‘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. As the Father has loved
me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you
will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide
in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and
that your joy may be complete.
‘This is my
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater
love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if
you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the
servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends,
because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear
fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask
him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one
another. John 15:1-17
The passage
above is from a section of Jesus’ farewell speech to his disciples. This section is omitted from this year’s
readings, though we’ll be reading these words roughly a year from now, in next
year’s cycle of readings.
As
we read, we see two words used over and over again: “abide” and “love”. “Abide” is a word that has fallen somewhat
out of use – and perhaps that in itself is a commentary on our always-on-the-move
society. “Abide” has several definitions,
among them: “ to continue in one
place, to remain stable in a given
situation, to wait for, to bear
patiently; to endure without yielding.”
Perhaps the first few definitions – “to continue in one place, to remain
stable in a given situation” comes close to what Jesus intended in asking his
disciples to abide in his love. An
older definition of “abide” is “to live”.
An abode – a home – is the place where one abides; one abides in one’s
abode. And I think that this latter
definition – “to live in, to make one’s home in” comes closest to what Jesus
intended when he told his disciples “Abide in me as I abide in you.” So Jesus has offered to make his home with
us, and we are invited to make our home with him, to continue in his love, to
remain stable in his love.
The
word “abide” is connected to the idea of “bearing fruit”. “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. 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…. I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last….” And so, if our connection with Jesus is strong, our lives – and our
life together as a congregation - will show it.
It’s not something we have to struggle for; if we are abiding in Jesus, these
fruits will come naturally, as apples grow on an apple tree. These fruits may show themselves in changes
in our character for the better: St Paul
speaks of the fruits of the Holy Spirit as being “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23). The fruit
of abiding in Jesus may also be evident in care for our neighbor, for as James
wrote, “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or
shadow due to change,” (James 1:17) and, later, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the
Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep
oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:27). I John 3:17 also asks us, by way of a
negative example, “How does God’s love
abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need
and yet refuses help?” (1 John 3:17) Clearly,
the fruits of which Jesus speaks are not just for our own benefit, but for others, both within and
outside the community of faith, just as an apple is not for the benefit of the
tree that grew it, but for those who eat it. These
fruits of abiding in Jesus vary from believer to believer – but if we abide in
Jesus, they will be evident. And if our connection with Jesus has grown distant and weak, that will
become evident as well, to ourselves and to those around us. Jesus warns that, if our connection to Jesus
weakens so much that we fail to bear fruit, we will be removed from the vine. In our day, churches are closing in large
numbers. While churches close for any
number of reasons, good and bad, the coroner’s report for many closed churches
might read, “He removes every branch in
me that bears no fruit.”
And
then there’s that word “love”. ‘This is my
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12). For Christians,
love is a commandment, not a suggestion, not something we do for extra
credit. Indeed, for Christians, love is
a way of life. The love of which Jesus
speaks is not a matter of sentiment, but of will: we are to consider the welfare of others as
inseparable from our own welfare, and work for their good just as we would work
for our own. It may be a blessing that
Jesus did not say, “This is my commandment, that you like one another.” While liking everybody at all times is
clearly impossible, it is possible to demonstrate love for others – to wish
them well and to act on that wish - regardless of whether or not we like them
at any given moment. Even if we don’t
especially like someone, we can still work for their benefit.
Abide
– bear fruit - love. These were Jesus’
words for his disciples, and these are Jesus’ words for us.
See
you in church –
Pastor
Dave
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