Fruit that will last

And so much joy this morning. Let's just take a moment and praise God and thank Him. Lord, thank you. Thank you for the joy of being together this morning. The joy of worshiping you, of being gathered together as your people. Lord, would you come? Would you rest on us? Would you pour your spirit out on us?

Not my words, but your words, Lord. Come Holy Spirit. Amen.

Mary Mitchell Slessor was a missionary to Nigeria. She was born in Scotland and grew up in a poor family with an alcoholic father.

But despite her dark childhood, her mother had this really strong faith. And she became a Christian at a young age. She talked about how her mother's faith in the church was a ray of light for her, despite the pain of what she was going through.

By the time she was 14, her father and two brothers had died. And she worked 12-hour days to care for her family, to bring an income for her mother and two younger sisters.

Because of her work, she wasn't really able to be educated. She had some schooling here and there, but she managed to teach herself how to read.

And the things she loved to read the most were her mother's monthly missionary magazines.

This was like a thing in the mid-1800s in Scotland, in the Presbyterian Church. There was like missionary monthly.

And Mary loved these magazines.

And so she decided she was like, I want to share the gospel.

I want to talk about Jesus with people.

So she started out by doing that in her neighborhood, by teaching Sunday school through the church.

But eventually, she felt this call to go to Nigeria as a missionary, as a single woman in the 1870s.

And once she got there, the thing that was really remarkable about Mary Slessor is that she didn't live in a missionary compound.

That was pretty typical of the time, that the missionaries kind of lived apart from the people they were doing ministry among.

But she decided to embed herself with the people and lived life with them day in and day out.

She adopted their culture, their dress, their food.

She learned their language.

And there had been many male missionaries killed in this area.

The people that she was ministering to were known for being really violent.

But she was able to go into this place and minister because she was a woman.

And because she was so deeply abiding with these people, they recognized her as a friend and confidant.

She was able to start speaking boldly against tribal religious practices that involved human sacrifice and infanticide.

Several tribes in this area practiced infanticide of twins because they believed that twins were offspring of demonic spirits.

So when twins were born, they would be abandoned and the mothers would be ostracized or killed.

Over the course of her ministry, Mary adopted these children and saved hundreds of them from death.

Placing them in various mission compounds throughout Nigeria.

But she adopted eight children and raised them herself as a single mother.

And the people she lived with recognized her presence as so remarkable that she was eventually named vice consul of the court in Okoyang where she lived.

And I think Mary's story takes this idea that we read about this morning in John 15 of abiding and bearing lasting fruit and flushes it out really beautifully.

So as we look at this passage together, we're going to look at three main actions that Jesus talks about.

We're going to talk about this concept of grafting, being grafted into the vine, abiding in the vine, and bearing fruit.

First, we're going to talk about grafting.

And a big part of this grafting is the vine analogy.

Verse 1, Jesus says,

So why this analogy of the vine?

Well, because in the Old Testament, Israel is the vine planted by the Lord.

There are several passages that talk about this.

But almost all of them also refer to Israel as a vine that was rotten.

That her fruit was wild.

That the vine was out of control.

Ezekiel 15 lines up really well with what we read this morning.

Let me just read this quickly.

Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says.

As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire,

so will I treat my people living in Jerusalem.

I will set my face against them.

Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them.

And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord.

I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful.

It's safe to say that Israel the vine was in bad shape.

She was desolate and burned and exiled because of her rebellion and her apostasy and sin.

But this is the framework that Jesus is using when he starts talking about himself being the vine.

I am the true vine, he says.

There are two implications here.

Jesus is the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets.

By saying he is the true vine, he's not only stopping Israel's downward slide and wildness,

he's reversing it so that all creation can be restored.

And throughout the Gospels, we see him doing this.

The places where sin and disease and death and decay are reigning,

Jesus came and he corrected those things.

Jesus triumphs where Israel failed.

And secondly, when Jesus says,

if anyone abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit,

this is an offer that's available to all people, not just the Jews.

All people, all of us,

now have the opportunity to be grafted into Jesus,

to be attached to him as the vine,

to be branches, to abide,

and to bear good fruit.

So the second part of grafting is how.

How do we get grafted onto the vine?

How do we become branches?

And the answer is all throughout John's Gospel.

We respond to Jesus' words.

We believe in him.

We receive him.

And he gives us the right to become children of God.

And this is what he means when he tells the disciples in verse 3,

already you are clean because of the word I've spoken to you.

The disciples have been grafted in

because they've responded to Jesus as the word of God,

not because they're Jewish

or because of any merit or skill set of their own.

In fact, you guys, the disciples were not,

they were not the best and the brightest.

If you've read the Gospels, you know this, right?

It's almost tragicomic sometimes

when you're reading the Gospels

and you're just thinking,

wow, how did you miss this, right?

But it's all of us.

And if you're going to choose people

to be the representative for a religion,

these guys really made no sense.

But that's something that really sets Christianity apart, y'all.

Every other religion has some sort of merit piece built in.

You do certain works.

You behave a certain way.

That makes you worthy of salvation.

You level up.

But with Christianity,

salvation rests on the worth and merit of Jesus Christ.

Our salvation isn't based on our quality,

but the quality of our Savior.

So let's move from grafting to the second action here,

abiding.

Abiding.

John uses this Greek word for abiding,

meno,

11 times in this passage.

So that's a good one to look into.

And what he means here by this word

is really kind of multi-layered.

Abiding means that Jesus dwells intimately with us.

He makes his home in us

and we make our home in him.

There's a two-way relationship there.

And this intimate dwelling,

this homemaking,

is what enables us to endure,

to persevere,

to continue,

to rest in him in our faith.

That's the other part of abiding.

And the beauty of Jesus' incarnation

was that he showed us what this looked like

in his relationship with the Father.

He even tells us,

everything the Father has given me,

I give to you.

You can almost hear him in this passage

responding to questions that might come up.

Like,

Jesus,

how am I supposed to love you

and keep your commands?

How do I do this?

And he says,

just as I have loved my Father

and kept his commands,

I've shown you the way,

right?

And he sends his Holy Spirit

to work

to make all of this possible in us,

to help us remember

all that he said,

to guide us into all truth.

Now, I think a lot of us have questions, right?

We're thinking,

how do we learn to distinguish God's voice

from just all the other clamor, right?

That's a great question.

We think,

is that me or is that God?

I want to hear from God.

And friends,

I think a lot of learning to hear God,

to abide in him,

means assuming a posture,

a posture of humility

and submission and attentiveness

that recognizes we are branches

dependent on the vine

for our entire life.

So do we expect to hear from God?

Do we want to hear from God?

Do we have conversations with God?

In my own life,

I would say the days

where I feel most attentive to the Lord

are the days

where I wake up in the morning

in a posture of prayer,

where I wake up

and I immediately recognize

I'm totally dependent on you, Lord.

Would you teach me today to abide?

Would I hear with your ears

and see with your eyes?

Would I know your heart and your mind?

And then throughout the day,

we can kind of check in with him, right?

We can,

as things come up,

what do you think about that, Lord?

What do you think about this situation?

How can you love this person through me?

What does this mean?

And he wants to be known.

He wants to talk to us.

He wants to be part of this with us.

And this is something

that we're going to continue

to just talk about

more and more

at Church of the Advent.

Just this ongoing relationship

and hearing from the Holy Spirit.

Now, as part of this concept

of grafting and abiding,

we also have to talk about verse six.

These challenging verses

that say we can be thrown away and burned.

This is one of those verses

in the Gospels

where you're going along

and like maybe you're starting

to feel some warm fuzzies

about Jesus

and then all of a sudden

it's like, right?

It's like a record scratch.

If anyone does not abide in me,

he's thrown away like a branch

and withers

and the branches are gathered,

thrown into the fire

and burned.

And, I mean, it says it.

And the thing is,

the disciples probably

would have felt less jarred by this.

And John's Jewish readers

would have felt less jarred by this

because they would have connected

what Jesus is saying here

with that passage in Ezekiel

and some of these other

Old Testament passages

that they were steeped in.

And by making this clear connection,

again, Jesus is underscoring this fact.

I learned this term,

foot stomping.

He's helping his disciples

and other Jews understand

that belief in him

grafts them in,

not their status as Jews.

And this was an important point

to make to people

that had always assumed like,

oh, being Jewish means that

I'm in, right?

So like we said earlier,

Jesus is expanding the status

of his chosen people to everyone,

not just Jews.

But I think there's an additional

explanation here for us

that we need to,

that we really need to consider,

hinging on those two words,

if anyone.

So he says that a couple times,

if anyone abides in me, right?

He also says,

if anyone does not abide in me, right?

So just as Jesus is offering

salvation to all,

he's also being really clear

that he's the only way.

Remember, Christianity

is exclusive in its savior,

but it's inclusive

in its salvation.

All are invited,

but not everyone

receives the offer.

And then there are also some

who do receive it initially,

but then they fall away.

Like Jesus says

in the parable of the sower,

they receive the word with joy,

but then the cares of the world

choke it, right?

They don't persevere.

And I think this is

an important point

about abiding.

Abiding doesn't only mean

a one-time decision.

It means an ongoing posture,

like we said,

of persevering in the faith,

continuing in the teachings

of Jesus and the apostles,

and remembering

that everything he said is true.

And Paul says this so beautifully

in Colossians 2.

Therefore,

as you have received

Christ Jesus the Lord,

so walk in him,

rooted and built up in him,

and established in the faith,

just as you were taught,

abounding in thanksgiving.

Okay, so what does abiding

look like practically for us?

You can't just sit there saying,

abide, abide.

Okay, now abide harder, right?

It doesn't work that way.

But this is where we,

as Anglicans,

have some beautiful tools

to help us abide.

We have the Book of Common Prayer,

full of Scripture-based liturgy

that helps embed the Word of God

deep into us

as we recite the creeds

and we say the collects

and prayers together,

day after day,

week after week.

And we have the sacraments,

especially the Eucharist.

Friends,

it's no accident

that this whole conversation

came on the same night

Jesus instituted the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is a tangible means

of grace

that fuses the spiritual

and the physical.

And this is why we come to church

each week with excitement,

knowing that when we come

to the Lord's table,

we are encountering

the risen Christ there.

And the church fathers

considered the Eucharist

central to life in Christ.

One of my favorite Eucharist quotes

is by Irenaeus.

Just as the bread

is transformed spiritually

by the prayers of the Eucharist,

so are our bodies transformed

when they receive communion.

And all of this leads us

to our last point.

We know that we are connected

to the vine and abiding in Christ

when we bear lasting fruit.

That's the transformation.

And all of that

comes through the Spirit.

Let's consider three aspects

of bearing fruit.

First,

what does fruit look like?

Fruit looks like transformed lives

and communities.

It looks like that transformation

that Irenaeus wrote about.

We see all throughout

the Gospels and Epistles

in the New Testament

that the clearest marker of faith,

of abiding love,

of abiding in the love of Christ

is measurable fruit.

Individuals and communities

transformed

in the love of Christ,

marked by love and joy

and peace and patience,

kindness, goodness,

gentleness,

self-control,

compassion,

courage,

faith,

and hope.

And one of the things

we've been praying about

and talking about

as a staff at Church of the Advent,

and I know many of you

are sharing in this prayer with us,

is that our church community

would be a community

marked by that transformation

and that we would be able

to work on behalf

of the common good

of everyone around us,

whether they share our faith or not.

We just heard

from Travis and T.R. Barnwell

this morning,

missionaries to Thailand,

and they're doing this

in a community

that's largely Buddhist

in Chiang Mai.

What does it look like

for us to do this?

We want,

if our church

were to suddenly

cease to exist in D.C.,

that the city would be,

that people would notice

that there would be a loss,

that there would be a grief

because of that,

because we're a community

marked by Christ's love.

And coming back

to Mary Slessor,

there were many instances

where people didn't

actually believe

and receive,

she didn't have

a noticeable convert necessarily,

but they loved her

because Jesus worked

so tangibly through her.

In fact,

she was called

everybody's mother.

They called her Ma.

And as branches

connected to the vine,

Jesus works through us

in the same way

to care for our friends,

our workplaces,

our neighborhoods.

And let me just emphasize again

that abiding in Christ

comes ahead of these things,

trying to do these things

without abiding.

It's like putting

cut flowers in a vase.

It might look okay

for a little while,

but eventually

they wither and they die.

And that's what it means

to try to do these works

apart from Christ.

It becomes a kind of striving,

of white knuckling.

The speaker on our clergy retreat

last week

that Thomas and I were at,

Steve Nicholson,

said,

if we're ever going

to make it to the end,

we have to stop

trying to make things happen.

God is the one

who makes things happen.

And this illustrates

our second point

about bearing fruit.

Ultimately,

God is the one

who determines

the amount

and kind of fruit

we bear.

He's the vine dresser.

We don't look around

at other people

and what they're doing

to determine

the measure

and value

of our fruit

because our value

rests in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And honestly,

this fruit

most clearly glorifies God

when it's something

we could never

do on our own.

It's like Paul writes

to the Corinthians,

I resolved to know nothing

while I was with you

except Jesus Christ

and him crucified.

I came to you

in weakness

with great fear

and trembling.

My message

and my preaching

were not with wise

and persuasive words

but with a demonstration

of the Spirit's power

so that your faith

might not rest

on human wisdom

but on God's power.

Y'all,

we don't want to be,

we don't want people

saying,

oh, you're so great.

Like, Hillary,

you're so great.

Like, no,

we want people saying

Jesus Christ is great.

We want the fruit

to point people

to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ.

Again,

Mary Slessor

in this violent region,

she often

was in danger

of death

but people started

noticing her wisdom

because of the Holy Spirit

and they would call her

into these conflicts

and she would pray

for the peace of Christ

as she entered in

and she would say,

Lord,

this task

is impossible

for me

but not for thee.

and again and again

the Lord used her.

Third and lastly,

bearing fruit

requires pruning

and pruning hurts.

In a physical vineyard,

pruning is done

for three reasons.

To protect against disease,

to allow branches

to bear more fruit

and to help produce

the greatest quality

of fruit.

And I think this is true

for us metaphorically too.

I think we tend

to think of pruning

when we read this passage

as like,

oh,

these are some

maybe not great behaviors

that the Lord

is asking me to give up.

And it can be that.

But like I said,

in a physical vineyard,

it can also mean

pruning good fruit.

It might mean

some good things

in our lives

get pruned too

because God

in his goodness

knows how he wants

to use us.

He's a good

and loving

vine dresser.

And as Jesus

went back to the Father,

as he was resurrected

and ascended

back to the Father,

we are the means

that he works through

to bear fruit.

And sometimes

the pruning feels

like a measured process.

It's like a little clip here,

a little clip there.

You know,

we think it's like

kind of gentle,

maybe.

And we think

we're listening

to the Lord's invitation.

We're approaching work

or relationships

or school differently.

And that's true.

That's true sometimes.

But there's another way

that branches get pruned.

And sometimes

that's by disaster.

Sometimes that's

by a hailstorm,

lightning,

drought,

storms.

But an experienced

vine dresser

knows how to use

those things

for the good

of the vine.

And it's the same way

in our lives.

these big things

that happen.

Death,

maybe a cancer diagnosis,

betrayal,

infertility,

unwanted singleness,

failed marriage.

This is when we want

to scream at God, right?

We want to say,

this isn't pruning.

This feels like

an amputation.

And friends,

I want you to hear me

on this.

God does not

will suffering

to happen to you,

but he can wield it

for our good

and for his glory.

He can wield it

because he's the

master vine dresser,

because he loves us

and he's for us.

And he wants,

he wants people to know

that we're his disciples.

He wants to bring

glory to himself.

He uses big

and small things

to refine

and strengthen us.

Another way

we could think about

this kind of pruning

is the concept

of the fiery trial

that Peter writes

about in his letters.

He writes that

these trials

prove the tested

genuineness

of our faith.

More precious

than gold

that perishes

though it is tested

by fire

may be found

to result

in praise

and glory

and honor

at the revelation

of Jesus Christ.

Again,

we want people

to see not us

but Jesus.

Yet not I

but through Christ

and me.

We sing that.

And that happens

through this pruning process.

What I haven't told you yet

about Mary Schlesser

was that when she arrived

in Nigeria,

she was 28

and she almost

immediately

contracted malaria.

and she ministered

with regular bouts

of fever

from malaria

for 40 years.

By the end of her life

she was so weak

that she had to be pushed

from village

to village

in a cart.

But she abided

in Christ.

She continued the work

that God had called her

to do.

And hundreds

of men

and women

and children

were saved

physically

and spiritually

as she ministered

both in word

and indeed.

And I can say

that the hardest things

in my life

and I know probably

a lot of you

resonate with this

the times when

I have cried out

to the Lord

for mercy

and I have begged

for him

to make it stop

have also been

the times

when I've learned

what abiding means.

Because those times

have a way

of loosening our hold

on the things

that we familiarly use.

Right?

The familiar means

of comfort

and they bring us

into deeper places

of oneness

with Christ.

When we're weak

and we have no choice

but to depend on him

weakness is the way.

Philosopher

Nicholas Wolterstorff

wrote a memoir

about his 25 year old son's

death in a mountain

climbing accident.

It's called

Lament for a Son.

If you haven't read it

it's a beautiful

exploration of grief.

And he writes

suffering is the shout

of no

by one's whole existence

to that over which

one suffers.

The shout of no

by nerves

and gut

and gland

and heart

to pain

to death

to injustice

to depression

to hunger

to humiliation

to bondage

to abandonment.

and sometimes

when the cry

is intense

there emerges

a radiance

which elsewhere

seldom appears.

A glow

of courage

of love

of insight

of selflessness

of faith.

And in that radiance

we see best

what humanity

was meant to be.

This radiance

is what it means

to bear fruit

for God's kingdom.

It means to be

the person

he created you

to be

to be

his disciple

to be radiant

!

with his glory

and to know

the completeness

of his joy

as Jesus says

in verse 11.

Let's bring this

to a close

with three final

thoughts.

If you're hearing

this

and you're realizing

I'm actually

not connected

to Jesus

I've never been

grafted into the vine

but I want to be

you can pray

right where you're

sitting

Lord Jesus

I turn my life

over to you

please graft me in

would you come

abide in me

help me abide

in you

and if you do this

or if you have

questions

about it

Pastor Thomas

and I would love

love love

to talk to you

after this service.

If you have

already received

Christ

if you're grafted

into the vine

what would it

look like

for you to

abide more

deeply

in him?

Remember

abiding is a

posture

it's an orientation

it's a participation

in the life

of Christ

it's not

checking boxes

and like I said

I gave you

a couple

things about

the book

of common

prayer

prayer

and I just

want to

reemphasize

the Eucharist

I want to

reemphasize

coming and

receiving the

life of the

Lord at his

table

that's abiding

it looks like

patterning our

lives after

Jesus

remember he

showed us

how to do

this

and y'all

it looks like

praying audacious

prayers

because

in verse 7

Jesus says

if you abide

in me

and my

words

abide

in you

ask

whatever

you

wish

and it

will

be

done

for you

so that

means we

can know

the heart

and mind

of Christ

as we

abide in

him

so that

means we

ask what

do you want

me to pray

for

Lord

what do

you see

and then we

pray in agreement

with him

no matter how

big and

unlikely the

request might

seem

remember

what's

impossible

for me

is not

impossible

for thee

and when

we abide

in Christ

a natural

result

is that we

more easily

and naturally

abide with

others

ask the

Lord

as part

of this

audacious

prayer

as you

abide in

me

and I

in you

who are

you calling

me

to abide

with

lastly

if you're

in a season

of pruning

consider

what if

the hardest

thing

in your

life

is the

thing

that God

could use

to produce

the most

fruit for

his kingdom

and friends

I'm not

saying this

lightly

I know

that some

of you

guys

are being

really

pruned

and it

hurts

and it's

hard

I know

and Jesus

knows

if you're

suffering

know that

Jesus sees

you

he

loves

you

he

suffers

with

you

that he

suffered

for

you

but also

know this

that suffering

with him

and for him

is also a

part of

abiding

and that as

we share

in his

suffering

we also

share

in his

joy

his true

complete

and lasting

joy

abide in

him

friends

let's pray

lord thank you

that we are

connected to

you

that you

are the

vine

and that we

are the

branches

would our

posture be

one

of joyful

submission

to you

thank you

that you

are always

working

for our

good

and for

your glory

lord thank you

that you

are mighty

that you

are good

and that you

are powerful

and that you

can do more

than we can

ask or think

or imagine

we love

you

and if

there's

anybody

here

who does

not

personally

know you

lord I

pray that

you would

reveal yourself

to these

people

that they

would receive

you

that they

would trust

you with

their lives

we pray

these things

in the name

of the

father

and the

son

and the

holy

spirit

amen