Easter V

By The Rev. Martha Frances

Year B, Easter V

10 May 2009 

Text:  John 15: 1-8

Other Readings:  Acts 8: 26-40; Ps. 22: 24-30; I John 4: 7-21 

      For the past 2½ years, I've become acquainted with a new kind of gardening for me:  growing things in the ground.  Most of my adult life, I've lived in apartments where I had no responsibility for nor interest in making anything grow that didn't grow in a pot which I could just throw out if it began to turn brown & gnarly.  Only since I bought my house have I developed interest in keeping the lawn green & adding flower beds with color.  I have a gardener who does the actual work, mind you, but when the calla lilies we had grown from bulbs around my trees began blooming last week, I was thrilled.  And vines & branches make much more sense to me now that I'm watching how trailers are covering the brown spots in the lawn.  Jesus' metaphor now makes much more sense to me.

      However, for the followers of Jesus who were fishermen & shepherds, farmers & wine-makers, this final "I am" saying in John's gospel was already familiar.  Regardless, one does not need gardening skills to understand at a deep level the points Jesus makes in these last two "I am" sayings. 

      Jesus says, "I am the true vine, & my Father is the vinegrower." Later, he says, "I am the vine; you are the branches." These two metaphors are not placed in the same paragraph by accident.  First, Jesus identifies himself in relation to God & then to his disciples. Jesus did not exist in isolation & neither do we.  Jesus is the true vine, but his authenticity, his being "true," is because of his connection with the vinegrower.  Jesus' very being is possible because he has been planted & is tended by God whom he calls Father.  Jesus doesn't exist in isolation or just for himself.  Jesus the vine is the root & the foundation for the branches, his community.  Jesus gives life & connectedness to his disciples because they share the same life which originates in the vinegrower, God.  In fact, it is impossible to determine where the vine ends & the branches begin.  All are entangled in each other & interrelated, mutually dependent upon each other.  And all are dependent upon God the vinegrower.

      Pretty simple metaphor, isn't it?  Not hard for even us city folk to comprehend.  But we might say, "So what?  What a nice image.  But what does that mean in my daily life?"  Let's look at this business of bearing fruit or being pruned.  We're told that God removes the branches that don't bear fruit.  Even the branches that bear fruit have to be pruned to make them more productive.  Begins to sound painful & personal, doesn't it? 

      For years back when we lived in a condominium, our neighbor Jeannie took personal responsibility for the roses & other plants growing in the common areas.  She spent many hours out there watering & fertilizing & pruning those roses.  At pruning time, it pained me to see her cut the rose bushes back almost to the ground.  How could those little stumps ever bear fruit again?  Sure enough, usually near Easter time each spring, the shoots would sprout up, buds would appear, & we would walk out one morning to the wonder of a garden full of blossoming roses. 

      Then Jeannie moved away, & the professional gardeners who were contracted now cared for the roses in a haphazard fashion.  Never were they pruned back like Jeannie had previously cut them.  The paltry number of blossoms that finally bloomed could never equal those Jeannie had given her loving but seemingly severe care.  Finally, I have come to appreciate the importance of pruning.

      When Jesus speaks both of removing fruitless branches & of pruning fruitful ones, Jesus is speaking of his own disciples.  Jesus says the whole point of being disciples is to bear fruit.  Notice, all the disciples are part of the vine; all are invited to participate in preparing for the reign of God, not just certain leaders.  All are expected to bear fruit. 

      What, then, is this fruit we are all expected to bear?  In John's gospel, fruit-bearing begins with God loving the world so much God sent the Son so that all might believe.  Those who don't show love in the Christian community won't be able to survive within that community.  They'll actually separate themselves, most likely.  

      All of us require some pruning to show the kind of love Jesus models for us.  The word for pruning is often translated cleansing.  We all need some pruning or cleansing in order to show forth the love Jesus gives us.  We need cleansing to stay in relationship with Jesus & ultimately with God. 

      Pruning is usually painful.  Few of us like to change, to give up old habits that keep us from fully accepting the love of God & hold us back from passing that love on to others.  Pruning takes various forms for us all, but here at Hope, it sometimes means reexamining assumptions we've made about doing church the way we've always done it.  In fact, in order for our church to grow & to deepen, we must be open to new ways of thinking & behaving.  In so doing, we might encounter the vinegrower in a new way.  What pruning does God the vinegrower need to do in your life in order that you might bear much fruit? In the life of Hope Episcopal Church?  I invite you to pray this next week that God will show us what stands between us & our full ability to be fruitful.   

      In our first reading today from Acts, Luke describes an apostle discipling the Ethiopian eunuch.  Philip doesn't just happen to meet this Ethiopian eunuch because he is wandering down a wilderness road.  No, an angel directs Philip to the place he will encounter the eunuch.  God initiates their meeting.  Philip has just completed a successful evangelistic crusade in Samaria, preaching the good news of Jesus & healing many people who respond with great joy.  So it's curious that the angel rushes him away to a lonely road to nowhere & to one foreigner, & on top of that, a eunuch. 

      You see, eunuchs aren't even allowed entry into the Jewish temple, yet he has been to Jerusalem to worship.  He is at least a God-fearer, certainly an earnest inquirer, now searching the scriptures as he returns to Ethiopia in his chariot.  He's a high court official, treasurer for the Candace, which is a title like Pharoah, so he can afford a chariot & doesn't have to walk on his pilgrimage.  Philip must be bold to even approach such a bigwig. 

      The eunuch is reading aloud, as most people did in those days, so Philip asks if he understands what he is reading.  The eunuch is probably pretty relieved to see a Jew to ask about the Jewish scriptures, so he invites Philip to enlighten him.  Early Christians believed Jesus was the fulfillment of the Hebrew longing for a messiah, so naturally, Philip's good news is that Jesus has fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy as God's humble servant bearing the consequences of others' sins.  Philip illustrates our 3rd baptismal promise:  "Will you proclaim by word & example the Good News of God in Christ?"  We all respond, "I will, with God's help."  Surely God's Spirit was with Philip as he explained scripture to the eunuch.  If we're doing what God calls us to do, God truly abides with us. 

      Philip tell the eunuch the story of salvation & before long, the eunuch spots some water in this arid land & asks to be baptized.  What an affirmation to Philip that he is fulfilling Jesus' great commission to go to the ends of the earth, proclaim the good news, & baptize all people! Then Philip disappears immediately after the baptism, continuing to preach the good news all the way back to Caesarea. 

      In this story Luke emphasizes how Jesus' Gospel breaks down geographic as well as ethnic barriers in the early Christian community.  During Easter season, we remember Jesus' encounter with the disciples on the Emmaus road.  Perhaps the eunuch also tells the good news to others as he returns to the Candace's service in what is now the Sudan. 

      I haven't seen many chariots coming down 43^rd Street lately—some art cars, but not chariots—but each of us has ample opportunity to reach out to our neighbors, not only in word & speech, as John says, but in truth & action in our daily lives. The way you live your life every day speaks volumes.  Turning away from an angry person rather than reacting with bitter words is an incredibly difficult thing to do, but you're not alone, are you?  Even bowing to say grace when you eat out is a true witness to the priorities in your life as is tipping the waitstaff a healthy sum since they make little else.

      There was a bumper sticker a few years ago which I loved.  It said, "Practice random acts of kindness."  St. Francis told us to preach the Gospel wherever we went, & when necessary, use words. I'd like to challenge you today to watch this next week for opportunities to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ by your actions, whether or not the other person knows you are a Christian. Whether or not the other person is even aware of your action.  What difference might your acting like a disciple make in your own life this week?  What difference might it make in your neighbor's?

      We need the experience of regular worship, study, & fellowship in order to be emboldened to share our lives as Christians.  May we uphold each other in prayer as we build community together.

      Near the end of today's Gospel passage, Jesus tells us if we abide in Jesus & Jesus abides in us, then our prayers will accord with God's will & be answered.  This & similar passages have led some Christians to visualize God as the great Santa Claus who providing them with whatever their little hearts desire.  However, there's a very important "if" in the sentence.  "IF you abide in me," Jesus says, "and my words abide in you," THEN we can ask whatever we wish & that will be done.  "Abide" is a fascinating word.  It really means that we live in God's presence, we make our home with God so completely that whatever we ask will be God's will.  We don't just drop in for a visit when it's convenient.  We're invited in to come in the kitchen & help with the dishes.

      Finally, we're told God is glorified by our asking for whatever allows us to bear much fruit; God is glorified by our desire to dwell with God & within the Christian community.  We will bear fruit as we worship & study God's word & fellowship & play & strengthen our discipleship with other Christians.  In so doing, we can make more of an impact on the larger neighborhood.

      We Americans have felt great pride in individualism & accomplishing a lot on our own, but remember that no one can tell where the vine ends & the branches begin.  Jesus' metaphor is radically egalitarian, non-hierarchical.  We are called together to take his body & blood & then go forth, strengthened by his own gift of life, to bear fruit.  Life in community isn't always easy, & we must be accountable to each other.  But we must learn to live together & be pruned together in order to share the Gospel message with others.