Love

Love.

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Old Testament Reading

            Lesson from the Prophets

Isaiah 7:10-16

Isaiah Gives Ahaz the Sign of Immanuel

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah[a] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.[b] 15 He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

Footnotes

  • 7.13 Heb he
  • 7.14 That is, God is with us

New Testament Reading

Gospel Lesson

Matthew 1:18-25

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah[a] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23 

“Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son,
    and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son,[b] and he named him Jesus.

Footnotes

  • 1.18 Or Jesus Christ
  • 1.25 Other ancient authorities read her firstborn son

Isaiah, the prophet.  Promising that “Immanuel” would come to us.  Immanuel, the word literally means God with us.  Now, God has always been with us, always, before time and before we were formed and life breathed into.  

But, we need stories, stories with power, with agency.  So, Isaiah says that a child will be born…and with some other wild stories about this child’s life around honey and curds.  But, a promise of a physical reminder that God is with us and will come to us in the flesh.

Our Gospel lesson follows upon this prophetic story from Isaiah, from the prophets.  It gives us an intimate picture of Mary becoming pregnant by God’s actions.  Joseph wants to honor Mary and decides to divorce her quietly.  In those days, being engaged was on the same understanding of being married.  But, an angelic being, a messenger of the Divine, comes to Joseph and calms him and tells him in a dream to stay with Mary, that she will give birth to a son and he will be “Immanuel”, God with us.  

Friends, when something new is about to happen, something that brings great change.  It can be disorienting, yet God sends messages all of the time reminding us that something deeper is happening.  We may not always see it, and it may be hard and challenging.  But, we can trust that something is happening.  New life and growth springs forth.  

As Meister Eckhart reminds us from the middle ages, Christmas, the birth of the Christ child, Immanuel, not only happens in our imagination around the winter solstice, but it happens every day and every moment.  Our only “sin” if you will, is to live lives of unawareness around this reality.  May we have our ears and eyes open to God being with us…showing us how to love…and may we experience that love of God’s Presence with us, in us, and around us!  May we experience peace, hope, joy, and love as we celebrate with amazing music today…and may we celebrate in our hearts and lives everyday!

Neighbor.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

“The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.”

―Meister Eckhart, Sermons of Meister Eckhart

Luke 10:25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.[a] “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii,[b] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 10:25 Gk him
  2. Luke 10:35 The denarius was the usual day’s wage for a laborer

Sermon Manuscript:

Who is our neighbor? 

In our parable this morning, Jesus is hanging out with his disciples and others.  In the crowd, there is a lawyer who asks Jesus about the greatest commandment.  Jesus’ answer can be summed by “loving God, loving others…nothing else matters.” as my friend Bart Campolo used to say.  Jesus specifically says, loving your neighbors as yourself.

The lawyer, for some reason, feels like his ego is on the line and wants to justify himself, so asks, who is our neighbor?

Jesus replies with a parable, the one of the Good Samaritan.

A man is robbed, everything is taken from him while he’s on a journey…he’s beaten, left for dead.  Yet, he’s still hanging on.  He has one thing left even if everything else is stripped away, his humanity.

Along comes priest, then a Levite.  Both of these folks have high positions in society, important people.  They probably came from great families with good connections to have these kinds of positions.  They also had places to get to, in their defense, others were counting on them.  Plus, they understood that if they helped, they would be unclean, in those days, to touch a bloody person meant days of cleansing and purification.  It would be inconvenient.  Before we pass judgement, how many times have we passed up things, how many times have we not gotten involved with someone because of time or convenience…maybe we’ve passed by an accident, or saw someone arguing in public, or something small or great…I know I’m guilty at times.  

Yet, then comes a Samaritan.  Jesus has just welcomed the 70 or 72 messengers back in the previous story that we talked about last week.  They had gone into Samaria, maybe some were welcomed, some were not…maybe some still had bad feelings towards Samaritans…who knows.  The Samaritan, someone not Jewish, not religious, a merchant also…not part of the ruling religious cast, stops, gets dirty, helps this man.  He was moved with compassion…which is the same phrase that is used elsewhere in Scripture to describe how Jesus felt about folks who were in desperate places.  

In other words, this Samaritan, this foreigner, felt the same way that Jesus felt.  That folks who don’t have a “religious” inkling may be closer to God’s heart than some that call themselves God followers.  

And, this Samaritan follows through, bandages the man, takes him to an Inn, has his needs paid for…and even checks in on him the next day.  

It seems like Jesus is saying that your religion, even your beliefs, mean nothing unless they line up with your practice or praxis.  

When Jesus asks who was the true neighbor back to the lawyer, the lawyer responds that it’s the one who showed mercy, the Samaritan.

I don’t believe that Jesus was interested in winning an argument, as a matter of fact, I think the lawyer wasn’t interested either, it was a genuine conversation…something that seems to be lacking in much of today’s culture.  In that conversation, the lawyer, and those listening had a sense of hearing the deeper nuances of this story…they were curious, and they experience a sort of conversion, change, transformation through listening.

That’s what parables do.  

They don’t give us measurements of success, they aren’t always feel good stories, they are not meant to be morality plays, they don’t even give us clues on how to grow the church bigger…They are organic and are meant be shared authentically and without a desire for winning.  They are like seeds that are then planted in our hearts and grow into deeper meanings for all of us.

As we think about this parable, may we let it grow within us this morning.  As we’ve seen  in the past few weeks, folks are more and more isolated, and filled with hate and prejudices…we as a church, have an obligation to our neighbors, and our neighbors are everyone, especially those on the margins or in need…and we have a greater joy in being good neighbors to all who we meet, inviting them into our lives, our church, and our community.  

How do we become good neighbors?  By letting go of our image, as the Samaritan did, and by having a deeper agency through donated trust.  The message of Jesus is pretty straightforward, don’t be defined by your class, the color of your skin, your immigration status, your political leanings or bias, our even your roles you play in life.  Be defined by your humanity, a humanity that is shared with all people in creation.  That everyone is your neighbor, and if you are living in awareness, deep awareness, you will begin to see the world as your neighbor.  Stop trying to win arguments, listen to your heart and engage in conversation out of your heart where things are more real and not defined by Fox News or MSNBC or whatever.  Compassion and wisdom can then grow out of the seed of awareness of shared humanity.  And, with that, the world can change…starting with you and your neighbor.

Great.

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Holy Life-Giver, Doctor of the desperate, Healer of everyone broken past hope, Medicine for all wounds, Fire of love, fragrant Strength, sparkling Fountain, Protector! In You we see how God goes looking for those who are lost and reconciles those who are at odds with God. We praise You. – Hildegard

John 14:23-29

23 Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.

25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 

28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe.

Love.  We talked about that last week didn’t we?  We also talked about God’s love that resides within and without, all around us…how we are called to love and how hard it is to do that.  I know this past month, there were several times I could point out that I simply wasn’t living into love very well…especially as I was hiking with my son and trying to keep up with him…we hiked 45+ miles in three days on our hiking trip recently…and he wanted to do even more!  At one point on the last day, I was getting frustrated as he wanted to hike to another canyon towards the end of the day.  I gave in but told him he could not pass me on the hike…he had to stay with me and even talk to me!  

In my journal and in my daily readings and meditations, I am reminded that love is always there though…and that I do have access to it as I practice presence with myself and others.  

Our passage this morning is in response to Judas by Jesus.  Judas (not Judas Iscariot..different Judas) is wanting to know why Jesus has revealed himself to the disciples, and not to the rest of the world.

Jesus responds by saying that love is the key.  And, it starts with loving yourself.  We’ve talked about what it means to live in Christ, to live as your “true self”, to be present with yourself that leads to presence with others.  Loving others starts with loving yourself.  That’s not being selfish, it’s knowing that love resides in you…that it’s often found in the darkness and the suffering we experience because that causes a break within us for love to emerge.  It’s also realizing that love, true self, presence are all terms for the Divine, for God.  And God sees God’s self in all of us, each of us!  That is communion friends!  And, eventually, it does lead to peace.  We want to be at peace with the love that resides within and without.  As that love emerges, as we embrace and cultivate it, a deeper peace does arise within us.  

We oftentimes try to deny that love, but God doesn’t.  God remains faithful because God is an intimate indwelling in humanity and God cannot deny God’s self in us…2 Timothy 2:13 says this:

if we are faithless, God remains faithful—
God cannot deny himself.

Jesus goes on to say that we have the Divine Presence, the very spirit or soul of God given to us.   

In Greek, the word is pneuma, in Hebrew, its ruach.  It means, wind, spirit, breath.  It’s Presence.  We’ve said this before, but this Spirit, wind, breath of God is everywhere.  It sustains life, it carries life, it reveals the work of God through creating life, and through the work of Jesus of saving life and redeeming it.

A few years ago, I walked into Ludllow Wines where my friend Mike is the owner.  On this day, we had a most wonderful conversation.   In that conversation, I found out that he’s Greek Orthodox.  We also talked a bit about the beauty of that language.  The greek word for “advocate” in this morning’s passage in John is beautiful.  Greek words often have many different meanings.  The word for advocate in Greek is “paraclete”.  It means to come alongside, to help, to counsel.  We are co-creating the experience of love for self and neighbor with God.  

Jesus knew that death was approaching.  Jesus also hoped and understood that death needed to happen before resurrection.  It’s a mystery, in theology, we often call it the Paschal mystery.  God died on Good Friday.  All was lost.  God had to experience everything we do, the violence, being humiliated and betrayed…as well as being the humiliator and the betrayer.  God had to experience loss and death.  

When all is lost, when nothing is certain.  That’s when faith comes alive, real.  We don’t understand it, but somehow resurrection happened.  And, not as we have been told in Sunday school most of our lives.  It is a wounded resurrection.  A Jesus, and a God, a universe, that has changed by being wounded.  The scars are still there, yet healed and given new meaning.  

2000 years later, we don’t always have faith.  Even as we see it written out scripture.  Jesus also knew that we would need to stay connected to each other and to him.  That’s the way the Spirit works, it comes alongside, it advocates for us, it helps us to see things about ourselves, others, and God that may not make sense at times, but always seems to work out for the good eventually.  It also reminds us that we are not alone, that the very power of God, the deep love of God that is radically inclusive of all of us in this room and outside these doors and windows, presides within us and all around us.

This spirit, as we cultivate our awareness of God and ourselves emboldens us and gives us confidence as it did the disciples.  Even when all is lost, love still wins.  

There’s a lot of talk these days about what it means to be “great again”…well, I’ve got news for you, YOU have always been great…there’s no “again”, because you are are and we are great and evolving in our awareness of what it means to be great.  And, being great is not divisive…it’s the opposite actually…it is being one with yourself and others.  This passage reminds us that Jesus and God are one, and that God is one with us, in all things, in all of life.  In that oneness, Jesus says the Father is greater.  Well, end the Trinity, in that oneness, the Father would say Jesus is also great, and that, we, humans, in our mutual love and suffering and joy…our communion, we are great as well.  The question is do we recognize it, are we aware of our eternal greatness?   It’s that glory thing….God’s glory is humanity being fully alive, and together as one.   I’ll end with the lyrics of this song by Bono, lead singer of U2 that sums it up:

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we’re not the same
We get to 
Carry each other
Carry each other
One…life

One

Friends.

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John 15:9-17

9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. 

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servantsany longer, because the
servantdoes not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

This passage says a lot about love, doesn’t it?  What does Jesus’ love look like? Oftentimes I’m asked at weddings to read the “love chapter” found in 1 Corinthians 13. It has beautiful poetry, but it’s not really just about love between two persons…no one can love that way except for, with, and through God. It’s a chapter describing perfect love, sit back, close your eyes, soak in these words from part of this chapter as if God is speaking directly to you from deep inside you and from all around you: 

PP 

13 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing. 

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

Wow. And, this is what Jesus is saying to us. Live, or abide, remain in my love. Jesus isn’t going anywhere, as a matter of fact, Jesus is present with us, right now…as we sit in our homes online or here in the sanctuary, wondering what’s going to happen next in these seasons of so much personal, cultural, political, and religious shifting, what is the new “normal”, we are not alone. Jesus is with us…and is chasing after us…won’t give up on us. 

I love this passage, Jesus tells his disciples that he no longer calls them servants, but friends.  That’s a big statement.  One that says, if you abide in that friendship, then you will produce amazing fruit.  

Friendships looks like this:  

One of my best friends in my twenties was Jay. I’ve talked about him before. Jay was simply amazing. Great athlete, musician, lots of charisma, looked like James Dean. His family had owned the patent to frozen yeast and also owned several bakeries throughout the world. He seemingly had it made. Yet, underneath, he was deeply struggling with the death of his dad in his teenage years and his mom’s impending death during much of our 20’s through MS. 


He was a youth group leader, but after a while, quit that, left the church, and went into a 

season of life trying to numb himself of the pain in as many ways that he could. 

Jay and I still got together, he was one of my best friends. But, there was a period of a few months where we weren’t around each other. We got together for dinner with a friend and he leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, “I’m back”. He went on to say that he simply could not get away from God. That God kept on chasing him even when he was so numb from whatever he was using.  God’s love always breaks through eventually…either in this life or the next.  I believe that God’s love was even more real and deeper during Jay’s season of numbness. 

Jesus was and is present with each of us. It’s hard, I know, especially in this season of disruption and division all around us, and even within us, to recognize that at times…but when we begin to move towards understanding ourselves, asking the really hard questions and confronting the things in our lives that prevent us from experiencing the depth in knowing who we are and who God is, we can begin to truly be present with ourselves, others, and God. We begin to experience love. 

How does one become friends with God, how does one love, it starts with a deep acceptance that you are loved, to befriend your own soul.

When my mom died, I began to read the writings of John O’Donohue more closely.  Again, O’Donohue was an Irish Catholic priest, a poet, theologian, and philosopher.  One book in particular was “Anam Cara”, which is Gaelic for “Soul Friend”.

John O’Donohue, says this:

In the Celtic tradition, there is a beautiful understanding of love and friendship. One of the fascinating ideas here is the idea of soul-love; the old Gaelic term for this is anam ċara. Anam is the Gaelic word for soul and ċara is the word for friend. So anam ċara in the Celtic world was the “soul friend.” In the early Celtic church, a person who acted as a teacher, companion, or spiritual guide was called an anam ċara. It originally referred to someone to whom you confessed, revealing the hidden intimacies of your life. With the anam ċara you could share your inner-most self, your mind and your heart. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. When you had an anam ċara, your friendship cut across all convention, morality, and category. You were joined in an ancient and eternal way with the “friend of your soul.” The Celtic understanding did not set limitations of space or time on the soul. There is no cage for the soul. The soul is a divine light that flows into you and into your Other. This art of belonging awakened and fostered a deep and special companionship.

O’Donohue goes on to say that you cannot be an Anam Cara with someone else until you become one with yourself.  When you have befriended all of you.  Honestly, that’s been a huge part of my journey over the years.  Father Richard Bollman, a Jesuit priest, was my spiritual director for years until he had to retire due to health reasons, would also share with me the concept of Anam Cara.  We would discuss often that I have, at different times in my life, defined myself by achievement and what others think.  Yet, God’s love that resides within me, that prayer that God prays for me, moves me towards love of my True Self and then, out of that love, love for all things and people.  

Friendship means a lot to me. I am committed to the path of friendship with my self to flow and then flow into others.  As your pastor, I have said that I want to be your friend also.  As we’ve said before, we’ve donated a lot of trust to one another.  In this flow, my goodness, we are producing some amazing fruit together, aren’t we?

As I practice friendship, sometimes in beautifully messy ways, I find that friendships can lead towards common good and growth. Many of my friends in this city and around the world are all working towards seeing goodness happen in communities with the church being a part of that goodness…being a place of generosity and momentum towards others and each other. 

Sometimes we may think that we’d like to simply shirk away from friendship, from being present, even with God. Maybe we’ve been hurt or feel misunderstood.  Yet, as we read this morning, God says to us, you didn’t choose this friendship, I chose you. I think that says so much about God…a practical takeaway from what I’m sharing is this…YOU are loved, God is present with you, cultivate that understanding, and know that God desires for the best for you…and for this church. 

I think that’s why I’m so curious and grateful about what we are about at Westwood First. I don’t know what the future holds, I don’t know what church will look like after this current season of change, but I know that we are here, present with one another and that we are together in this and will grow and change. We will move towards a great new chapter in our story…Jesus says again in this week’s passage that he will give us whatever we ask for! It’s interesting that Jesus said this in last week’s passage and now again this week…And, here we are, we are in this liminal space, this threshold in culture, and as a church, and as persons! We live in “apocalyptic” times…folks often think that means the end of the world, but that’s not what it means,…no, it’s simply a term that says that some things are ending in order to make room for something new to emerge..over time.  And, in God, and in God’s love, we can place our trust in that it will be good for us and for others. 

Trust it…accept it. Receive this love and bear fruit!  Allow yourself to befriend yourself and others…may this be a congregation of soul friends!  

Jesus embodies this soul friendship, this. love, Jesus is here, present with you through his spirit the Holy Spirit, that connects all of us and all of this…and ultimately keeps us firmly in friendship with God.  

May we love one another and our neighbors (which means everyone) well…may we live in this flow and dance to the music of God’s love for us as we befriend ourselves and one another! 

Gardening.

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John 15:1-8

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunesto make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 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. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and becomemy disciples. 

This church is full of gardeners…I’ve loved pulling up to the church and seeing folks like the Tepe’s working in the church’s gardens!   

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about nature and our care for it…maybe because Earth Day was on Monday…or because I’ve been doing some much needed yard work this week.

Debbie, my spouse, also loves to garden.  We have a small garden bed next to our house, as well as flower gardens around the house (which we try to keep our dogs out of!).  I remember a few years ago, when I came back from my run, Debbie was working in the garden with a young neighbor friend of ours, Aniya.  This young girl simply loved getting her hands dirty and being with Debbie.  

It’s safe to say, that gardens are great metaphors and images.  

In our passage this morning, the imagery of God as a master gardener speaks to us as a beautiful metaphor. God has given us life and cultivates us to be the best versions of ourselves, beautiful creations. God even plants himself into humanity. Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. Jesus is often called the “seed” of humanity, and that seed grows or works its way throughout humanity, producing much good and beauty in each of us. 

The metaphor of Jesus being the vine, the connection, the bridge if you will between humanity and God…really, is in Jesus’ entire being. Jesus is the “word” that’s been given to us as mentioned in this passage, the expression of God. The one that we are called to follow. The one who’s vine we are the branches. 

The master gardener prunes, works on us, takes away the things that make us dead. Sometimes that pruning, or the literal Greek in this text is “taking away”, can hurt. We don’t like it when we are told that we need to change, that we need to grow. We create habits for getting by that may get us through the day, or even years, but really aren’t healthy or helpful to others around us. We have pride, we have insecurities. 

That’s not only true of each of us, but it’s also true of us collectively as a community and as a church. When I read or hear some of the things on Next Door Finneytown, or talk to other faith leaders across our neighborhood and the city, or listen to business owners or civic leaders here in Westwood, I hear a lot. Sometimes, honestly, there can be some who play something like middle school politics, but it’s more “grown up”. I also see it within our churches and families. We often get into places relationally with each other that simply don’t move us or others forward towards growth. 

We need to be loved on by a master gardener, and cultivate a desire to be with the master gardener…and to be outside, with people, in this master Gardner’s garden…the world!   That love that the master gardener has for us also means pruning some of the things away that are not necessary in order for us to see within ourselves, others, the church, and our neighbors that true beauty that we are. 

There is also this part of the text that talks about the unproductive branches being thrown into the fire.  Now, this is an interesting thing…we actually had some “fire” if you will at our last pub theology talking about this in a way…God does not waste anything, God is in the business of redeeming and growing.  This is a metaphor that God will use the compost of our lives and refine it…and use it for the growing of other things.  People are not branches thrown into the fire, but our actions which do not produce good fruit are and used to grow other things that do produce fruit.  First century listeners would get that this part of the pruning process I’d imagine.

It’s been pretty obvious for us as a church, community, country, and world, that the pandemic, and the years since then, have been a time of pruning, even lament, yet it is producing growth.  This pruning if you will has been happening in my life.  I have felt the brokenness in my family life, church life, and community life.  My statement of late is that I am becoming nothing, which is something and everything.  But, it always starts with allowing things to be pruned, for me to let go.

How do we further cultivate this way of life where we can see the growth? By remaining in Christ, connected to the vine. This passage is an imperative in the Greek in verse 4. Jesus is stating emphatically to remain in him. Then he says that he will remain in us. This is not a cause and effect statement, or a transactional statement. Jesus is saying that he will remain in us, period. His presence with us is not conditional. He does say though to us, to remain in him. To be connected, to be willing to grow and be beautiful for yourself and for others. I also like the translation, “abide”.  We are to abide with Christ and Christ abides with us. 

If we remain in Jesus, if we follow the trajectory of his words and his life, we can see a radical inclusion of all of our stuff inside of us and outside of us. A radical inclusion that means that we are loved unconditionally, and those around us, no matter where they are in life, are also to be included. 

That can be messy. You have seen it in our relationships, and if you haven’t, you will someday!! I am a fairly solid and mostly competent pastor to Westwood First Presbyterian Church (most days), but I also make mistakes, and I certainly don’t have all of the answers. And, our church has made tons of mistakes over the century plus of our existence.  None of us have all of the answers, that’s why it’s imperative that we remain in Christ, and remain connected to him and conversely with each other, we can be pruned, we can own our mistakes and lean in on grace, and grow together into a beautiful part of the vineyard here in Cincinnati. 

And, we will bear much fruit in the process…we already have! Live into that, live into God, as God lives in you!!!