Abiding Disciples

He is Risen (He is risen indeed!).

Are you a disciple? Now you may immediately think, what kind of question is that? But I’ll ask it again: are you a disciple? A disciple of what you may ask? Or you may ask, what is a disciple? Or, are you trying to equate me with the twelve disciples? Gee Bob, are you suggesting that maybe I am not a disciple? I realize that this question is hard. But I would like us to realize that as members of a Christian community we are called to be disciples, whether we like it or not. Jesus himself at the end of the book of Mathew calls us in the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. The real question then is not so much as “are you a disciple?” but rather, what does discipleship look like? And what does this have to do with branches and fruit?

Lets back up a bit. Why is Jesus at this point talking about vines, vineyards, fruit and abiding? We are at the point in the Gospel of John where Jesus is ready to confront his imminent death. From chapter 13 until the end of chapter 19 we have John’s version of the Passion narrative. Jesus and the disciples have been in the upper room. Jesus has washed his disciples feet demonstrating that in the Kingdom of God the greatest leader is the lowliest servant. Then Jesus predicts both his betrayal and that Peter would deny him. Jesus has also told them about one of the great benefits for following him in that is there a place for them in the Kingdom of God and that they would also have the Holy Spirit to guide them, to be with them, and to counsel them. It is at this point in the story that Jesus and his friends leave the upper room and head out to the garden of Gethsemane. It is on this journey that they probably go through a vineyard where Jesus then uses this time as a teaching moment for those who are following him. It is here that Jesus uses the metaphor of the vine and branches to illustrate what it means to be his disciples.

First, Jesus identifies three distinct persons. There is Jesus who is the true vine. There is the God the Father who is the vine grower. And then there are the branches, meaning Jesus’ disciples. Then he gives this startling statement. “He [that is God the father, the vine grower] removes every branch in me that bears no fruit”. When I read that I think that if I’m not part of the vine then I will be tossed aside. Nothing can be further from the truth. As Lutherans we already know that our salvation is assured. In our baptism we have been elected or chosen as children of God. Nothing can take that away. As Lutherans we all should know that Ephesians 2 reiterates this, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your doing, it is a gift of God”. Jesus himself states this in verse 3, “ you have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you”. Lets look at that verse again. “He removes every branch…” The word that we read as remove is translated from the Greek word “airo” which also means, “to lift up”. For those of you who are horticulturists, you know that vines and branches tend to flourish better on the trellis than they do on the ground. The vine grower lifts up those branches, that is you and I, that are on the ground. The vine grower lifts those up whose lives are in the mud, who are dirty, who are weighed down with the crud of life so that they are not of use either to themselves or to anyone else. I believe that we have all been there at some point in our lives. Maybe we have been overwhelmed the demands of our families, or of work. Maybe we have been overwhelmed with wondering where our next paycheck or meal is coming from. Maybe we have been overwhelmed with our addictions, both legal and illegal. It is hard to bear fruit when all of our ground seems like sinking sand. It is here that the vine grower takes the branch, washes off its leaves and them gently places the branch up on the trellis so that it may receive life-giving sunlight and rain. This is grace! This is renewal! This is forgiveness!

So what if I’m not in the mud, and that I’m hanging around on the trellis with the rest of the branches? Jesus says that every branch that bears fruit the vine grower prunes to bear more fruit. Pruning? Ouch, that sounds harsh. Why would the vine grower do that, especially if I’m already bearing fruit? Here might be a good place to talk about fruit, at least how I believe fruit can be explained. Although we have a vision of fruit in Galatians 5 22-23 that says that the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, I am not sure that this what is meant in the John text. I believe that fruit in this sense is how we live our lives in service to others. I have spoken before of how we are the conduits of the gift of salvation we have received already. We do not hoard this gift but pass it along. But the question here is, is the conduit plugged up? Are we hoarding or not allowing that gift to be selflessly passed along? As those who know gardening, it takes just as much energy to produce leaves as it does the actual fruit. And although the leaves look pretty they do nothing in terms of generating what the plant was originally intended for. The analogy is this then, are we just doing things for the sake of looking good or are we producing something of value for those who need to be fed? This is where the pruning part comes in. Pruning is a way to prioritize those things that are important in furthering the kingdom of Christ here on earth. What is it that you are doing that could be cut out of your life, in order to make room for something that is more life giving? Is it forgoing that extra half hour of sleep so that you can usher on Sunday mornings? Is it giving up the Wednesday night bowling so that you could mentor a 7th or 8th grade confirmand? Is it doing one day less of fishing so that the food shelf or other local ministry can be staffed? Is it possible that pruning might also help grow that fruit which is beginning to be evident but has not yet matured? Is it possible your fruit would include being the lay reader, greeter, or usher on Sunday mornings? Could it possibly be being a Sunday school teacher, or chaperone for some youth event? Or is it possible that you might have some latent musical talent that could be put to use in assisting worship? What ever it is, pruning is not discipline. Pruning is not because you are doing something wrong. Pruning is about cutting away those things, which are dead or dying in us. Pruning is allowing more sunlight to highlight the good things in your life. Pruning is about increasing the size and quantity of fruit in your life. Pruning is about producing new fruit, which may not have been evident before.

Which brings us to the third part of this passage. In the next 4 verses Jesus uses the word “abide” 8 times. What does it mean to abide? It means: “to wait for”; “to remain”; “to dwell or reside”; “to submit to”. Think about these definitions: In our abiding Jesus wants us to be connected to him. Jesus the one who died and was resurrected out of love for us wants a relationship with us. Is that amazing or what! I can’t think of anything better than to know that Jesus wants to be my friend. And He knows that we have a tough time being on our own. And yet the possibilities of going it alone in American society are widespread and inviting. Carried over into the spiritual life, this fact can have devastating results. Dependency and inter-relatedness are rarely valued to the extent that individualism is. This passage flies in the face of such attitudes with a very different type of invitation to reliance on God. Mothers think about this: when you were nursing your infant child, do you think that child could get nourishment without abiding in you? The child could not remain independent and still receive what it needed to survive. The same holds true for us spiritually. We need to be fed in order to grow into what God the vinedresser wants us to be.

But what does abiding with Jesus look like? First it is an activity that starts with God. It is God that sends us the Holy Spirit to be with us. Jesus himself in chapter 14 guarantees this. But secondly, it is also incumbent upon us to reciprocate that relationship. I do not think many of you have friends in which you are the only one communicating to that person. It really isn’t much of a friendship then is it? Our communication starts with prayer. Prayer is nothing more than our way of speaking with God, with Jesus. And it doesn’t have to be any high-falutin’ way of speaking. Yes we do have formal prayers here in the church, but how many of you speak with your friends that way? I think where we struggle is how do we really talk with Jesus? What do we say? I would suggest just telling him how your day is going. What is going on in your life? What are the concerns you have for yourself, your family and your friends? Ask him what he thinks. And it could even be just offering a word of thanks for the particular circumstance that you are in. Third, abiding means to spend time in His word daily. It may mean digging out the bible and reading scripture. Although Jesus communicates with us through the Holy Spirit (remember that small still voice, or that feeling in your gut?) he also communicates through that which is already written down. It may mean getting together with some other like-minded folks to study His word. Check out how many different groups we have that meet to study God’s word, both here on Sunday morning and during the week. I would even suggest that if one of these groups doesn’t meet your needs, start your own! I have found that my times of greatest growth and my time of being most closest to Him was when I was studying the bible and reading it daily. It was there that I found answers to some of my questions. It was there that I found a word of solace or encouragement. It was there that I found a word that convicted me that I was turning down the wrong path. [Frankly I would not be here before you if it were not so.] And this takes work. It takes discipline. [If you notice that both “disciple” and “discipline” are of the same root word which comes from the Latin disipulus meaning “pupil”. As disciples we are constantly learning, which takes discipline.] It is not easy to pray to communicate with God. It is not easy to study God’s word daily. I will be the first to testify to that. But the old adage holds true: practice makes perfect. It is a discipline that becomes easier and more rewarding the more it gets done.

I want to take just a moment to talk about verse 6: this passage is not about going to hell because you do not abide. I have already told you that your salvation is assured. What this passage means is that since the wood from the branches of the vine are so small they are of little value other than fuel for fire. In other words, what this means is that if we are not abiding, we wither and die, and become of no spiritual value. And this is the final part of abiding: if we remain in him, if we dwell or reside in him, if we submit to him, we bear much fruit. It is in the bearing of much fruit that we are then known as Jesus disciples. It is in this that the Father, the vinedresser, is glorified. Our lives should not only reflect the evidence of the fruity characteristics listed in the Galatians passage, but it is also evident when we are making quilts for those who need them, when we are delivering a meal to a shut-in, when we staff the monthly feeding in Osceola, when we are visiting our friends in the nursing homes, when we distribute clothes through the clothing share, or when we help build a house in Lynchburg VA. Our fruit is evident when our motive is to bring God glory. So I will ask the question again: are you a disciple? If not, will you abide in the vine so that you too will bring glory to God? Amen.

And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds on Christ Jesus. Amen