Scripture: John 15:1-8
Preached 05/03/3015
She made a list the other day. She wrote it in
bright Crayola, partially because that was what was close at hand, and
partially because that was what fit the list she was writing. In case you can’t
read it up there, here’s what Emily’s list consists of[1]:
1.
Kiss
Trent (that’s her husband)
2.
Tickle
and snuggle my kids
3.
Laugh
4.
Put
on some music and dance
5.
Paint
with bright colors
6.
Eat
something yummy
7.
Tell
trent and the kids how much I love them
8.
Go
for a walk or run
9.
Do
something I don’t want to do for someone else
10.
Pray
Emily called it her “to-do” list, but as you
can see it’s not the normal kind of “to-do” list, filled with chores, errands,
and other obligations. I actually think that Emily was wrong in what she named
it, because rather than this list being about doing, it’s about, well, being.
In our scripture reading this morning, Jesus
gives us a command. Our Spark Story Bible
translation says that it’s important to “stay connected to Jesus,” which is
a great kid-friendly translation of this command. However, I think for a bit
deeper exploration the NRSV translation is helpful. Jesus says “I am the true
vine, and my Father is the vinegrower…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. 5I 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.”
Much like our scripture passage last week of
Jesus the Good Shepherd, this is another much beloved and often immortalized in
stained glass kind of image. And also much like last week, it’s very easy to
get stuck in sentimentality- the vine, the branches, and the Holy Vinegrower-
and completely miss the point of this scripture passage.
Remember how I said Jesus gives us a command in
this passage? Did you catch it? Really, did anyone catch the one thing that
Jesus used an imperative and told us to actually do? To be fair, this is kind
of a trick question. Our first instinct is often to say “bear fruit,” which is
lovely, but not what Jesus tells us to do. The only actual command is this
“abide”- or, in other words, be.
That’s all Jesus tells us to do. Abide. Be.
Live in him as he lives in us. If only it were that easy, right? But we have so
many places to go, so many things to do, people to meet, chores to complete,
obligations to fulfill… you get the picture. And you know, too, how quickly a
day can become full to overflowing with things to do.
I’ll tell you a little secret that’s not very
secret. I am awful at taking days off. I wake up and have this day ahead of me,
a time when I can just be, and not worry about having to do anything other than
remember to eat occasionally, and you know what I do with that day? I fill it
with all kinds of stuff. I have to do the laundry. Wash the dishes. Clean the
floors, write that letter, send those bills, go grocery shopping make dinner,
exercise, re-organize, and more and more and more. And I spend the day
frantically trying to cross stuff off that list that never gets smaller, and by
the end of the day I’m exhausted and stressed out and thinking that what I
really need is a day off.
We all have this tendency to fill the time that
we have. We resist being still or idle because in our culture that’s often
viewed as laziness and we certainly don’t want that label stuck to us. But all
our activity comes at a cost. When we are so busy doing, we have no time left
for the thing Jesus tells us is so important. Being. Right now you just might
be wondering what exactly being looks like, other than perhaps sitting very
still or taking a nap. Well…
1.
Kiss
your significant other
2.
Tickle
and snuggle my kids
3.
Laugh
4.
Put
on some music and dance
5.
Paint
with bright colors
6.
Eat
something yummy
7.
Tell
your family how much I love them
8.
Go
for a walk or run
9.
Do
something I don’t want to do for someone else
10.
Pray
And to be fair, these things may not be “being”
for you. But you know what is? Those things which, while you do them and after
you do them, leave you feeling relaxed, happy, whole, and connected. Those
things that you don’t have to do, but enjoy. Those things you do that help you
get a glimpse of God in yourself or someone else. These are the things that
Jesus tells us are so vitally important. These are the things that connect us
to our source in him, and in God.
Too often, being comes last. We only allow
ourselves to be after we’re done doing everything else that keeps us so
busy. But that isn’t the message that Jesus gives us this morning at all.
Remember that bearing fruit isn’t a command. There is absolutely nothing we can
do to force God’s good fruit to be
borne in or through us. That ability comes only through their connection to, or
their abiding in, the vine, and from the tender care of the skilled gardener.
We aren’t to do so we can be. We are to be so that God can do in
us, and bring forth that good fruit through our being.
I don’t want you to get distracted by that
fruit. What our scripture highlights for us is simple abiding, being, living in
Jesus as he lives in us. So I have for all of you little reminders for your
daily life, simple pieces of paper you can take and tape up some place you’ll
see them to remind you of just that- to let go of your desire to always do, and
abide in Jesus, as he abides in you. It is enough, it is necessary, and it can
even be transformational and good-fruit producing. It is most definitely holy.
So go and be. Amen.
