May 10, 2009

5 Easter, Year B

1 John 4:7-21

John 15:1-8

Pruning

Today’s gospel is all about pruning. I have to warn you – I am te= rrible with plants. I am an animal p= erson, I love to watch all kinds of animals and figure out what they are going to = do next. Watching plants just do= es not do it for me. You pretty much= know what they are going to do next – which is the same thing they did 10 = min. ago, 2 hours ago, 5 days ago, etc. etc.&nb= sp; In addition, I just don’t know how to take care of them. I love gardenias, but no matter wh= at I do – they die on me. Ja= net gave me some boysenberry starters – she promised me that I couldnR= 17;t kill them – so far they are still alive and growing. I’ll keep you posted.

Besides not knowing how to take care of plants, I have a hard time wanti= ng to prune them. Those branches= have life in them – leaves, a stray flower even – how can I cut it o= ff from the source of life? I ha= ve a friend who is worse than I am – she has this poinsettia that’s several years old and has never been pruned. It has this one branch with a litt= le tuft of leaves at the end that is 2 feet from the base – it looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. <= /span>

Well, my reluctance to prune was cured one day when our daughter Noelle = got a hold of the kitchen shears. She was about 8 or 9 and went outside and cut up most of the rhododendrons. They looked so pitiful. But low and behold the next spring= they were so full of blooms! Noelle helped me see the truth of today’s gospel.

Today’s gospel says we will be pruned – we’re either pruned to bear more fruit, or we’re pruned because we don’t bear any fruit. God puts a great d= eal of emphasis on the fruits of our labors.

So let’s talk about the fruit – what is it, what is its purpose? The fruit of the pla= nt provides food for us to eat, it is a source of beauty, but most importantly, fruit is the means of reproduction – producing more of the species of plant.

Biblically this means spreading the good news of Jesus. Yes, this is evangelism, but it is= not the knocking on doors or going up to people to ask if they have been saved. It is a heart issue th= at affects all of our actions. I= t is how we live our daily lives:

· By coming together to study the scriptures, worship, partake of Holy Communion and fellowship together

· By resisting temptation but also willing to repent and return to God if necessary

· By proclaiming by word and example the Good = News of God in Christ

· By seeking and serving Christ in ALL persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves.

· By striving for justice and peace among all people, and respecting the dignity of every human being.

These are from our Baptismal Covenant – because the moment we were baptized we were grafted onto the vine; on to Jesus

How do we do this? By abid= ing in Jesus. He said: “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.” The reading from 1 John said “God abides in those who confess = that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Sometimes there is an underlying fear that we are doing the right thing,= but remember today’s reading says perfect love casts out all fear. Another way to tell is to look for the fruits of the Spirit in life. Those can be found in Galatians 5:22. The Fruits of someone a= biding in Jesus are: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control.

Love is the fruit that John talked about in our New Testament reading “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone= who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love, does not know God, for God is love.” “God is love, and those who = abide in love abide in God and God abides in them. We don’t get to picky about = who we love. John further warns us w= hen he said “Those who say ‘I love God’ and hate their brothers = or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.’” This is relationships. Love is hard work because it is pu= tting others before ourselves, and in addition we have to learn how to love.

All of this discussion about love is perfect for Mother’s Day. Many recognize that a Mother’= ;s love is one of the strongest bonds we have. We learn to love through our children. And because of our example – they too learn how to love. And for those Mothers whose childr= en are older than Jonah, we know that loving them requires us to do some pruning.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> We have to prune our children̵= 7;s behavior to help them grow up. We prune them

· By not letting them run across the street without stopping and looking both ways.

· By making sure they play nice with friends or their siblings

· By keeping track of their internet and cell phone use and pruning if necessary.

· By nurturing the gifts that God has given th= em and pruning those that leads them away from the family and God.<= /p>

· By making sure they too have their own relationship with God

· But mostly by being an example of God’s love in everything we do.

Pruning through love is what strengthens the bond between mother and chi= ld no matter how old they get. I just love the sight of a huge, rough & tumble, football player looking into the camera and saying ‘Hi Mom.!’ Those watching w= ill know this man loves his mother.

I think this bond of love has been missing from the greater church. It is difficult for the world to recognize the bond of love between God and His Church. I think this is the main reason wh= y the ordination of women has happened during the past 30 years. We are bringing that bond back int= o the church. Our focus on relation= ships helps us see the relationship God has with us and we with Him. We demonstrate this bond in = our sermons, in sharing our life experiences, and in our pastoral care of one another.

The Church is struggling to be relevant to the world. What is more relevant than love? Any ministry, any program, if not = based in love is going to be pruned. For the church to grow, we must reproduce this love and proclaim by word and example the Good News of Jesus Christ.&nbs= p;

Do others around you know you are a Christian? Do they see your love? If you need help in this area, you= are in the right place. At St. St= ephen’s we really care about showing our love.&nbs= p; We put a lot of effort into our liturgies, our parish life, our ministries to reflect the love we have for God and the love we have for each other. We are an example to t= he rest of the church. They know= we are Christians, by our love, which sounds like a song…..

I did not prepare my sermon ahead of time to get a song included in the bulletin, so I thought we could sing it now – please turn to page &sh= y;54 in the yellow songbook as we sing T= hey Will Know We are Christians by our Love. Rod will accompany us as we sing a= bout our love….