John 15 “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.
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A neighbour of mine
just a couple of houses over, has a grapevine
growing on his fence. As I went past on
Friday, I noticed he has cut it right back to almost nothing but the main
central stem. There are piles of brush on the ground, and from the look of the cutting,
one would think that vine would never produce. But by September it will be
covered with bunches of wonderful tiny purple grapes, perfect for making jam
and juice.
Years ago Norio planted
a lovely Bosc pear in the back yard. The first year, it had many pears on it.
The second year it grew long branches, and had fewer pears. I suggested Norio
trim the branches back; he thought that was unfair to the tree, it should just
be let grow in whatever way. The third year we had about three pears. Then I
went to Newfoundland. When I got home three years later, I found the bamboo
covering a third of the yard, and the pear tree obscured by all the heartily-growing
bamboo. Last summer, I hired someone to come and trim all the trees,
practically back to the nub. We will see
what happens with the pear this year.
I was reading a sermon
by Rev. Frank Schaefer, one of my favourite preachers – and Frank was talking about this ‘producing
fruit’ thing – that it really irritates him, and rubs him the wrong way the
more it comes up. I tend to agree. Everything today is measured by what is
called “success” – and clergy see it most in the church. I hate it when I go to
meetings, and someone asks me what congregation I serve, how many members, how
many kids in the Sunday School, how many study groups; it’s almost as if we are
in a competition with each other, and success is marked by ‘how many’?? Being
fruitful has turned into meaning how many people can you flog into coming to
church? Can you perform, how soon can
you deliver, how many can you get??? You must grow, you must have more than one
service, you must expand and offer more and better services and ministries than
others.
Seems to
me our job, as branches, isn’t to focus on the fruit. Our job is to stay connected
to the Vine. God will take care of the fruit. Jesus encourages us to let
God the vine dresser distribute the fruit according in whatever way God
does – that’s not our problem. Sometimes, that may mean that the fruit is a
little green. Mature fruit has its own purpose, however. By
definition, fruit holds seeds. Unless the fruit ripens, it will be
impossible for those seeds to develop into something worth planting.
As followers of Jesus, our purpose is to allow our own seeds of
faith, surrounded by the ripe fruit of God’s love, to develop into something
worth planting. How do we develop our seeds of faith?
Frank Schaefer says
“…… this morning I come to church and hear Jesus talk about bearing much
fruit. Can you blame me for being a little irritated by that?” but he then goes
on to ask what Jesus actually means by ‘bearing fruit’. What is the difference
between “work” and “fruit”. Does Jesus mean performance? producing, producing,
producing? When Jesus talks about fruit, he’s not talking about the gardener
who looks after the plant, he’s talking about the plant itself.
I can dig and manure and water my little pear tree,
and prune it back to allow newer growth. I cannot make it produce pears, and I
cannot produce the pears The tree bears its own fruit. Fruit grows naturally,
the branch does not do anything to produce the fruit; it is genetically
predetermined to bear fruit when . . . it remains connected to the tree or vine
and gets the necessary nutrients. When Jesus said: "I am the vine, you are the
branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit" he
did not say to us: you must be successful, he said: be fruitful!
According to Henry Nouwen (in a sermon on this
scripture passage) Jesus makes a distinction between doing and being. Nouwen
says: "Success comes from doing, and fruitfulness comes from being." Being in and with God, with others and with ourselves.
So Jesus does not say: do more! Jesus is saying
work on your plant – connect to the vine, let the vine support you. He is
saying: be more! Get to know God deeper, explore God, let God love you.
Experience God’s inner peace once again, and his joy. Take a break from the
world, be with God, be with yourself, get in touch with your self and your
calling, become centered in your inner spiritual life.
Don’t worry about fruit or success. If you are
connected to the vine, fruit is a given. It will grow naturally out of your
life of peace and love, of remaining centred, just as the grape grows naturally
out of the vine.
I think the book “Eat, Pray, Love” is about the
fruits of the spirit – of finding ways to be close to the vine, to “abide in”
the vine. I think the quote talks about
the search to be as close to the source as possible, so that we too can bear
fruit – and we do whatever it takes to tap into the source in order to grow.
What are the three things we do at the communion table today? We eat – the fruit
of the vine, and the fruit of the earth which also feeds the vine. We pray at
the table, to be nourished and to grow in our spirits. This is the process of
digging, fertilising, pruning – examining, focus on our inner self and how we
draw strength from the vine. The fruit of this digging and fertilising – eating
and praying - is love. Being fruitful is
not at all about bodies in church, or kids in Sunday School, - it’s about how we tap into the source of being,
and grow the fruit of the spirit – love. May it be so.
Sources:
1.
“And Now – An Uplifting Word from Our Sponsor”,
a sermon by Rev. Frank Schaefer, John 15:1-8
2.
“Much Fruit” Murray’s
Commentary on the gospel of John, Chapter Twelve
3.
Henry Nouwen in a ( tape recorded) sermon on
John 15:1-8
4.
“Eat, Pray, Love” Elizabeth Gilbert.
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