Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B

The Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B

Acts 9:26-31

I John :18-24;

John 15:1-8

A four engine was halfway to its destination when the pilot's voice comes across the loudspeaker (which are never all that loud), "Those of you on the left side of the plane have probably noticed that one of our engines has failed. Please, don’t be alarmed. We can still fly on three engines, but we will probably arrive about 30 minutes late." A few minutes later the pilot's calm voice was heard again: "Those of you on the right side of the plane are probably aware that a second engine has failed. Please don’t be alarmed. We can make it on two engines, though we will probably be at least an hour late now."  A few minutes later the pilot spoke to the passengers: "It has just come to my attention that a third engine has failed. Please don’t be alarmed. We can make it to the airport on one engine. However, we will arrive approximately 1 ½ hours late."  One passenger turned to another and said, "Boy, I hope that fourth engine doesn't fail, or we could be up here all night!"

When traveling on a plane, we are completely dependent on the mechanics who service the plane’s engines and on the expertise of the pilot. I have to rely totally on a machine that is way too heavy to be flying through the air and will come down if there is a mechanical or electronic failure. When we go out to eat we trust that the chef is providing good fresh food.  When we switch on an electrical appliance, we depend on the manufacturer’s skill to make something that won’t blow up in our faces.  When you think about it, we are dependent on so many people. We trust them to do their job so that we can live safe and happy lives.

Mike, a helicopter pilot was home on leave from the navy and over dinner was telling his father all about the choppers he flew often in very dangerous conditions far out at sea. He concluded by saying that his life and that of the crew depended on one bolt – the bolt that held the huge whirling rotor in place. The mechanics had named this the ‘jesus’ bolt. You can see why. Without the ‘jesus’ bolt they would be doomed. Their safe return home depended entirely on this one bolt.

That is a modern parable of what Jesus is telling us in the reading from John’s Gospel today when he says, "I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me" (John 15:5). You don’t have to know too much about gardening and plants to realize that a tree, shrub or any plant as far as that goes, depends on the trunk and the root system for it to be happy and healthy. To use the imagery of the ‘jesus’ bolt, you might say the trunk of the vine is the ‘jesus’ trunk because without it the vine is dead.

A man once planted cucumbers in his backyard. He had made sure that the ground was well prepared. He bought the best cucumber seedlings and set to work with the skill of a man who had planted cucumbers for many seasons. To his delight, soon he had cucumber vines all across his back yard. The plants were green and healthy. One day, he noticed that some of the leaves didn’t look as green as the others.

Not many days later, some of the leaves were as good as dead. He followed the vines with the dead leaves until he got back to the main plant. There, at the base of the main stem, he noticed that some kind had almost eaten through the stem. The cucumber plant was dependent on the main stem for water and nourishment. Life giving juices flow from the main stem to the branches and enables high-quality delicious fruit to appear. It's not possible to produce fruit without being connected to it stem. Even though the man had cultivated the ground carefully and watered daily, the cucumber vines were unable to receive that goodness and so withered and died.

The opening sentence of the second reading today states the theme that  unites today's readings: 'Little children, let us love in deed and truth and not merely talk about it' (1 Jn 3:18). The first reading from Acts shows how difficult it is to practise love in human communities, the Gospel shows how clear-cut the choice for love must be. These are no nonsense readings which do not minimize the difficulties or the demands involved in living in love.

In the first reading from Acts, Saul is in tension with believers and non-believers. First Saul tries to join the company of the disciples in Jerusalem. He has experienced conversion, but the apostles are suspicious of this former persecutor of the church. Barnabas intercedes on his behalf, and Saul is recognised by the believers in Jerusalem. Next, Saul reaches out to the Greek-speaking Jews in Jerusalem. They utterly reject his message and even try to kill him. Saul escapes to Tarsus and there takes up his work with the Gentile church. Things turn out well for him in the end, but this episode makes it clear that conversion does not insure an end to all difficulties. The decision to live and love in truth and deed has its price. The note that the church 'was being built up and was making steady progress in the fear of the Lord; at the same time it enjoyed the increased consolation of the Holy Spirit' makes this same point. The decision to work at faith and not merely talk about it requires effort and practice. Love is not static, it grows.

Today's second reading is a consoling message that makes simple the requirements of faith: we must believe in the name of God's Son, Jesus Christ, and we must love one another as God commanded. In a sense, this reading bridges the passages from Acts and John. Acts shows the cost of loving one another. The Gospel shows what it means to believe in the name of God's Son, Jesus Christ. The first letter of John explains how we can remain in Christ, 'from the Spirit that he gave us'. As God is greater than our hearts, so too might we hope that God is greater than our fears that we will have neither the courage to practice love nor the sense to know what it means to remain in Christ. The letter of John assures us that the Spirit is a gift already given.

The Gospel is at first glance a beautiful image of unity with Christ:  'I am the vine, and you are the branches'. The point of the passage is Jesus' open invitation, 'Abide in me as I abide in you'. Whereas the closed suspicion and rejection of the Jerusalem community were troublesome to Saul after his conversion, the openness of Jesus presents its own problems to those who stand on the edge of wholehearted conversion. Jesus says quite simply, make a choice to bear abundant fruit or make a choice to do nothing. We either live as part of the true vine or we do not. The message of this passage puts before us the sombre choice that we are either fruitful branches, by which John means we live in love, or we are branches cut off from the living vine. Little is concealed by the choice required by the Gospel. The truth is that our deeds are love or they are not.

The readings of the fifth Sunday of Easter also call for conversion. We are called to be doers of the word. Gifts given are to be shared, and we are cautioned about the cost of rejection by other believers and non-believers and about the necessity of letting God prune away those growths that sap our energies to grow in love and to bear abundant fruit in the Risen Christ. Such is God's invitation, 'Live in me and let me live in you'.

In a similar way, as Christians, we need our true vine, Jesus Christ. When Jesus says, "I am the vine, and you are the branches" he is talking about the very special relationship that exists between him and us. We are dependent on him for everything we need in our daily life - from food, health, family and good friends to love, forgiveness, hope, comfort and eternal life.

Apart from him we would be like the cucumber vine with its wilting leaves. Without being joined to the main stem and roots we would die. As Jesus said, "If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you can’t do anything without me" (John 15:5 CEV).

We were joined to Jesus at our baptism. You might say that when the water of baptism was poured over us we were grafted into the vine, Jesus. We were intimately connected to him, his death and resurrection, and received from him all that we need to sustain our lives. We are connected to him when we come here to worship, and when we hear his Word. It doesn’t matter how much we think we know about the Bible or how many times we have read it, we need the life-giving nourishment that God’s Word offers. As we read and study it, God’s Word offers us strength in the face of new situations.

We are joined to Jesus when we receive his body and blood in Holy Communion. We are refreshed and freed from the guilt of our sin. Our faith is strengthened as we are nourished through God’s Word and Sacrament. The Holy Spirit works through these and enables our life in Christ to grow, to be made stronger, and to keep us close to God when the chips are down.  If we don’t eat and drink every day we become sick and maybe even die. Likewise as branches of the true vine, Jesus, we are kept healthy and alive because we are connected to the source of life. The translators of the New Testament have used various words to describe this connection. Whether we talk of ‘abiding’, ‘remaining’, or ‘being joined’, one thing is clear being connected to Christ is crucial. It is the only way to a complete life. When we plant a cucumber patch we expect to have a crop of cucumbers. From the grape vine we expect a crop of juicy grapes. And so it is with us. Jesus is the vine, we are branches and from the branches Jesus says he expects to find a lot of fruit. To be joined to Christ, to be a branch that is grafted into the vine Jesus means to "bear fruit". The kind of fruit that should be evident in our lives is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control (Galatians 5:22,23). The fruit we bear shows itself in very practical ways.

If you are joined to Christ you cannot look the other way when someone is in need.  If you are joined to Christ you don’t cross the street to avoid the person with whom you have had a disagreement. As a branch attached to Christ we don’t hold back our forgiveness, we try to be understanding and helpful, we want to be encouraging instead of being negative and critical.

Being connected to Jesus means that you will seek reconciliation instead of adding fuel to disharmony. It means showing love and patience to those whom you think don’t deserve it. In other words, being joined to Jesus has practical implications for the way we live our every day lives. This nice picture of the vine, branches and fruit is not some theoretical thing. It isn’t a matter of having a nice warm feeling about being closely connected to Jesus. It isn’t something we nod our heads in agreement here in this church and then forget about it until next time. Bearing fruit isn’t an optional extra.

To have a good crop of grapes it is necessary for the vines to be pruned. Pruning is essential for a good harvest. It isn’t too long before the vine looks lovely and leafy with bunches of grapes hanging from the new growth.  Jesus is saying that all the useless foliage in our lives need to be cut away. We may think this foliage makes us look attractive especially to the world, but it may not in anyway help us to bear fruit that will bring glory to God.

In business greed, selfishness and disregard for the feelings of people or for their needs might be the way to get ahead, but must be pruned away to allow the fruit of generosity, kindness and humility to grow. It might be acceptable to others to indulge in sex outside of marriage, run down people behind their backs, or participate in some harmful act that endangers our health and lead others astray but these must be pruned away if we are to show the fruit of care, understanding, and self-control. You might think that it’s okay to be unkind, grumpy and intolerant of your spouse or children, but these must be pruned away if you are to grow the fruit of love, peace, and patience.

To bear the kind of fruit that Jesus is looking for means to prune away all this foliage so that the Holy Spirit can cause real fruit to grow – the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience and self control. Jesus, we receive the nourishment we need to live as his disciples. We receive the forgiveness we need for our failures; we grow in our understanding of what it means to be a baptised person in everyday living.

We are still in the Easter season. Because the vine lives, so do the branches. The life of Christ flows to us though the Word and Sacraments. As Jesus said,"I am the vine you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit…," - the fruit of faith and good deeds. May the life-giving sap of Christ’s love make us all fruit bearing branches.