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.
