Not much commentary to add to the sermon. A familiar passage I have preached several times. We had a fun Time with Young Disciples before the sermon with the kids stretching down the center aisle holding their stretched-out arms. We talked about how their arms were the vine like Jesus and they were each branches. God was the one who planted them and set Christ to be the vine. I had them stick out their heads to be the fruit on the branches. It was fun, and I think it gave a visual image to the congregation that was helpful for the sermon.
“Connected People” April 28, 2024, SAPC, Denton; John 15:1-8; Acts 8: 26-40; Richard B. Culp
”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide 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. 6Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
Introduction: In the Gospel of John, Jesus shares with us what is known as the “I am” statements.
he says things like “I am
The text we read today is Jesus’ final “I am” statement and is found in what is called his farewell discourse.
If you were going to finish your conversations with people with one final example, I suspect you would want it to be the best illustration,
the image that sums up everything else you’ve been talking about and trying to explain.
As we listen to this final “I am” and look at the image Jesus gives us, it perhaps offers an image that sums up all he had been teaching and doing among the disciples.
An image in the moment to explain things;
an image they will carry into the future;
that will help the disciples and others interpret and understand the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
an image that also will grow in its power and claim on the disciples and other in in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
the image revolves around grape vines.
Caveat — I am not an expert on vineyards or growing grapes.
In fact, I’m not much of an expert on growing things, or pruning things.
I suspect many of those who heard these words of Jesus had a lot more experience with grapes and grape growing and the design of grape vines and branches.
move 1: We begin with how the vine and the branches fit together, that is how God, Jesus, and we are connected.
a. God’s role is winegrower.
1. Jesus’ role is being the true vine.
2. Our role is being the branches on the vine.
3. We see the connections:
God connected to us as the one who calls us into being,
the one who grows us by providing for us,
the one who prunes us to make us bear more fruit.
the winegrower also provides the vine, Jesus Christ himself.
Jesus is connected to us as the one who binds us all together
the vine which grows because the vine grower has planted it
the vine which connects all the branches and gives the branches what they need to live
and thrive
and bear fruit.
We are the branches,
we owe our very existence to the love and care of the winegrower
we are pruned as we live into our discipleship
we are connected to each other by the vine.
our calling is to bear fruit that is pleasing to the winegrower.
b. How different this image is from the highly individualistic world in which we live.
1. We often speak and hear about our individual rights.
2. We demand our right to think what we want,
say what we want,
do what we want.
2. We highlight our differences from others.
3. In some ways, lift up our differences and individuality as the goal of our lives.
“I want to be who I am, and you must let me be who I am. and, by the way, I am really different than you are!”
4. In fact, in the image of the branches we get a glimpse of that as each branch is its own entity.
6. but, the focus is not on the individual branches doing their own thing,
but on how they are connected to each other through the vine and connected back to the winegrower through the vine.
7. In our world where there is much conversation about how to divide ourselves and separate ourselves from others, this image of the vine and branches defies that desire to highlight our differences and that which separates and calls us back together.
Bound to each other through Christ.
Bound to God through Christ.
move 2: the word used to help us understand how we are bound to Christ is abide.
a. The Greek word for “abide” has a whole range of meanings.
1. staying in place
enduring
holding out
2. We can see how Christ has lived out these different meanings.
3. The disciples have seen Jesus stand with them.
they will soon see how Jesus endures for them, holding out against the powers of the world, even to the point of his death on the cross.
3. the resurrection, then, is the fruit that Jesus brings forth as he abides in us.
b. Now, Jesus’ disciples are called to abide in him.
1. We are called to abide in Christ.
1. in fact, by abiding in Christ,
by enduring,
by standing together,
by holding on,
we discover the connectedness we have with each other.
2. the vine, Jesus Christ himself binds us together.
3. Apart from Christ, we are nothing but individual branches that will end up in withering,
thrown into the fire.
4. Abiding in Christ, we are connected to each other and we bear fruit.
c. If we read just one verse more in John, we hear these words: As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. (John 15:9)
1. Abiding is about loving.
2. The winegrower who created and prunes our of love
sent the vine out of love
and now we are connected through the love and called to abide in that love
With Christ
and with each other.
move 3: the lectionary passage we read from Acts gives us a concrete illustration of the importance of being connected.
a. Philip and eunuch
1. Philip finds the Ethiopian reading a scroll of Scripture - Today, Philip would find the eunuch reading the Bible on his Kindle or iPhone, googling the Internet to find and interpretation.
3. He can read the text, but he cannot understand it.
he knows it’s important, but he cannot figure out how it speaks to him.
Unless, unless he has someone to guide him.
4. someone like Philip, who can read the scripture and show how it points to the good news about jesus Christ.
4. In fact, Philip not only tells the good news, but he baptizes the eunuch.
5. To me, It feels a lot like the vine and the branches living into the life the winegrower has called them to live.
People connected to each other;
People who need each other.
People who hear and share the good news together.
People who learn from each other.
People who come together around the waters of baptism.
b. In a little bit, we will commission a Stephen minister, whose task will be to join with other Stephen Ministers as they stand with, as they endure with care receivers.
aT their commitment service Sunday night I told a story that grows out of my love for Jr. high fiction.
Now it’s called Young Adult fiction. years ago, I began collecting Jr. High sports books - library sales, garage sales,
it led to not just reading Young adult sports books, but some other Young adult fiction as well.
recently, I read “the Labors of Hercules Beal” by Gary Schmidt.
It follows the story of a Jr. higher named Hercules whose parents had died recently in a car accident. As the fall starts, he is clearly greiving, and to ad to his issues He is in a new school, with a new teacher, who is a gruff, retired Marine.
the teacher assigned all the students mythology projects that will last the whole school year.
Hercules, because of his name, was assigned the twelve labors of Hercules and charged to find real-life experiences that would mimic each of the 12 labors of Hercules.
I know about as much mythology as I do about growing grapes!
when he works on the labor of Hercules' stealing golden apples (see next paragraph),
Hercules, for one of his labours, had to steal the golden apples in Hera’s Garden. This was guarded by Atlas’ daughters. Hercules asked Atlas to steal the apples and in return, he would hold up the sky for him, for a period of time. Atlas kept his word and stole the apples. In one version of the myth a grateful Hercules built the ‘Pillars of Hercules,’ and these were used to hold up the heavens and free the Titan.
When Hercules Beal writes about this labor of Hercules, he writes that he thinks that Hercules’ real problem was that he thought he was going to have to hold up the sky all on his own.
Hercules Beal, concluded: “It is a whole lot better to be not alone.”
Conclusion: “It is a whole lot better to be not alone.”
So says the vine grower;
so the vine does
so we are called to do.
26Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) 27So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” 30So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. 33In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” 38He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
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