Grapevines are long lived. A grapevine will live hundreds of years. In fact, it is a symbol of a prosperous and well-defended nation to see old, established vineyards, for in ancient times, when a foreign army wanted to raid a country, they would cut and burn the grapevines, for it took several years to recover. The vines lived – but they had to grow back up before they could produce good grapes again.
And grapes, you see, were a source of sweetness and a source of calories. Wine was a luxury, a maker of joy for the people around the Mediterranean. When fermented, the sugar turned to alcohol and that was a source of calories around the year. Just as many Americans get a large portion of our calories from soda and sweet tea, the ancients got a large portion of their calories from wine made from grapes.
Even today, if you travel to southern Europe or Israel, you’ll find that most homes have at least one or two very old grapevines growing beside the patio or in the backyard or even on an apartment terrace. They are everywhere, as common as lemon trees in Florida, or as common as apple trees used to be on American farms.
On the night of the Last Supper, after Jesus had sent Judas out to betray Him, after Jesus told the disciples that they should consider bread to be His body and wine to be His blood, after He had discussed that He was the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus led the disciples out of the city toward the Garden of Gethsemane. But on the way, he stopped in front of a particularly fine grapevine and used it to illustrate some truths about Himself and His relationship to the disciples.
In John Chapter 15, Jesus said: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
Notice that Jesus is focusing upon fruit. When a grapevine grows, the gardener prunes off, he cuts off 90 percent of the branches during the winter. The Greek word translated as prunes also can be translated as cleans.
He’ll cut the vine back to a handful of 2 or 3 inch branches coming off the main vine. From this point, new growth will take off in the late spring, growing perhaps 4 to 8 feet. But it is on the old growth that fruiting buds will develop and it is from these buds that the clusters of grapes develop. They do not grow on the new green growth, but in a well tended vineyard, the fruit develops near the center of the vine, just off of last year’s growth. And so the good gardener the next winter cuts off all the new growth that has not borne fruit, and cuts back the old growth some, removing any diseased branches so the vine can put it’s energy into the fruit-bearing buds for the next year.
And this applies to churches as well as grapevines. Every once in a while, we need to prune off the programs that sap our energy, the programs that don’t bear fruit, the programs that harm the church. I remember at one church I knew, years ago, every fall the lady’s group got together to make vegetable soup for sale to the community, and more importantly, to gossip about the women who weren’t there. And every year, they would sell about $300 of soup, some people got sick from the soup, and a family left the church because of the gossip which poisoned the church. It was a program that needed to die, to be pruned. Traditions are good in the church – but not all traditions are good for the church. COVID has been a time of pruning for all churches – and so we have decided to focused upon the programs and activities that will bear fruit – deep learning, children and youth programs, and outreach to the college and the community.
Jesus continued: "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” Jesus points out that listening to His word and following Jesus has made the disciples – and us – clean, or pruned. But that is not enough. He said:
"Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” Jesus says we can’t bear fruit, we can’t have a positive effect upon the world unless we continue to follow Jesus. He goes on:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."
So many times we have seen preaching which has little or nothing to do with Jesus – it has become just motivational speaking, speeches which could be created by any high school coach, without a shred of real spiritual value, exhortations to change the world for the sake of changing the world, talks to get us to win for the sake of winning, writings to ask us to get active so we can be activists. We have seen preaching that is focused upon generating outrage at the “other” political party from both political points of view. But political preaching and motivational speaking is not what Jesus asks us to do. Jesus says that if we do not remain in Him, doing what He asks, working through His power, we will wither and die and be thrown into the fire like a branch of a grapevine that has been cut loose from the main vine, who is Jesus.
And that is why so many churches wither and die – they are more concerned with psychology or politics or activism or generating outrage that they fail to do what Jesus asks – which is to find people with acts and words of love, to baptize them as they learn how much Jesus and God love them, teach them what Jesus has commanded so they will grow close to God and become Spirit-following disciples, and then send them into the field to find more people to whom to teach the Gospel. Everything we do must be centered on and supported by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – never by our own strength alone. For a branch that is not connected to the main vine will die.
Jesus concludes this section with: ”If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
The real power to have productive change in the world comes from following Jesus’ words, asking Jesus for something to be done, and then watching Jesus do it for us. And then, God is given the glory – and we have shown ourselves to be Jesus’ disciples.
A few years ago, my wife Saundra was pastoring a small church which needed a new $15,000 roof. The only problem was that their average weekly collection was about $350. They tried a couple of fundraisers, which collected about $1000 total. Saundra reminded them that God has plenty of money, even if this particular church was nearly broke.
So Saundra and the church prayed for God to help. Their next fundraiser collected another $1000. Yeah! Then, it was time for Saundra to go to Cedar Lakes for a United Methodist Women event with the women from my church. She didn’t want to go, because she was exhausted, but she felt the Spirit asking her to minister to my women’s group. At the camp, she ran into my 5th grade math teacher from St. Marys. Saundra’s church’s need came up in conversation – the woman said, “I think you need a grant.” Saundra asked, “how does one get a grant”. The woman said, “You talk to me and fill out the application. I’m in charge of the grants.”
They filled out the application with the trustees over the next 24 hours, did another small fundraiser, and they received the grant to finish the roof. Their prayers had come full circle, Saundra had been faithful to listen the Holy Spirit over a different issue altogether, and God had arranged everything her church needed. That church tripled in size during the three years Saundra was with them. God is trustworthy to help the people who trust in God.
I have personally grown grapevines – I had about 50 seedless grapevines on my property at Lowell, raising over 400 pounds of grapes a year. And I can testify that proper pruning of the extra branches and the diseased branches is absolutely necessary to get fruit – but I never got any fruit off a branch that had been cut off from the main vine. We have to stay connected to the main vine, Jesus Christ.
Our reading from Acts deals with a man named Philip. There were actually two men in the New Testament named Philip – one was a disciple who became an Apostle, but this Philip was one of seven deacons appointed when the Greek-speaking Christians complained that the Hebrew-speaking widows were getting preferences with the food charity giveaways. The Apostles appointed seven deacons, all of whom had Greek names, to handle the food distribution. Philip was one of these men, who also began to spread the Good News of Jesus, first in Samaria, the land between Jerusalem and Galilee, and then in this episode.
Philip is walking toward Gaza on the road from Jerusalem. A strange foreign man driving a chariot comes along the road, headed the same direction. The Holy Spirit told Philip to go to the chariot and stay near it.
The man is reading from the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 53, commonly known as the Song of the Suffering Servant. I sang it on Good Friday. It is about a man, who bore our suffering, pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. Philip overhears and asks, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
“How can I unless someone explains it to me?”, the man answered, and invited Philip to come up into the chariot and sit with him, explaining the scripture.
Now it turned out the man was the treasurer of Ethiopia’s queen, and had gone to Jerusalem to worship. He had traveled across Egypt to worship God. Furthermore, the man was a eunuch, a man who had been surgically altered so he could not have children. By the Old Testament law in Leviticus 21 and Deuteronomy 23 he was banned from the Temple. Had he been turned away from the Temple at the gates? Did he have to settle for buying a few scrolls to read on his long way home, using his money to buy scrolls because his appearance and speech kept him from worshiping at the Temple of God? Did he feel the rejection that the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 felt?
Philip explained that the Isaiah passage referred to Jesus, and explained the entire Good News about Jesus. They came to water and the man asked to be baptized, so Philip baptized him. Then, the Spirit took Philip away to the town of Azotus, where Philip began preaching about Jesus along the coast.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian returned home, rejoicing. And I suspect he soon moved on from Isaiah chapter 53, to Isaiah 56, which says:
4 For this is what the Lord says:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose what pleases me
and hold fast to my covenant—
to them I will give within my temple and its walls
a memorial and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that will endure forever.
And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord
to minister to him,
to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it
and who hold fast to my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain
and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations.”
Through this man’s influence, Ethiopia became a Christian nation, and has remained one throughout the centuries until today. Indeed, legend has it that the Ark of the Covenant is now kept secure in a small church in Ethiopia. And it all happened because Philip listened to the Holy Spirit and did as the Spirit asked.
Now who are you? Are you Philip, confident in your knowledge of the good news that Jesus taught great things, claimed to be God on earth, died on the cross because of this claim, and then came back to life? Are you Philip, listening to the Holy Spirit and ready to do God’s will? Or are you the Ethiopian, wondering what the Bible teaches, possibly feeling a bit rejected by people you wanted to worship with? Do you, like the Ethiopian, feel like a stranger among the people of God?
For me, the most important aspect of this entire encounter is the fact that both Philip and the Ethiopian are strangers to each other. Philip began life as a Jew, speaking Greek, probably from some part of the Roman Empire other than Jerusalem. But Philip had become a strong believer in Jesus being the Son of God, capable of raising the dead, and granting forgiveness to all people.
The Ethiopian was looking to worship God, but the rules had been getting in the way. He was from hundreds of miles away in Africa, but was an intelligent man, with people who looked up to him. Yet, he had likely been turned away at the Temple because of who he was. And who he was, was not a choice he had made, but likely that choice had been made for him at a young age. Today, he wanted to find God.
And God put the two men together on a lonely desert road. This is an example of what we call God’s grace – where God does something good for us even when we don’t deserve it. In this case, God brought together two strangers – a man who understood Jesus – and a man who wanted to worship God.
If you are like Philip, take away the lesson that God does not always send you to speak to people who look or act or speak like you do. God often will nudge you to speak to an apparently random stranger about the things of God. The best way for people to ask you questions about God is to have a habit of praising God, thanking God for the weather, for the day, for something wonderful that has happened to you recently. And when you do this enough, someone will realize that they can ask you questions about God. That happens to a friend of mine who regularly praises God to her customers at the supermarket deli counter where she works – and that leads to prayer requests, and more detailed questions about God and her church.
Praise God. Praise Jesus. Praise the Holy Spirit. You might use the Hebrew names for God – Yahweh or Elohim. You might even praise the Lord, which in Hebrew is Adonai. Adonai means “Lord”. It doesn’t really matter, for God knows that you are praising God. And that praising creates a reality where God is glorified and great things happen. God seems to be attracted by the praises and shows up to be introduced.
If you are like the Ethiopian, you may have been wondering about the things of God for some time. You may be confused about something, or just looking for a place to find and worship God where you’ll be accepted, as Philip accepted the Ethiopian and explained to him about Jesus. If so, it is critical that you begin asking for help. That’s what we are all about here – helping anyone and everyone understand the good news of Jesus Christ. And now that COVID is going away, new people are beginning to come to join us here during our live services every Sunday at 10:30 AM.
Historically, most people have found Jesus by growing up in a church where their parents or grandparents took them. But today, there are many people around us who have never attended a church regularly. If you are listening or watching, let me explain a couple things about us.
First, everyone is welcome. We don’t care where or if you work, we don’t care who your parents were, we don’t care what your background is. Our dress code is – please wear something. You’ll find people here dressed in suits or dresses – and other people wearing blue jeans, and everything in-between.
When you arrive, just find a seat – please wear a mask. Most of us have already been vaccinated, but not everyone has been. If you forget your mask, don’t worry, we have some spares. You might want to arrive 10 to 15 minutes early to get the feel of the place. Feel free to speak to people – or not. Your children are especially welcome – most of us have raised children and we recognize they’ll take a few visits to settle down. And if you hear us giggling, it’s probably because your son or daughter reminds us of our children when they were that age. We remember those mornings!
We have a bulletin, but most everything is put on our screen so it’s easy to read for everyone. If the morning is cool, bring a jacket, since we open the sliding glass doors for good ventilation to clear out any COVID germs.
Most importantly, come expecting something good to happen. Philip and the Ethiopian both were expecting good out of their encounter – and God did not disappoint either of them. He won’t disappoint you. If you are listening on the radio, you still have time to get here by 10:20 AM.
Amen!
We all need to understand the basics ideas of our faith.
And so, as we will continue throughout the Easter season, let us remind each other of the core parts of our faith that we have kept over the centuries:
Let us join together in reciting what we believe, as expressed in the ancient Apostles Creed (UMH #881)
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;*
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic** church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
"catholic" with a small c means "universal".
Let us sing,
Benediction: May the Lord God, the Adonai, inhabit your praises. May God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit be with you whenever you praise God’s name – and may you be blessed by the praising!
Song: Praise Adonai
Go and Praise God all week long!
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