Last Week's Sermon

Acts 8:26-40

1 John 4:1-11

John 15:1-8

Jesus said I am the true vine and My Father is the vine-dresser, one of seven “I am” statements recorded in St. John’s gospel narrative,

1. I am the bread of life, whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. And so it is, He comes to us in the sacrament we will celebrate at this humble altar today and feeds us His own body and blood, given and shed as the visible means by which your are connected to the vine, fed and fueled for all of eternity.

2. I am the light of the world, whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. In the book of Isaiah God said: “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake you.

3. I am the door, if anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The only thing that separates man from God is our sin, Jesus said, He is the door, by faith in Him your sins are forgiven and the door to eternity stands open, as you are welcomed to abide with Him forever.

4. I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd lay down His life for the sheep. It is true He could have called 10,000 angels but He willingly died alone for you and me.

5. I am the resurrection and the life whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Those words alone give you the ability to live in the knowledge that you will see your loved ones again, those who have fallen asleep in the faith, those who are in the presence of the great “I Am” singing to Him their praises and awaiting your arrival.

6. I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known Me you have known My Father, from now on you do know Him and you have seen Him. Everything we will ever need to know about God, we know in His Son our Savior. In the incarnation of Jesus Christ, you know God, and you now know His Father.

7. I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser.

Dear Friends, Jesus Christ is the true vine and it is He who bears good fruit within us, it is the spirit of God given to each and every one of you in the lifesaving waters of baptism that directs you toward random acts of kindness, even as we recognize that good works don’t always come natural for the sons and daughters of Adam. Might I suggest for the one who remains connected to the true vine, the true Son of God the result will be love, kindness and compassion; I don’t believe you can even help yourself. That is the message woven through the appointed lessons for today, it all boils down to love, the love of God manifested among us by Him sending His only begotten Son into this world, so that you might live a new life, grounded in the forgiveness and the rebirth won for you on His cross and confirmed for all at the discovery of the empty Easter tomb. By the ministry of the Gospel, He has given His Spirit, so that you can believe and confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and that you now know the Father. In this way you abide in Him and He in you, and now we are called to love one another just as He loves us. Such divine love is illustrated in the account of Philip’s preaching of the good news about Jesus and the baptizing of the Ethiopian eunuch thus grafting him into the true vine Jesus Christ, just as you were grafted into God’s family by water and word. Jesus said, “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” indeed they were Christ’s words spoken to you, each one of you, individually and personally by His under-shepherd at your baptism. And so it is you along with every one of your Christian brothers and sisters abide in Him by faith connected to the vine by His promises, cleansed by His blood.

I am the true vine, Jesus said, that means He is the very conduit between man and the almighty. Today we see Him standing among the vines in the Garden of Gethsemane preparing His disciples for the mission of the church. Now to put things into historical context it was Maundy Thursday they had already celebrated the last supper, Jesus had already spoken of His betrayer Judas who now stood poised to give Him a kiss. It is the night before the phony trial, the brutal flogging, and the crucifixion, and He will spend these precious moments preparing His protégé’s to plant His church, He is putting the infrastructure in place for your salvation. Even as He is about to be crucified Jesus assures them that their sins have been forgiven. The same forgiveness He promises to you and me He promised to His disciples, “Already you are clean, He said, because of my words.” And to stay clean, I am telling you to abide in Me and I will abide in you.

Then He warns that the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, no it must stay connected to the vine, just as you and I must stay connected to His church.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. Ouch, thrown into the fire, burned for all of eternity, that ought to get our attention. Jesus warns that there will be those who claim to know, Him but there is no evidence of His presence in their lives; no fruit to be found, not one gentle act of kindness, He is warning that there will be those whose lives are void of anything beyond fueling their own desires.

St. Paul listed the fruits of the faith as follows: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. When a person goes through life never manifesting a single item on that list, and we have all met that person, it is most likely they have turned from God and chosen to separate themselves from the vine. Their faith has withered and they have fallen into the unbelieving world. How can this happen, why do some of the seeds wither and die? Jesus said: “If anyone does not abide in Him, he is thrown away and withers”. Abide in Him that is the reason we are here today, we are here to abide in Christ, to have our faith fed and strengthened. We have gathered to hear His gospel proclaimed so that weakness and doubt can be trimmed or punned. Life this side of heaven is hard and it certainly presents its challenges. Even in this day of instant communication, there will be those who struggle with loneness and fear as well as those who are lost and don’t know the Savior. Those who are longing for the Love of Jesus, searching for the good news of forgiveness found in His death and resurrection it is the fuel our souls require. It is what keeps one connected to the vine. So pray for those who are lost, visit those who are lonely and just like St. Philip, share the good news of God’s love with anyone who will listen.

And don’t forget about your own faith, stay connected, unfortunately it can become easy to neglect the one thing you need to stay faith strong, alive and connected to the vine, Christ’s words, which keep you clean, His body and blood, to keep you fed, free and full of hope. Some times we can get so busy we forget about our own spiritual wellbeing, don’t do it, the result is never good, the pain and the heart ache of trying to go it alone is an impossible task and it is a slippery slop to barren branches.

Jesus said: “I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. Dear Friends God has grafted you into the true Vine, His Son Jesus Christ, He has watered you by His Word, nurtured you by His body and blood, and filled you with His spirit and now you live for Him rather than for yourself a feat not always easy to accomplish. Never the less He has shown us what love looks like by His sacrifice on the cross. That same self-giving love becomes the template for how we treat others, our family, our friends, strangers and even those who would harm us. As we attempt to accomplish this love, I urge you to turn to the Great I Am and don’t worry good things will certainly follow.

In Jesus Name!

Amen!