You cannot be separated from God’s love in Christ by anything, so trust your connection to the Vine and God’s ability to grow fruit in you.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Fifth Sunday of Easter, year B
Texts: John 15:1-8; 1 John 4:7-21 (with a call out to Romans 8)
Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Nothing. This promise of Paul for you and for me is our greatest hope in this life and for the life to come. Neither death nor life, nor the present, nor the future, nothing in all creation can separate you from God’s love for you in Christ.
But here’s a new thought today: if nothing can separate you from God’s love, then you can never be cut off from the Vine that is Christ Jesus. All the fruit of love and life that God dreams to create in you is possible because you’re never apart from the Vine.
Jesus says, “apart from me you can do nothing.” That’s not a warning, it’s a promise and a hope.
And you know this connection already, if you listen.
First John says today that because God’s own Spirit lives in you, you know you abide in God and God abides in you. You’re part of the Vine, as Jesus said.
So, do you have any trust in God at all? Your doubt and confusion are irrelevant. The smallest spark of faith is a sign that God’s Spirit lives in you.
Have you ever felt God pull you into some path, show you someone you could care for? Have you ever noticed you had a gift that seemed God-given? Have you ever had a moment where you felt God was with you? Then you already know God’s Spirit, and God’s Spirit is in you, and you abide in God and God abides in you. And that means you will bear great fruit.
Fruit is the beautiful image that sparks our joy, shapes our imagination, inspires our words and actions.
Fruit can’t grow without a connection to the vine or branch, down into the roots, into the soil. And Jesus and Paul both love to describe the life in Christ we’ve all been called to live as fruit. That’s huge. Your Christian life isn’t a job to do, a series of duties that weigh on you. Loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself isn’t something you have to work hard to do.
The Christian life, your following Christ, your love in the world, is fruit. It grows from your life that is connected to the roots, the branches, the sap of God’s love and grace. Since your baptism you have been joined to this Vine. And nothing, nothing can separate you from God’s love, God’s sap, God’s roots.
That means you will absolutely bear fruit. Isn’t that amazing? All the love you know God hopes you can share, all the Good News of God’s grace you wish everyone knew, all the calls to follow and love and care for others and do justice, all this is fruit. God grows it in you and me, and blesses the world.
And don’t worry about Jesus’ words about pruning.
Pruning doesn’t destroy the vine or tree. Pruning cuts away the parts that aren’t bearing fruit anymore, or never did. The parts that take energy and life away from the fruit.
God’s pruning helps you remove the things that fight against God’s fruit, the ways of thinking and doing and speaking that try to dry out the juice and keep the fruit from bursting into the world. That keep you and me from bearing the fruit of love. When we confess our sins and receive forgiveness, God prunes while forgiving.
You could pray for pruning with joy and trust. If you know things in you take away from bearing fruit of God’s love, ask God for help to get rid of them, toss them in the pile of old branches. So nothing can get in the way of love of God and neighbor flowing through you.
And trust the sap is flowing strongly for you to live your Christ life.
When you struggle with your calling, your following, take a pause and listen for God’s life flowing in you. It’s there. Nothing can separate you from God’s love.
When you fail to love, or despair at your inadequacy to heal the problems of injustice and oppression, take a breath and feel deep down to your roots, to where God’s love and hope are. Don’t beat yourself up for your failure, or your fear, or your doubt, trust this: what God needs you to bear as fruit of love and justice and peace in your life and in this world will happen.
And when you don’t have any idea what the next step on the path is, trust the Vine. Nothing can separate you, so trust the way will be revealed. God’s sap is flowing in you and giving you wisdom and possibility. God will ensure you know where to go, what to do, when to do it.
But remember to nurture your connection to the Vine.
Nothing can separate you from God’s love in Christ, from Christ the Vine.
But it’s harder to sense that connection if you distance yourself from God and the community of faith. It’s harder to hear the Spirit’s movement without others to encourage and notice. It’s harder to feel God’s strength if you live away from God’s voice and gifts.
You strengthen your connection to God’s roots by seeking and hearing God’s Word. Sharing in the Meal that gives you forgiveness and new life, new sap for your fruit. Staying connected to others who are also joined to the Vine, for encouragement and support and love. Jesus’ words today are a gentle reminder to nurture your unbreakable connection as intentionally as you can, so you know it better.
I am the Vine, you are the branches, Jesus said. And you will bear great fruit.
That’s a promise. Through you, it will mean hope for the world.
Because nothing can separate you from that Vine. And with God’s love flowing into you, nothing can stop the fruit of your life in Christ from bursting into the world with life and love.
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
