This
sermon was preached at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church on May 3,
2015. I wanted to approach this sermon from a social justice standpoint. While
I believe social justice to be a major and much-needed component of ministry,
it is not necessarily my gift to preach that kind of message. My gifts lie in
messages of love, acceptance, and humor. But after a week filled with terror
and disaster, I felt that kind of message wouldn’t be enough to give the people
hope. The focus was to bring a community of believers to stand together. Issues
of the world may be able to tear people apart from one another, but we will
always be connected and nourished through Jesus our Vine. Inspiration for this
sermon came from the Gospel; personal experiences; global, national, &
local events; poetry; and worship liturgy.
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John 15:1-8
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is
the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch
that bears fruit he prunes to 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 become my disciples.
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This
has been one exhausting and lonely week for our world, our nation, and our own
community.
Between
Saturday and Sunday, Nepal was hit by an earthquake hitting a 7.9 on the
Richter Scale. Over 6600 lives were lost to this natural disaster with over
14000 injured. Both counts continue to rise even a week later, and the fate of
thousands still remain unknown. Because
of landslides and other poor weather, it has been difficult for other countries
to distribute aid. Citizens of Nepal continue to struggle for basic necessities
such as food, water, clothes, and shelter. Nepal feels alone.
On
Monday, in Baltimore, Maryland, the funeral for Freddie Gray was held. Freddie
Gray was arrested on April 12th for the possession of a switchblade.
During his transport to jail, Gray experienced what police referred to as a medical
emergency. He was then transported to the nearest trauma center. He died a week
later on April 19th due to injuries such as a crushed voice box and
a severed spine. After his funeral, riots began in Baltimore and governor Hogan
declares Baltimore in a state of emergency. Baltimore feels alone.
Tuesday,
Baltimore wakes up to images and videos of destruction. Rioters rioted all
through the night. Cars and buildings are burning; smoke is filling the
air. Trash, glass, and debris cover the
streets. Over 100 police officers and rioters are injured while over 200
rioters were arrested. A 10:00pm curfew is put on Baltimore. But the riots
begin again, this time with rioters throwing bottles, smoke bombs, and
fireworks at the police. Police responded by throwing pepper balls. The rioters
feel alone.
Wednesday,
the rioters and volunteers in Baltimore deal with their aftermath. People
question how a peaceful protest turned into a violent riot? Other protests
assemble in New York, Denver, Washington DC, Minneapolis, Seattle,
Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. An
additional 100 arrests are made. Even other cities begin to feel alone.
Friday
morning, Freddie Gray’s death is ruled as a homicide, and the six officers
involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray are faced with charges such as
misconduct, assault, and manslaughter. While protestors rejoice, six more
families are devastated. The nation argues whether justice was served. The police
officers feel alone.
And
then Friday afternoon and evening, here in our own community, the Urban Mission
Cabinet, Inc. in partnership with the United Mercer Interfaith Organization,
organized a three-mile walk in Trenton. They made six stops. Six stops representing
the six homicides in Trenton in just this year. Following the walk, there was a
Community Dinner. I was there as well as several other churches and
organizations from our area. Also invited were the surviving family members of
the victims in Trenton. Five of the six families attended, and I watched them
mourn over the loss of their brother, their son, their father. Families still
shattered by the unfairness of death. Our own neighbors feel alone.
This
is the world we live in – where thousands of lives are lost due to a natural
disaster, where hundreds of lives are ruined because of a terrible homicide,
where six deaths occurred this year alone in our own community. So yeah, this
week has been exhausting and lonely to say the least.
But
it is in these times where we turn to the Word of God for peace and for nourishment.
In our gospel reading for today, we have the last of Jesus’ “I am” verses.
Before this Jesus has declared himself as the Bread of Life, the Light of the
World, the Door of the Sheep, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life,
the way, the truth, and the life, and now, Jesus declares himself as the true
vine. God is the vinegrower, and we are the branches. It’s in this passage
where we are called to remember that we are not self-sufficient – that we
cannot bear precious fruit without the nourishment of Christ. That despite what
the world may tell us, we are not alone.
This
world is too much for us to handle by ourselves. If we were alone, how could we make our way
through life? We hear in the Great Thanksgiving that we should live “Through Christ,
with Christ, in Christ” but how do we get to that point? How can we abide with
Christ? How can Christ abide in us?
I
wrestled with the question: why do we need the church? There’s a strong
movement of Christians who identify their spiritually is found outside of the
church walls. They quote “My God is not limited to a building” or “I don’t need
to be in a sanctuary to worship.” And while I agree this to be true and for it
to be great and for it to be excellent… I ask myself, is it enough? Why do we need
the church?
After
a week like this one, we should remember there is a strength found in community
and a unity found in fellowship. Like the fruit grown on the branches of a
vine, we cannot bear our own fruit without the nourishment of Christ and without
the support of one another. We are called to be his disciples. Not individual,
to each his or her own, disciples, but disciples brought together as one
connected, thriving vine. This connection to one another and to God is a gift
freely given to us.
Together,
united as one strong church fellowship, we are embraced. We are able to abide
in Christ as Christ abides in us. Through the power of our Godly vine, we the
branches are connected. And when this happens, our fellowship is transformed
into something greater and more powerful than the hardships and brokenness and
loneliness of our world. It is more powerful than earthquakes and riots and
homicides – yes, it even more powerful than death. Through God’s love, we are
transformed into one body.
You
are called to remember this when you are invited to table:
“Come to this table, not because you must
but because you may,
not because you are strong, but because
you are weak.
Come, not because any goodness of your
own gives you a right to come,
but because you need mercy and help.
Come, because you love the Lord a little
and would like to love him more.
Come, because he loved you and gave
himself for you.
Come and meet the risen Christ, for we
are his Body.”
Let
us break bread together. Let us drink from the cup together. We will do so with
every saint of every time and place to remind us we are never alone in this
world. Through the vine that is Christ, we are brought together in a family of
all believers. It is through his nourishment that we are all intertwined.
In
the midst of earthquakes and riots and homicides, abide with God. God already
abides with you. We all have a sense of longing for something greater. A place
to call home. God has given to us that place. A piece of the heavenly kingdom
here on earth. And it’s already inside of you.
You
may feel lonely, but know that you are not alone.
The
last two verses tell us this: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you,
ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified
by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
We
are called to the faith to be a part of a larger community, a family created by
those who abide in Christ. Joined together by our shared love for him,
challenged together to bear fruit for that love in the world, we are connected
together in, with, and through him.
I
end with this poem written by Reverend Richard Fry:
“Abide in me,
and my words will abide in you.
Fiery, fearless words carried
across the smoking sky,
sprung by the velocity of
pent up pain and rage.
Gentle words of hope and mercy.
Strong words of love.
Hard words of loss and lost hope
that taste like ashes in the mouth
uttered on the godforsaken cross-
Nail scared hands and pierced side,
impaled body, severed spine.
Christ in the suffocating void,
where tears are not cathartic
and pain stings the heart.
Draw near us in the darkness.
May you and your words abide in us.
May they be imprinted on every
sacred and beautiful soul
created in the image of God.
No ethereal souls here,
floating off into the heavens.
Only real, embodied souls count-
What you can see and feel and taste
revealed in real suffering and struggle
and the hard fought battle for a more
just world.
Let not something so precious and sacred
as one’s own soul be violated.
For the violation of one soul
is worse than 10,000
lost or tarnished treasures.
But may your mindful pruning
bear heavy fruit that will
become transformed into wine,
making drunkards of us all,
delirious at the sight
of the Lord’s abiding presence
at the last table.”
Amen.
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O
God, we thank you for being the Creator who gave us life. We pray that you shall help us return that
gift by the way we live and by the way we love. You are our nourishing vine;
our connection to every believer of every time and place. Your love is more
powerful than all the brokenness in this world. Remind us we are never alone.
Allow us to abide with you as you abide with us. All glory and power are yours. Forever and
ever.
Amen.
