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Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this fifth Sunday of Easter we celebrate, we look at the gospel reading for this morning. You may be seated. The last few Sundays we’ve been discussing the most profound and important message of the resurrection, which is that he who was dead lives and he rose with a glorified body. And that we too, upon our resurrection, shall have a body, corporal body, flesh, blood, body, eyes to see, ears to hear, mouth to speak, flesh to feel.
Today the resurrection is discussed in a different manner. And Jesus discussed this on the night of his betrayal of all times. He was with his disciples in the upper room, teaching them the last bits of instruction before he went to the cross. He starts out this morning, that night he spoke, “I am the true vine.” Now that implies that in this world there are many false vines. Now it doesn’t take a deep thinker long to realize a vine is the source and conduit for sap and all the nutrients which the branch that is grafted into it.
It’s a Lutheran Christian sermon. Pretty strong words. When he says that my father is the vine dresser, he implies a whole host of other things as well. For if the father is the vine dresser, the vine dresser cuts and prunes the branches, which allows then the branch to bear even more fruit. But the vine dresser and his cutting and pruning, his fertilizing and watering, is seen by you and me as suffering, challenge, humility, servanthood, and a whole host of things that doesn’t set well with our palate. And then we try to figure out how to avoid that.
But to avoid it is to avoid the vinedresser. And to avoid the vinedresser is to avoid our being joined to the vine. Because he also speaks of the vinedresser cutting off branches that no longer produce fruit because they have not abided in the vine. It’s like the seed in the sower, remember? Some seed fell among the shallow soil, it sprouted and grew, but then the heat of the sun withered it. And some seed fell among the thorns and it sprouted and grew, but the thorns choked it and it died.
So some branches that are grafted into the vine, that Jesus claims are his branches, decide that they can bear their own fruit apart from the vine. More exciting fruit, more real fruit. As if that… It’s even a term that can be used by us. Divine is what carries forgiveness of sins and life and salvation. And Satan tempts us, well, he doesn’t have to work too hard because our flesh is already bent that way. He tempts us to think that our value and our worth is derived by what we produce. And if what we produce isn’t seen by us because of its lowliness, because of its lowliness, seeming unimportantness, then we will think we need to do something different apart from the vine.
As if being grafted in the vine isn’t enough, we’ve got to then determine what kind of fruit we’re going to produce. Rather than just be concerned about being joined to the vine. Jesus said very clearly, “Already you are clean.” You are clean not because you have made yourselves clean. You are clean because of the word I have spoken unto you. Better yet, you are clean because you are connected to the vine as the branch. You’ve been grafted in by the vine dresser.
The vine dresser was what took you dead and put you into that vine that gave life to you. And now you are alive. And you are cleansed because it is the nutrients of forgiveness and the sustenance of mercy that the vine gives to you, being connected to, that makes you clean. And the only place in your weekly life where you gather to get the full word done to you is here. Here is where your ears drink in the water of God’s word that squelches your thirst, that brings sustenance. Here is where God’s word applies the balm to your wounds, that you may produce fruit.
Here is where you literally do eat and drink life in itself, in his precious blood and his precious flesh, that brings life to you to produce fruit. So when he says, “Abide in me,” here’s where you abide in him on a regular basis. To not regularly abide in him, what are we saying? That the vine doesn’t really need to be tapped into by us, except on occasion? Are we saying that the vine is only necessary in difficult circumstances that we find that we can’t handle? Those branches are cut off, and they wither, and they die, and they are burned.
Apart from him, you and I can do nothing. We are to be persistent in our work, tying in and abiding in the vine. We are only to be faithful in abiding in and connected to the vine. And the reason being, as he said, apart from him we can do nothing. What has the Lord given you to do? What has the Lord given you to do? What fruit has he given you to produce? Do you define that or does he define that?
And if he’s the one that defines the fruit that you produce… Who gives you the ability to produce that fruit? He who is divine. But being a branch that bears fruit, again, we go back to the Father as the vine dresser. All suffering, because of your connection to the vine, comes from the Father. All sorrow that you have experienced in your life, because of being connected to the vine, comes from the vine dresser, the Father. We view it as counter to being connected to the vine because we see it through the eyes of flesh and through the encouragement of Satan.
And yet what has the vinedresser shown you about himself? That he’s vindictive or that he’s merciful? The vinedresser has continually shown you and revealed to you he is full of mercy and grace. Yes, it is uncomfortable to be pruned. Yes, it is uncomfortable to be shown our sin. Yes, it is humbling to serve. Yes, it bites when we’re shown what we really are like on the inside. But he always binds us up, doesn’t he? He always brings healing to you, doesn’t he? He always refreshes your parched lips and mouth, doesn’t he? He brings refreshment to your soul, doesn’t he?
If first and foremost, what God has given us to do is this. First and foremost, God has given us to receive his gifts. As a father, it brings him joy, utter, utter joy when his children receive his gifts of forgiveness, when his children receive those gifts that cost him his entire life and damned for to give to you. That’s first and foremost what God has given you to do is receive those gifts faithfully. When they’re offered, receive them faithfully.
But being humans as we are, tell me what I really got to do, and I’ll do it. Be faithful and humble in those places that God has placed you. And don’t worry, it’s not going to need a lot of humbling because God the Father will take care of that as the vine dresser. If you are husband and wife, be faithful and humble as husband. Honor and love your bride above yourself. Provide and care. Give and sustain and confess. Confess when we fail. If we as husbands just did that and focused on that, I don’t think we would be looking for other things to do in order to work a work for God. That fruit is great fruit to bear.
Wives, love your husbands. Be that woman to him that he needs. We’re frail creatures, we men. And we are made by the woman behind who stands us. Be humble and receive. Speak the words that we need to hear. Sons and daughters, honor your parents. They’re not always right, are they? And many times they are, and we wish not to accept and acknowledge it. Children, whether you are adult or still in school, whether you have your own grandchildren and children or are just starting out, sons and daughters, be humble and serve. Acknowledge that you are not mom and dad, but honor and serve. Love and confess. Let there be forgiveness given and received by both.
If everyone here let that be the focus of what we’re supposed to do, oh my goodness, we would end every day and every moment on our knees doing the very thing that Jesus said to do: Ask whatever… and the vine dresser, father will provide. You know how children are so bold in asking you because they expect you to provide for them. For them to expect that you wouldn’t provide for them is kind of completely out of their realm of experience. What have you always done but provided for them? For you not to would be what? Which is why kids ask some bodacious and bold and brazen things.
Expect that from your God. He has told you he would provide for you. But in expecting that, we have to also expect that the vinedresser will have his way with us. And if he cuts, he cuts. But he cuts not to kill, but to produce more fruit. Produce more fruit. He has only cut one to the core, and you know whom he cut to the core on that accursed tree. Having cut him to the core on that accursed tree, now he binds you into that tree that you may be sustained by what the tree brings, life and immortality.
When he said so clearly, “You are clean,” already you are clean. Before you’ve borne fruit, you are clean. Before you have ever realized you’ve produced fruit, he has said, “You are clean.” Riggs has been clean. Now, as mom and dad, you’re going to find out Riggs does not fall far from the trees of which he came. You too, just as I have found that in my children and you have found that in your children. And it brings great humility to us as parents, doesn’t it? You mean a sinner produces a sinner? This is not good, Lord. That is what happens. But he is clean. And his performance doesn’t show he’s clean.
His performance, he produces fruit, whether we realize it or not. God has made him clean. Your performance doesn’t make you more clean. And your lack of performance doesn’t make you less clean. You are clean because he has cleansed you. And you are clean because you are grafted into the vine. And the fruit, to whom does the fruit belong? Oh yeah, the vine dresser. Because the branch has been grafted into the heart of the sap of forgiveness.
Though we are blessed and suffer because of being joined to this vine, we know because of the vine being cut to the core for us that the will of the vine dresser, no matter what we experience and no matter what our reason or our senses determine it to be, God has revealed to you his will toward you is merciful, not angry. He has only judged one. He does not judge you. Christ bore that.
In the name of him who is our vine and into whom we have been grafted, the producer of all of our fruits, Jesus. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding. Keep your hearts and your minds on Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.