts, our health, our wealth, and perhaps even our ability to put one foot in front of the other. Add to that, most recently, a pandemic, and it seems we are bombarded with stress and distress from every direction.
Besides our personal lives, we have been through some difficult times in this church—as is fairly common in churches—with great anxiety, sorrow, anger, betrayal, and what hardly needs mentioning, a lack of funds, low attendance and less than abundant fruitfulness. Could these difficulties and sufferings be the pruning process of the great vinedresser? Are we being pruned for greater fruitfulness? I believe that is exactly what's been happening here.
Just as Jesus was preparing his disciples that the time of suffering that they were about to experience was part of a God's bigger plan for an abundant harvest of love. We, too, can learn from Jesus, the true vine, that our suffering will lead to a greater abundance than we can even imagine.
With the hope Jesus shares in this gospel, growing, committed Christians can find strength for the troubled times by abiding in Christ, remaining true to his word, by literally putting our lives, grafting ourselves, on the vine. God is dressing us for mighty works in his name.
God is glorified when we abide in Jesus and bear fruit for him. Jesus' word makes it possible to understand spiritually what's going on in our lives and helps us to endure all things with grace.
Friends, there will always be seasons of trouble, but Jesus promises to those who abide in him that even though they suffer they will one day thrive if they continue living in him, spreading his love, teaching his word, and never, ever giving up.
.
Have you figured out the name of the shop that Finkelstein and Jesus finally agreed upon? Are you ready? Don't prune the messenger now. Here goes: Lord & Taylor.
See, we can survive bad jokes on our own. For the real hard stuff of life, the only way for us as Christians and as a Church to survive the pain of pruning is by abiding in Jesus.
What does it mean to abide in Christ? Each of these activities begins at some point, but the long-term branch-to-vine practice is called abiding. Abiding in Christ means[1]:
· Believing that he is God’s Son (I John 4:15)
· Receiving him as Savior and Lord (John 1:12)
· Doing what God asks us to do (I John 3:24)
· Continuing to believe the gospel (I John 2:24)
· Relating in love to the community of believers, Christ’s body (John 15:12).
Abiding with Jesus, we will come through difficult times with a greater faith, a deepening spirituality, and a growing congregation.
Abiding in Christ, we know that God promises us times of great fruitfulness. When we put our lives on the vine, our ultimate demonstration of great faithfulness, we are met with the ultimate demonstration of God's great love: salvation through his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Apart from him, we can do nothing. Amen.
May 10, 2009/First Parish Federated Church/S Berwick, ME; Rev Donna Lee Muise, pastor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Life Application Bible Commentary: JOHN, p 308.
John 15:1-8; I John 4:7-21
“I am the true vine.”
One day, Jesus decided that he needed a new robe, so he went to the shop of Finkelstein the Tailor. A few days later, when the robe was ready, Jesus tried it on and it was a perfect fit. He asked the tailor how much he owed. Finkelstein brushed him off, “No! No! No! for the Son of God? There's no charge! However, may I ask a small favor of you?”
“Anything!” Jesus responded. “Just ask!”
“Whenever you give a sermon, perhaps you could just mention that your nice new robe was made by Finkelstein the tailor?”
Jesus readily agreed and as promised, extolled the virtues of his Finkelstein robe whenever he spoke to the masses. A few months later, Jesus happened to walk past Finkelstein's shop and noted a huge line of people waiting to order Finkelstein robes. He made his way through the crowd to speak to the tailor, and as soon as Finkelstein spotted Jesus, he shouted, “Jesus! Jesus! Look what you've done for my business! Would you consider a partnership?”
“Certainly,” replied Jesus. “Jesus & Finkelstein, it is!”
“Oh, no, no,” said Finkelstein. “Finkelstein and Jesus. After all, I am the craftsman.”
The two of them debated for quite some time. Their discussion was long and spirited, but ultimately fruitful, and they finally came up with a mutually acceptable compromise. A few days later, the new sign went up over the shop. Can you guess what it read?
Before I tell you the answer, let's take a closer look at this morning's text that also teaches about being in a kind of partnership with Jesus. The word John uses is not partnership, however; the word he uses is abiding…
“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.”
We live in a time and culture where there is much suffering, much uncertainty. Anxiety, a sense of helplessness and all kinds of troubles are around every corner. We don’t know when or if the struggling will end and it's all very unsettling, discouraging, frightening. Whether examining these troubles at home or in the church, the outlook seems quite bleak.
Some churches will say that we are suffering God's judgment and punishment. Some populations say there is no God or that God has forsaken us. Others do not make any connection at all between God and what's happening in our world.
But what about this approach: cannot our understanding of these difficult times we are living in be seen as a way of God's pruning us for greater fruitfulness? I think we can, for Jesus' teaching in John 15 reaches across the centuries. Let's look at then:
During the final Passover meal that they would share, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the difficult days after Jesus has been crucified, resurrected and ascended into heaven. The eleven who remain will encounter great anxiety, sorrow, anger, betrayal, persecution, poverty, and eventually martyrdom.
The disciples are struggling to understand why and how God uses suffering to bring about greater fruitfulness. It just doesn't seem to make any sense. To help them understand how their relationships with one another, with him and with God work, Jesus uses the very familiar grapevine to explain.
Archaeological evidence from Egyptian tombs shows that grapes were being cultivated 2500 years before Christ. Grapes are the most widely grown fruit in the world. The grapevine is part of Israel's national emblem. Grapes are a big deal. But, why so much talk of grapes on the eve of Crucifixion?
The quality of the vine is only as good as the rooted stock. Individual branches are grafted onto a healthy productive stock. New plants are pruned for three to five years to “train” them before they are allowed to produce a crop. It takes a lot of feeding, watering, and pruning, pruning, pruning to yield the best grapes.
Did you know that good roots can produce fruit for as many as 100 years? That, for their size, vines are very productive, yielding as much as eighty pounds of grapes in a single season? That, disease and lack of productivity can spread from dead branches that have not been removed from the vine?
It takes an immense amount of pruning and caring to develop a fruitful vineyard. Equally so, it takes an immense amount of care and pruning to develop a faithful disciple who will yield much fruit for the Lord.
We are facing difficult days in our lives: we are anxious about our jobs, our mortgages, our expenses, our debts, our health, our wealth, and perhaps even our ability to put one foot in front of the other. Add to that, most recently, a pandemic, and it seems we are bombarded with stress and distress from every direction.
Besides our personal lives, we have been through some difficult times in this church—as is fairly common in churches—with great anxiety, sorrow, anger, betrayal, and what hardly needs mentioning, a lack of funds, low attendance and less than abundant fruitfulness. Could these difficulties and sufferings be the pruning process of the great vinedresser? Are we being pruned for greater fruitfulness? I believe that is exactly what's been happening here.
Just as Jesus was preparing his disciples that the time of suffering that they were about to experience was part of a God's bigger plan for an abundant harvest of love. We, too, can learn from Jesus, the true vine, that our suffering will lead to a greater abundance than we can even imagine.
With the hope Jesus shares in this gospel, growing, committed Christians can find strength for the troubled times by abiding in Christ, remaining true to his word, by literally putting our lives, grafting ourselves, on the vine. God is dressing us for mighty works in his name.
God is glorified when we abide in Jesus and bear fruit for him. Jesus' word makes it possible to understand spiritually what's going on in our lives and helps us to endure all things with grace.
Friends, there will always be seasons of trouble, but Jesus promises to those who abide in him that even though they suffer they will one day thrive if they continue living in him, spreading his love, teaching his word, and never, ever giving up.
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Have you figured out the name of the shop that Finkelstein and Jesus finally agreed upon? Are you ready? Don't prune the messenger now. Here goes: Lord & Taylor.
See, we can survive bad jokes on our own. For the real hard stuff of life, the only way for us as Christians and as a Church to survive the pain of pruning is by abiding in Jesus.
What does it mean to abide in Christ? Each of these activities begins at some point, but the long-term branch-to-vine practice is called abiding. Abiding in Christ means[1]:
· Believing that he is God’s Son (I John 4:15)
· Receiving him as Savior and Lord (John 1:12)
· Doing what God asks us to do (I John 3:24)
· Continuing to believe the gospel (I John 2:24)
· Relating in love to the community of believers, Christ’s body (John 15:12).
Abiding with Jesus, we will come through difficult times with a greater faith, a deepening spirituality, and a growing congregation.
Abiding in Christ, we know that God promises us times of great fruitfulness. When we put our lives on the vine, our ultimate demonstration of great faithfulness, we are met with the ultimate demonstration of God's great love: salvation through his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Apart from him, we can do nothing. Amen.
May 10, 2009/First Parish Federated Church/S Berwick, ME; Rev Donna Lee Muise, pastor
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[1] Life Application Bible Commentary: JOHN, p 308.
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