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The True Vine

John 15:1-11T


The world and the church of the Gospel of John were a different culture and church than we are accustomed to. We have a long and rich Christian heritage. The church of John was a small sect within a small religious group within the Roman Empire. Their history was a few decades compared to our nearly two thousand year history of the Christian faith. They struggled to survive as a small group. We have been a strong force within a powerful secular state. Yet given the differences between our world and John’s, it is interesting to find that the church today struggles in many of the same ways that John’s church struggled. We share the reality that we seek to be faithful within a secular culture. We share the reality that the only way the church today will survive is if we continually recognize the source of our power and keep connected to and faithful to that source which is Christ Jesus.

There are many ways to understand the source of our strength and power. There are many ways to comprehend who Christ Jesus is and many ways to understand his reality. Throughout the Gospels, we see images of the Messiah: the Good Shepherd; the Way, the Truth and the Life; the Stone; the Door; the Light of the World; and more. Each image helps us to a deeper understanding of who Jesus is, and who we are in relation to him. Today we see the image of Christ Jesus as the True Vine.

Jesus took images out of the day to day life of his people and used them to help people understand who he is. Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener (John 15:1).” He also said, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:4-5).”

We live in a world with a wealth of contemporary images that reflect unity and intimacy. We may not know much about grapevines and vineyards but we have intimate knowledge of electricity and the complex system that makes power available for our use. We know how dependent we are on electrical power. What happens when electrical service to your house is disrupted? You cannot cool your house in summer nor heat it in the winter. You cannot cook food, watch television, listen to the radio or stereo, use a computer, light lights and do a multitude of other things you can only do because electricity is available. Electricity supplies power to homes, factories, hospitals, farms and nearly everything in the modern world is dependent on electricity. We quickly miss electricity when we do not have it. Perhaps we can also understand who Jesus is using our own contemporary images. He is the source of power and energy we need to be the people God wants us to be.

Over the years I have purchased, worked with, and used a variety of electronic devices ranging from an electronic cell counting machine to shortwave radios to computers and now mobile phones. Most devices come with manuals. Once I was reading a manual’s troubleshooting section that tells what to do if the device is not working properly. The manual was so helpful that it described step #1: “Is it plugged into a power source?” If it is not plugged into a power source, it will not work. Like Jesus said, “I am the vine” and we must be attached to the vine because unless we are attached to him we cannot do anything of eternal value.

Jesus says that to be one of his people we must remain connected to him. We must be plugged in. Like an electrical device, a Christian will not work unless he or she is plugged into the source of our power, Christ Jesus. Like step one in the troubleshooting manual, it seems obvious that one must be plugged into the Dynamo, Jesus, to be a genuine Christian. It may be a simple statement but it is a hard one because our natural state is to be disconnected, unplugged, rather than be connected to the source of our power. One of the things that trip us up is that we want to be independent, self-reliant and live apart from God. No wonder people have labeled us as belonging to the “me-generation.” We don’t want anyone telling us what to do. We want to do our own thing. Like Frank Sinatra once sang, “I did it my way.”

Instead of acknowledging dependence on God, the natural state of humankind is rebellion. This is not just a phenomenon of the contemporary world; it is part and parcel of our human inheritance to want to be our own person, self-reliant and independent, apart from God. Like it or not, it is a fact of life that there is a powerful drive in us to shut God out of our lives. We just naturally want to try to live disconnected from God, unplugged from the power source.

Instead of being connected to God, we try to branch out on our own but to do so bring us many problems. It guarantees us failure because there is no life apart from Christ Jesus. When we are disconnected, we are apart from the source of our power and strength; we are powerless. Remember what Jesus said? “…apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:6b).” John tells us that without a serious close relationship with Christ Jesus, we are prayerless, wordless, fruitless and hopeless. When we cut ourselves off from the source of our power, we step outside the Kingdom of God into the darkness of the world.

Outside of Christ Jesus, there is distrust and fear. Not only do we become closed off from God, we become closed off from each other. One of the greatest problems of our world is fear and distrust. The modern urban world is, for the most part, characterized by fear and distrust. We close ourselves to strangers because of our fears. We size up people because of our mistrust. In reaction to our fear, we try to buy security. For a price, we can purchase all kinds of guarantees, insurance and warranties as we try to find that feeling of security amid an insecure and fearful world. I don’t know about you but I get calls and letters wanting me to purchase various kinds of insurances. For a premium price each month, they sell security and peace of mind. Life insurance is an interesting concept. The insurance company is saying, “I’ll bet you are going to live a long life, and we will make a profit on your premium for years.” And, maybe we are saying, “I’m going to die and a relative is going to profit from it.” That is an odd arrangement. We want security so bad we will go to great lengths to obtain, not genuine security, but the false feeling of security.

The Christian life is sustained by Christ Jesus who tells us that to be his disciples we must remain connected to him. We must remain plugged into the source of real power. He reminds us that we can do nothing without him. A Christian is a person who, among other things, acknowledges his or her absolute dependence on God. From the beginning, the Church realized that there is no such thing as a self-made Christian. Being in Christ means that we are branches connected to the vine, that we are plugged into the source of genuine power.

One of the ways we evaluate something is by asking, “What’s in it for me?” Years ago I attended a church growth seminar. The presenter told us that the Baby Boom generation was reared to ask that question, “What’s in it for me?”, when they approach anything. When you are connected to Christ Jesus, the true source of real power and genuine life, there is much in it for you and much in it for others. In this morning’s lesson we clearly see and hear Jesus’ message: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).” When you are connected to Messiah Jesus, you open yourself to bearing fruit as a branch connected to the vine bears much fruit. The person who is connected to Jesus is the one who is growing and becoming a genuine disciple.

One of the interesting things about the Gospel lesson is that Jesus does not tell us what it means to bear fruit. What is the fruit that we will bear as we are connected to the vine, the source of life and power? Perhaps we need to look elsewhere in Scripture to find an answer to that question. In Paul’s letter to the Galatian Christians, we find Paul explaining in some detail what Christian fruits are. He says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23).” A world caught up in all kinds of disasters can only be saved by people vitally connected to Christ Jesus--people whose lives are becoming the Gospel.

Jesus calls us to be useful and fruitful branches attached to him, the real vine. The seductions and rewards of the world are nothing compared to a life lived in unity with Christ Jesus. The cultural rules and values of the world will not gain us an inch of security and peace. Only Christ Jesus brings us genuine security and peace.

It is fruit inspection time. Are you a fruitful branch on the vine that is Christ Jesus? What kind of fruits are you producing? Are you growing or stagnant? Are you at peace or in turmoil? Are you at war with God, or have you found real peace in relationship with him? Look at the way you spend your time and money this week. Are you giving or taking? Are you being saved or are you walking in darkness? In relationship with Christ Jesus, you will have what is genuine and true. Be honest with God and yourself as you take stock of your personal life. Remember these words of our Lord Jesus, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples (John 15:8).”

A sermon preached by CH (COL) Michael W. Malone, AUS RET

at Veterans Memorial Chapel, Indianapolis, Indiana


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Veterans Memorial Chapel

SE Corner of East 59th St. and Brooks Blvd., Indianapolis, IN
(317) 697-0655
Worship Services are Sundays, 10:30 am

Adult Sunday School, 9:30 am

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