5th Sunday of Easter: May 6, 2012

PREACHER: Pastor Carrie B. Smith

John 15:1-8

Jesus the True Vine

‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide 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. 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. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples"

Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 

“Where are you from?” It seems like such a simple question, and yet it has always been a difficult one for me to answer. New acquaintances must think I’m being evasive or secretive as I struggle to find the right words. I remember one such conversation, shortly after I moved to Chicago, going something like this:

“Where are you from?”

“Well, it’s kind of hard to say.”

“Well, where did you move here from?”

“Texas.”

“Where do your parents live?”

“On the other side of Texas.”

“So you’re from Texas!”

“No…not at all, really.”

“Where were you born?”

“I was born in Iowa, but moved to Nebraska when I was about 10.”

“Did you graduate high school in Nebraska?”

“No, I went to high school in Oklahoma.”

“Didn’t you say your husband is from Oklahoma too?”

“Yes.”

“Ah ha!  So you must be an Okie!”

“Um, no…actually my husband and I met in Germany.”

At this point, my potential new friend usually changes the subject—or, if I’m lucky, sits down for a glass of wine to hear the whole story.

Where are you from? What I have learned from moving so often is that home isn’t really a place at all. Home is wherever you find comfort and safety. Home is where you are fed and are able to grow. Home is life-giving. But in my experience, those things have more to do with people than with place. Bloom where you are planted, someone once said. I would add: bloom with whom you are planted.

Today’s Gospel text from the 15^th chapter of John encourages us to make our home—and to bloom—with Jesus. “Abide in me, as I abide in you” Jesus says. If we abide in Jesus, staying close to him, then we will not only bloom but will bear much fruit. Home, sweet home.

And this is a lovely thought, except that some of these verses sound a bit like a threat. “Abide in me, or else!” Jesus seems to say. All that stuff about pruning and being thrown into the fire is disturbing. “Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”  Ouch! When you put it that way, abiding on the vine sounds more like a safety measure than living in a “home, sweet home.”

Jesus clearly wants us to make our home in him, as the branch abides in the vine. But here is where I not only get stuck on the image of God’s great bonfire, but I also can’t stop thinking about those wayward branches. The way Jesus describes horticulture, one would think that branches are leaping from one tree to another, choosing to be a magnolia one day and an elm the next. It is well-known that I have a black thumb instead of a green one, but even I know this isn’t how it works.

To the best of my knowledge, branches do indeed “bloom where they are planted.” Branches can’t just choose to take up residence on another vine! They sprout and grow from their original source—and this is not so much a choice as a fact. Telling a bunch of branches to “abide in me” makes as much sense as telling a bunch of Lutherans to sit still and stop clapping during the hymns.

 Therefore, instead of hearing these verses as an imperative to “abide in me or else”, consider that Jesus may be making a point about our absolute dependence on God and on each other. 

“Abide 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.” In American culture, it’s not at all popular to talk about dependence on anyone or anything. We’d like to think we are, above all else, free agents: pioneers, cowboys, mavericks, always pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We proudly declare our independence, along with liberty and justice for all.

And yet, hear again the words of Jesus, who says: “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus wants us to make a declaration of dependence—on God, the source of all life, and on the Word, which nourishes and sustains us. We are invited to make ourselves at home—and even unpack the last few boxes—and recognize that apart from God, we would be lost. And the blessing is that those who abide in him, Jesus says, will bear much fruit. 

Last week I experienced a perfect example of what it looks like for a community to bear fruit. It happened a week ago Thursday, when I received a phone call from Buck Pearson’s neighbor. This neighbor hadn’t seen Buck for awhile, and though he had no contact information for his family, he remembered that Buck attended Bethany, and thought to call the church.

I happened to answer the phone that day, and instantly my stomach dropped. Buck is 96 years old. His neighbor reported there were two newspapers in front of his garage. There was no answer on Buck’s home phone or cell phone. When I arrived at his home, waiting for the police and fire department to arrive, I fervently prayed for a better outcome than I feared.

The fire department soon broke down the door, and I was given a face mask to wear as we entered. I was told to wait at the bottom of the stairs while the team investigated. And I will never forget the look on the officer’s face as he poked his head around the corner and yelled to me, “He’s taking a bath! And he’s talking to us!”

Thanks be to God! Buck Pearson is a very strong man. He had been in a bathtub of icy water for two days—much to the chagrin of his cat Tigger, who had been visiting him periodically to demand dinner. But Buck was alive.

At the hospital, Buck surprised me again by asking, “Where’s your husband?” Knowing his body temperature was under 90 degrees, I wasn’t sure Buck even knew who he was talking to, so I answered simply, “He’s at home.” Buried under a pile of heated blankets, Buck’s quick answer was, “Wasn’t he just in Jerusalem?” 

Buck not only knew who I was and where he was, but he knew where my husband was, which is no small feat! 

Abide in me, as I abide in you. Those who abide in me will bear much fruit. 

Buck gave me permission to share his story today because I told him I would be preaching on what it means to depend on God and on one another—and to bear much fruit (although he might not like to think that he is the fruit in this story!) 

Buck is a strong and independent man. But Buck wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for his connections with his neighbors and his church community. He wouldn’t be here if his community didn’t bear fruit.

Buck’s neighbors bore the fruit of love when they reached out to check on his welfare. I have no idea if they are Christians, but their actions are witness to the fact that the Word of God abides in them: “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “Love one another as I have loved you” come to mind. 

And this community bore fruit in their responses after hearing the news. Buck’s neighbors knew Buck was connected to this branch—the Bethany branch on the vine of the church of Jesus Christ. And they knew that if they called the church, we would take action. We would bear fruit. We would pray, we would visit, and we would lovingly tend to his needs. And that is what happened: prayers, visitors, and lovingly knitted prayer shawls flooded in to the hospital.

Buck Pearson, 96 years old, is now facing a move. After rehabilitation, it’s likely he will be living in a new place with a little more day to day help. But the Good News is that Buck will always be at home. He will always abide in Jesus Christ, as Christ abides in him. Even when things change—when we move, when our homes are taken from us, when our loved ones are gone, or when the entire landscape looks different—we remain on the vine. We are the branches, Jesus is the vine, and God is the good gardener who planted the garden in the first place. Home, sweet home.

20^th Century saint and activist Dorothy Day once wrote, “We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.”  Today, I join Buck in giving thanks to God for good neighbors, and for the Bethany community, who abide in the Word and bear the fruit of love. Amen.