1 John 4: 7-21
John 15:1-8
This
reading reminds us of our dependence on Jesus, the vine, as the source of life,
but also how interconnected we are. From the biology I learnt many years ago, I
remember something about sap moving through plants, as part of the way they
live, sounds to me a bit like blood running through our bodies. Plants have
sap. Looking at the image of the vine, and the reading from the first letter of
John, I wonder if love is the sap in the vine that Jesus is talking about. I
wonder if love is the life force that keeps the church alive and growing. I
wonder if love is the life force that keeps us alive and growing.
We live in
a time when we are judged by what we produce or how much money or status we
have. We are valued for our busyness. Here we are reminded that what matters
most in life is relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In the paper yesterday there was an article
about the things that worry people the most, and 3 of the top five were future career,
achievement and the future. These are amongst the issues that worry people
enough to affect their quality of life and their health. The message of the
gospels is that relationships matter more than anything, and our most important
relationship is with God.
How do we
abide in Jesus? Abide is a word we don’t use all that often these days, it
means to dwell in, so Jesus is saying we should dwell in him, as he dwells in
us – it is an intimate relationship, and one which is in every fibre of our
being. This isn’t some God who is miles away. This is a god who wants a close relationship
with each one of us; a close, personal, profound, relationship. and Just thinking
about it is amazing, and as you can tell I am struggling to put this into
words.
So how do
we abide in Jesus? or maybe the first question is do we abide in Jesus – is the
love of Jesus what runs through our veins?
…
Thinking back
to the image of the vine for a few moments, when the sap stops flowing through
a branch, it dies, gets pruned off and burnt. And sometimes you need to prune the
plant where it is still growing to get the best out of the plant. When the love
of Jesus isn’t flowing through our lives, we become ‘dead’, even though we may
still be breathing and eating and talking, we are no longer living in Christ,
we are no longer connected to the vine that is the source of life.
So how do
we abide in Jesus? a few ways I think of are: prayer, scripture, sacraments, worshipping
together; and some people will have others, for me drawing is helpful, for some
I know gardening or bushwalking. I encourage you to find those things that keep
you in close relationship with Jesus. again I say I think for all Christians, prayer,
scripture, sacraments and worshipping together are important in being part of
the vine.
This image
of a vine also reminds us that we do not produce fruit by our own efforts, by
trying harder, fruit is a by-product of staying connected to the vine. ‘Those who abide in me and I in them bear much
fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing’.
I am surprised how often we get caught up in negative,
pessimistic talk about the church. Yes, fewer people attend worship than fifty
years ago; and prioritising budgets, at all levels of the church is difficult; and
it seems that the church has less influence in the community. But, looking at
the readings in John’s gospel, back in chapter 13, the Passover meal is eaten
and Jesus washes the disciples feet, then comes about 3 chapters of teaching – Jesus
was a long- winded after dinner speaker if this all in one go – here John has
included sections on loving one another, dwelling in the house of God, the
coming of the Holy Spirit, the vine and the branches, offering peace and Jesus praying
for the disciples. For me it is like a long ‘last words’ to prepare the
disciples for the time when Jesus isn’t around. Jesus is reminding them of the
basis of his teaching, relationship and love.
Being part of the vine means we are not
isolated individuals, nor are we isolated congregations, we are all connected
to the one true vine, Jesus. Which means we are in relationship with God
through Jesus Christ, and we are called to abide, to dwell, in Jesus. That isn’t
the end of the story, because when we abide in Jesus, when we are in relationship
with God through Jesus Christ, then we have the love of God flowing through us,
we have the Spirit as part of us, and that means we will bear fruit, we will be
part of the kingdom of God here on earth. That is what happens.
And Without Jesus we can do nothing.
Just as no matter how hard it tries, a branch
on its own cannot bear fruit, to bear fruit it needs to be connected to the
vine; so we cannot try harder to bring the kingdom into being, we can only stay
true to our relationship with Jesus.
Jesus says
: ‘abide in me as I abide in you’
Take some
time now to abide in Jesus.
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