“Abide in My Love”

A Sermon Based on John 15:1-17

Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, May 5, 2024

One of the pastor’s jobs is to remind people about things they already know. No one here today needs to be told that they ought to love others or that they need to stay close to Christ, “Abide in me,” as Jesus said. Yet, amid all the distractions of daily life and the voices that pull us in other directions – from TV, social media, and elsewhere, it’s good to be reminded of these simple truths. That’s one reason we come together each week to worship – to remind ourselves of what is good and true and right, of how we need to walk with God and with each other in love.

This passage is from Jesus’ last hours with his disciples. Shortly they will go out to the Mount of Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Judas will betray him. Jesus wants to reassure and strengthen them, before they have to endure his trial and crucifixion. He tells them “Do not let your hearts be troubled… I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself.” He speaks to them of the Holy Spirit, the comforter and advocate, who “will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.”

He tells them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” But then Jesus switches his tone and talks about pruning and burning. How can these words provide strength and comfort at such a time?

In Jesus’ day, nearly everyone had a garden. They all knew what pruning was – trimming off part of a plant so that what remains will grow stronger. Pruning is not intended to kill the vine or tree, but rather to enable it to grow and bear more fruit. Trimming off dead branches prevents disease from taking hold and strengthens the vine to produce.

Just as pruning is necessary for plants, it is necessary for us as well. I don’t believe that God causes misfortune, but we can learn from some of life’s pruning experiences. For a biblical example, the young and somewhat arrogant Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers. Then he was unjustly put into prison. He came out a different person – more humble, more mature – and he was ready to assume the leadership role Pharaoh offered him, a position which enabled him to save his brothers and their families from famine.

God can take our suffering and turn it into good, if we allow God to work in our lives. This is what pruning is all about.

The image of burning dead branches with fire is also scary, but again, look at it from the farmer’s perspective. In ancient times, and still some places today, burning symbolizes cleansing, not destruction. I think I have told you how, when we lived in the Central African Republic, each year the farmers would burn the field next to our house. Blackened stubs of plants were all that was left. Yet within a few days, after the rain had softened the soil, tender green shoots sprang up. The fire had killed the weeds and insect pests, so that the crop could grow abundantly. Pruning and fire seem painful at the time, but in the long run, they promote growth and a good harvest.

Jesus knew that his disciples would face difficulties when he was gone. He wanted to assure them that their troubles were a sign that God was at work in their lives – like the owner of a vineyard, pruning and burning the dead branches, so that the vines would bear more grapes.

What fruit are we to bear? The fruit of love: love for God, love for one another, love for all creation. Love requires action. Remember when Jesus said, “love your neighbor” and the teacher of the law asked him, “but who is my neighbor”? In answer, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan – about the man who was beaten and robbed and left for dead on the road, how others passed him by, but a Samaritan – a stranger, an outsider, maybe today’s equivalent of an undocumented immigrant – took care of him, bandaged his wounds, and took him to an inn where he could recover. Love in action may take many forms, from feeding the hungry, advocating for justice, visiting the sick and those in prison, speaking up for the voiceless and powerless, listening to those we disagree with; being kind to others when it isn’t easy.

As I am sure you have heard, there are several words in Greek for love, but the word used in this passage is agape – the word used for God’s love – love that is sacrificial, selfless, unconditional, motivated by empathy and a desire for the good of others. 

This love is more than a feeling or emotion; it is an act of the will that results in doing good to our neighbor, whoever that may be. You can love someone even if you don’t like them. As the Buddha said,  “When you like a flower, you pluck it. When you love a flower, you water it.” My friend, Puerto Rican pastor Rafael Malpica-Padilla, defined love as “stubborn, unwavering commitment to those whom God has entrusted to your care.” Where do we get the energy to love like this?

Jesus reminds us: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.”  “Abide” literally means “to make your home in; to dwell.” If we stay in close relationship to Jesus – if we are connected to the vine, abiding in Him, our souls will be nourished by God’s love, flowing through us, as the sap flows through the vine, helping us to grow spiritually. Just as the sap flows to every part of the vine to nourish it, if we stay connected to Christ, God’s love will seep into our very beings, giving us life, and helping us to bear fruit for God’s kingdom. As we come to know how much God loves us, we will be strengthened by that love, and be enabled to share it with all around us.

When we think of God’s great love for us, out of gratitude we will love others more. The two greatest commandments – love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself –  are echoed here in this passage: As we love God, the source of our life, and abide in the vine, Jesus Christ, we flourish and grow and bear the fruit of love that God wants to share with the world. As the poet Wendell Berry wrote: “I know that I have life only insofar as I have love. I have no love, except it come from Thee.”

When we look at the cross, we see that the vertical stake points up to heaven and down to the earth. It symbolizes our relationship with God, how God reached down to us, and we reach up to God. It reminds us to “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

The crossbar, the horizontal dimension, symbolizes our relationship with other people – reminding us, to love our neighbor as ourselves. Just as Christ stretched out his arms on the cross, to embrace the entire world, so we, too, must reach out to embrace others. “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit…Abide in my love.”

I will close with a poem by Doris Jacobs-Covington, called “Abiding in the Vine”:

Do we recognize the value

Of an attachment to the Vine?

Take notice of the nourishment

Within the bread and wine?

Communion with the source is

So important to each branch…

For bearing fruit without Him

Doesn’t even stand a chance.

Be prepared for lots of pruning

For in order to produce,

Things hindering our growth in God

Just have got to get cut loose.

Obedience to His command

To love is still a must…

And He still makes a friend of

Any servant He can trust.

Remember, He laid down His life

With you and me in mind.

He paid a debt He didn’t owe…

Such love can’t be defined.

If being dead to sin can mean

To dwell in the Divine…

Then, alleluia, I will keep

Abiding in the Vine. Amen.

©Deborah Troester 2024