Living in coronavirusworld 263: Fifth Sunday in Easter

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The egret is back....

 

On sunny mild Sunday, I meet with my friends from Beverly Church over the phone to preach and lead communion.  Having prepared, of course, over latte and cherry danish at my Venezuelan cafe....

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

When I lived in Pittsburgh, the Greek Orthodox priest in my neighborhood would greet me with those words all 50 days in Easter. And I would respond in kind. I think of him today as my Orthodox friends celebrate Easter. (Our accompanist Irina got up early to stop at the Russian church first before our service......)

My egret has returned to Morningside Park. The turtles are sticking their heads out and basking in the sun.  And like the turtles, we too are slowly sticking our heads out ,checking things out  to see if it might be safe. I was at a birthday party last night with a room fun of real people, not virtual on ZOOM.  Things are changing. Slow, but sure. 

We need to be preparing for the long journey. To an as yet uncharted territory.  

What’s gone is gone and will not come again, What will be is not yet seen. We are living somewhere in between. It’s been a year, and we’re still here. We are here.

So how do we prepare for the long haul? Jesus has words for his disciples today that are good for us as well. They come in-between healing one blind form birth and raising Lazarus from the dead.  (We often forget the one....or Orthodox friends have as Lazarus Sunday) In our liturgical year, we are win that in between space…in-between the resurrection and Jesus’ ascension, his post resurrection time on earth.

In that respect, these words are preparing us for when Jesus will no longer be with us in the flesh.  And the answer Jesus provides for us is “abiding.”  This is also known as the “vine and branches” passage.  It’s a passage with roots in Psalm 80 where Israel is the vine and God the vine dresser. Here Jesus is the vine and we the branches.

And it seems like we are to bear fruit. Any branches that do not produce fruit are “cut off.” And those that do, are “pruned” so that they may bear better fruit.

We are to abide not with, but in him. How do we abide in Jesus? It’s all related to our idea that post resurrection, post ascension, we are the body of the risen Christ. Abide in him. What does that mean? I think it has something  something to do with following his commandments, which first and foremost means living a life of love. 

And it means “bearing fruit,” which to me means making love real through our actions. By their fruits you shall know them.....dangerously close to what Luther criticized as works righteousness, wanting to argue for grace exclusively. 

I love the vine and branches imagery. In some communion liturgies, which we celebrate  today, these words are said with the sharing of the cup…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. 

So I have some questions and issues….have we been pruned? Or put another way, what pruning could you use to bear better fruit? What do we carry around with us that we would be better off without? 

He says “You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.”  Do you feel cleansed by what he has told us?  Can we allow ourselves to feel that? 

And I’ve got some issues…."apart from me, you can do nothing”…..how does that make us feel when we hear that? I know we want to feel capable and that we have agency. Maybe here’s where the grace comes in, but I do have to confess that there are big things in my life I simply can’t…or won’t…accomplish without that grace…

I am always troubled by language like Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch….I believe in a God of love…I don’t want to “abide in Jesus” out of fear of  punishment. The only way I can deal with that is if bearing fruit is its own reward, then refusing to abide and not bearing fruits, living a life apart and separated from others, is its own punishment.

The second half of that sentence is even more of a challenge.. ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you…..Really? Does that really work? As a friend once said to me, remember, it’s prayer, not magic..Some commentators will say Well, if we are truly abiding in him....and he in us, we won’t ask for anything contrary to his word…that seems like too easy an answer…mans we all know those emotional moments when we pray our pleading prayers…. O God, pleeeeeease…and sometimes there are “miracles” and sometimes not. Sometimes we get a parking place and pass  the test but then cancer doesn’t go away, And sometimes it does.  

I can’t answer that one. And in the end, that’s okay. I find myself agreeing with Iris De Mint who sings:

Everybody is a wonderin' what and where they all came from

Everybody is a worryin' 'bout where

They're gonna go when the whole thing's done

But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me

I think I'll just let the mystery be

I think I'll just let the mystery be

For this one, I can let the mystery be. 

And get back to where I started. Bearing fruit. We’ve got challenging days ahead as we negotiate how we’re going to live. What this new place is going to feel like. Let’s try not to worry, Let’s focus on abiding in Jesus…and him in us…and bearing good fruit…that will bring its own reward and that we can be sure of…

Let those with ease to hear, hear…

Amen

Gospel John 15:1-8

1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide 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. 5I 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. 6Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.