GOSPEL OF JOHN--"I AM THE VINE, YOU ARE THER BRANCHES"

If someone was to ask you, who are you, how would you reply?

 

Pardon me, but would you  please tell me  who are you?

 

Now if that person was to ask you not only your name, but to ask you to tell one other fact about your identity, how would you reply?

 

So, you have revealed some initial info on your identity, and if you were willing, you  could tell us  all about you.  We could talk about our identities as family mbrs, as workers and/or professionals,  as sports fans,  as voters, and  etc.  But that, would only be a part of your identity.  That part will only last 70 to 90 plus years or so.

 

Now there is another part of your identity , which you may have  left out, which was described in our Gospel reading.  If you call yourself a Christian, then your true and eternal identity is that you are a branch of the vine--- the vine being Jesus Christ. And actually, every single person, whether they are Christian or not, is also a branch of that very same vine—though they may not recognize that truth.

 

You see, God made all people not to be separated from Him, but to be a  part of Him.  Being connected to the vine is crucial for both a full and abundant life now, and in the age to come.

 

[Today we conclude our sermon series on the Gospels by dipping into the Gospel of St. John.  John was Jesus’ closest  personal friend. He stood by Him at the cross, when the other disciples fled. Out of that experience of friendship, John has written the  most magnificent of the Gospels.  There are so many rich avenues that we could explore, but today we look at the relationship between God & humanity from God’s eyes]

 

If you would be look at your sermon insert, Jesus is saying that some branches, like some people, bear a lot of fruit in their lives—like the top branch on the graph.  Fruitful branches on a grape vine bear healthy fruit, because the branches are connected to the vine.  Likewise, we bear healthy fruit in our lives when we make all effort to stay connected to Jesus, the vine.  His life giving sap , the Holy Spirit, flows through us producing the fruit of the spirit, described in our first reading today: forgiveness, reconciliation, acceptance, warmth, joy & the like.

Now some of us are naturally kind and accepting...but God’s goal for us is that through nurturing our connection with Him, that we would grow in all of the fruit of the spirit. Indeed, as I have grown in my relationship with God, so I have been better able to forgive people, and to defer to others as an act of love; and I am sure that many of you can see this in your lives, too, because many of you are strongly connected to the Vine of Jesus Christ.  PAUSE

 

However, what happens if a person does not nurture  an active spiritual life?

·      Then that branch, over the course of time, will bear less and less fruit.

·      Likewise, with people who are only tangentially connected with God, or who , indeed, cut themselves off from God and His people—something dies within.

·       In order for our emotional hearts to fully function, we must nurture and cultivate our spiritual lives; otherwise, something dies with in, wounding that heart...or maybe even killing it. 

·       How many people do you know are relationally impaired in their families, homes, or place of employment?  Perhaps the reason is that they have cut themselves off from the vine?

 

Now, how does this apply to us?

1.   One, obviously , is that Jesus wants us to understand the vital importance of being connected to Him and with each other.  Coming to worship is great; but relationships need to be developed at Coffee hour or in Small groups, or in other settings. 

2.   Next,  I realize that it is summer, and many folks of our congregation travel; but at least some of us know of church friends who have drifted away, and we have not seen them recently.

·      Studies confirm that if a person drifts away from church friends and friends, then those friends need to reach out to him or her—to let them know that they are missed and that they are wanted.

·      This is not something that the newsletter or even the rector can do; but think of it: you can be the instrument of someone reconnecting with the Vine of Jesus  Christ. Just give him or her a phone call and reach out.

3.   Thirdly, of course, we can decide to be a new friend for someone new who walks through our front door.  Again, statistics show that most visitors, looking for a new church, like ours, are primarily interested in making new friendships.  Likewise, if a newcomer does not make one new friendship within the first 2 months at a new church, they will most likely drift away.

 

What I am describing, I believe, is way that Jesus wants us to be the Church.

·      It’s not about the money.

·       It’s not even about the attendance.

·       It’s not about the music, or the pastor, or any of the programs.

·      It is about one Christian connecting and/or reconnecting  with Jesus, the vine. In turn, that person helps someone else,  broken away from the vine, to connect or reconnect with the life giving Vine, who is Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

[So, the  Gospels—Matthew , Mark, Luke and John, are the treasure trove of the Good News.  Our the past 4 weeks, we have reflected upon  4 gems of spirituality:

1.   From Matthew, we learned about the incredible Kingdom of heaven, which is both in heaven, with its roots here on earth.

2.   From Mark, we heard that we are called to be disciples of Christ, to grow in our relationship with Him, that we might make new disciples.

3.   From Luke, we heard how we are to be assistant shepherds, who help the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, to seek out the lost.

4.   And today from God, we have seen how all people are meant to be in relationship with Jesus—who is the vine, giving us His own life and spirit that we might bear good fruit in our homes, church, & in our communities.

 

 The Gospels tell us not only  about the life of Jesus, but they also tell us about  all of us, His followers.  

·      They tell us about who we are, and whom we are becoming;

·      Which through Jesus Christ, is better and better and then the  best.

·      Thanks be to God.]

The Gospel of Luke: Seeking the Lost

Today we continue our sermon series by looking at the heart of the Gospel of Luke.  The major theme of Luke’s Gospel, is, please repeat after me, Jesus using us// to seek out and to find the lost,// and to bring them into the Christian family. // This  following story, which occurs in Ireland during the early 19^th century, explains how this is done.

John Nelson Darby, an esteemed servant of Christ, having once been asked to see a poor boy who was dying in a remote &  wild district in Ireland, narrated the following account of his visit. He wrote:

After upwards of an hour's toilsome walking; on entering the miserable hovel, I looked around me, and at first found no sign of any inhabitant. Finally, I discovered a heap of straw upon which lay the very sick lad. I approached, and saw a young man  of 17 or 18 years of age, evidently in a state of extreme suffering and exhaustion; apparently  in the last stage of tuberculosis. I told him, as quietly as possible, who I was; and asked him if I could pray for him? He answered nothing; he appeared totally unconscious of my meaning. On pressing him further, and speaking to him kindly and affectionately, he looked up, and I ascertained from the few words he uttered that he had never been taught to read. The Holy Scriptures were a sealed book to him, and he was, consequently, altogether ignorant of the comfort, hope, & salvation offered by Jesus Christ. His mind on the subject was truly an utter blank.

I was struck with dismay, and almost with despair. Here was a fellow creature, the hand of death close upon him; not a moment was to be lost, and what was I to do? What way was I to take to begin to show  him, as it were, at the eleventh hour, that God personally loves Him, and will take care of him?

I had scarcely ever before felt such a sinking within me. I could do nothing; that I knew full well, but on the other hand, God could do all; I therefore raised up my heart and besought my Heavenly Father  to direct me.  I looked down upon him with an eye of pity and said, 'My poor boy, you are very ill; I fear you suffer a great deal.

"Yes, I have a bad cold; the cough takes away my breath and hurts me greatly.'

'How did you come by this cough?”  I asked.

 Ah,' he answered, 'and so I was until that terrible night; it was about this time of year, when one of the sheep went astray. My father keeps a few sheep upon the mountains, and this is the way we live. When he counted them that night, there was one missing, and he sent me to look for it. There was snow upon the ground, and the wind pierced me through; but I did not mind it much, as I was so anxious to find father's sheep.'

'And did you find it?' I asked, with increased interest. 'Oh, yes; I had a long weary way to go, but I never stopped until I found it.  The sheep it was dead beat and tired, so I laid it on my shoulders, and carried it home that way.' 'Father and mother, and the people around that heard of our loss, all came in next morning to ask about the sheep, for the neighbors are mighty kind to each other. Sorry they were, too, to hear that I was kept out the whole dark night; it was morning before I got home, and the end of it was, I caught this cold. Mother says I will never be better now; God knows best. Anyways, I did my best to save the sheep.'

'Wonderful!' I thought: 'here is the whole Gospel history. The sheep is lost, the father sends his son to seek for and recover it. The son goes willingly, suffers all without complaining, and in the end sacrifices his life to find the sheep, and when recovered, he carries it home on his shoulders to the flock, and rejoices with his friends and neighbors over the sheep that was lost, but is found again.' My prayer was answered, my way was made plain, and by the grace of God I availed myself of this happy opening. I explained to this poor dying boy the plan of salvation, making use of his own simple and affecting story. I read to him the few verses in the from Luke's Gospel, where the care of the shepherd for the strayed sheep is so beautifully expressed. At once tne lad understood, and followed me with deep interest while I explained to him the full meaning of the parable.

The Lord mercifully opened not only his understanding, but his heart also. He himself was the lost sheep, Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd, Who was sent by the Father to seek for Him. He understood that through me, Jesus had come to  search for him and other lost ones like himself. The boy prayed with me to receive Jesus into his heart. He understood it all.

If you call yourself a Christian, then you are in the lost sheep business. Most of us were brought to the fellowship of the Good Shepherd  by parents, or friends, or whoever.  We heard and received the Good News of God’s love, which is why we are here today.  However, it is not enough to hear and receive the love of God.  We must be willing to share it.  Notice how the man in the story did it: First he asked God for help in reaching out to this young man. Next, he befriended him by listening to his story.  Through listening to his story, he then found and opening so that he could share God’s love in a way that the dying man could best understand it.

Our job, is to listen to the stories of our family and friends, with an ear for discerning openings where we can share the Good News for God’s love.  Most people in our day and time, who are not part of the Christian family, are like the dying man: the bible is a closed book to them; their minds are totally blank on the subject.  But by our words and actions of love, the Word of God reaches out to touch the lives of those who are lost,  that they might learn of  the wonder of Jesus Christ.

 

So, this is fairly easy to do—if we have a heart for those who are lost----for those who do not know the love of God in Christ Jesus.  How much do you care that lost people in your family, in your neighborhood, and community are missing out on the most important thing in life?  Do we care or not?

·       Sometimes, I must admit that I have not cared. Sometimes I would rather think about the problems and issues in my own life, and family.

·        Then I will meet someone like Ted. Ted was one of the homeless people who attended Chapel on the Green last Sunday.  He is destitute, but he knows that Jesus loves him.  Ted made me think that in many ways, he is far richer than the 50 % of our neighbors, who maybe far wealthier than Ted in their finances, but not in their hearts—because for them, Jesus is Missing in Action. He is not known by them.

 

So, what can you do to help? I can tell you what some parishioners are doing:

1.    Some parishioners are spies of love, looking for openings to connect God’s love with the lost  in simple ways—emails, FB, conversations, etc.

2.    Some parishioners are inviters—inviting people to come to church, or to one of our fellowship activities, or to a small group.

3.    Others of us pray for the lost, knowing that God cares more about them than we do, and that God will show us how to reach out in God’s love.

4.    Others of us volunteer, as 19 parishioners did last Sunday at Chapel on the Green, and  as 30 or so did in hosting the shelter dinner on Monday.

5.    Others of us will invite a friend to attend a small group this fall.

6.    Still others of us will choose to volunteer in our Sunday School or Youth Group, because our youth need the experience of Christ’s love  more now than ever.

 

When I ask people about their experience is sharing God’s love in these and in other ways, most people say the same thing that several folks said last week. :  Quote, “IT WAS FUN” unquote.

·       Not the kind of fun that comes from riding a roller coaster.

·       No, this is the type of fun that comes when you realize that through you, Jesus has touched someone’s heart.

·       You can’t buy that type of fun, at any cost.

·       So, come and have fun with God. Reach out to the lost---and expect God’s joy to fill your heart, and theirs.  Amen.