May
6, 2012
JOHN
15:1-8 NRSV
“I
am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinegrower.
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.
***
How
do we as a church bear fruit? The easy answer would be to abide in God, the
true vine. The harder answer is what does abiding in God look like?
In
getting to know this church I have heard of much fruit. I have heard of the
fruit you bear in the way you care for one another. I have seen this as babies
have been born, and friends have died. I saw this in a packed baby shower
filled with generations of women passing and holding sleeping little ones. I
saw this in a packed funeral with congregation members witnessing to a life in
Christ. The branch of care is strong in this church, and bears much fruit. I
have heard of the fruit of the mission programs of Open Door, and Learn and
Grow to Go. I have seen Liz give high fives to kids on their way to school and
those kids smile back. I have seen a hundred bags of food lined up and ready to
feed hungry school kids. Liz and the volunteers’ passion for those programs has
been a strong branch bearing much fruit. Another strong branch is the Woman’s
Support Group. I have heard from many women it is place where they share their
joys and sorrows. In response I have seen women visit other women and even
bring them communion. I have seen these women put together a lively play to
fill our fellowship hall with joy. The Women’s Support Group is a strong branch
in this church. There are other strong branches in the church, I cannot list
them all now, but I wonder which you think are the strongest? Which are closest
to the true vine? Which would God the vine-grower prune to bear more fruit?
I
have also gotten to hear you dream of fruit. You remember the branch of Youth
Ministry that was once strong, and bore much fruit. You continue to ask for its
strength, and I have watched the youth ministry branch be propped up again and
again in order for it not to fall off completely. There are a handful of people
tending to this branch, but if it is going to live, it will need more. I have
also heard you dream of an international mission trip. This branch is just a
sprout, but there is much interest surrounding it. The question is, does it
have enough light to grow. A twig that is budding is the Sunday Night Women’s
Bible Study, I have heard deep prayer requests shared, and also deep thanks for
the community of women it brings together. It is a good and healthy little
budding twig. Will we continue to let it grow in the light? Another new branch
is the Missional Study Group which is really trying to do what this passage
asks. It is trying to seek closeness to the vine, to Jesus Christ, and to ask
what fruit might we as a church bear? How do we need to prune?
What
I will tell you, as your pastor, is we need to prune. We have a lot of branches
in our church, some of them are strong and give us life, some of them are week
and unsustainable. Yet all of them need pruning in order to sustain the tree.
Pruning is an ugly, painful process. If you have seen tress pruned they look
empty and broken at first, but eventually they will make a beautiful tree that
bears more fruit. Regular pruning is the only way to bear fruit. What I will
tell you, as your pastor, is we need to prune. I heard recently that someone
looked at mission statements of successful business; those with less than eight
words were the most successful. Ours is seven separate sentences, which are
mostly compound sentences. It leaves me wondering if we really know who we are,
and who we want to be. Many people have come up and asked, ‘What is going to
happen to the youth program, and the mission programs, since Liz resigned.’
That is not a question for your pastor. It is a question first for God, and
second for you as a church. What is God calling us to do? What is God’s vision
for those programs? What needs to be pruned and burned, and what needs to be
pruned to bear more fruit? Do we have too many thin branches blocking the light
to the branches closest to the vine? We list supporting 33 different missions
on our website. Which missions is God asking us to prune to bear more fruit,
and to prune to be burned and renew our soil?
Our
mission statement also does not mention the Holy Spirit. It makes me wonder if
we are taking enough time to listen to God’s purpose for us as a church? Are we
seeking to abide in the vine, or are we trying to hold up an old tree? Is see a
little of both, but it is hard without pruning to tell which is which.
I
wonder if we are taking enough time to listen to God’s purpose for us as a
church? Are we seeking to abide in the vine, or are we trying to hold up an old
tree? Is see a little of both, but it is hard without pruning to tell which is
which. We have to abide in the vine. We have to seek the vision of the vine-grower.
What fruit does God imagine us to bear? What shape will we take to bear that
fruit? What needs to be pruned? What branches need to be burned so that our
soil will be renewed? The scripture tells us, if you abide in me, and my words
abide in you, ask for whatever you wish and it will be done for you. Let us ask
God, to help us see God’s vision for our church, that we might bear much fruit.
