Monday, April 30, 2018

Fifth Sunday of Easter (B) 2018

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: John 15:1-8
Theme: Vine And Branches

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed. Alleluia!

God is not an object of examination. He is the creator and sustainer of all things that exist. Our experience of God’s presence and power, whether through the mediation of word, Spirit, and sacrament, or more indirectly through the many aspects of His creation, cannot be encapsulated in a single facet of interaction. Imagine trying to appreciate the intricacies of automobile design or the sophistication of civil engineering by simply driving your car a short distance down the road? Imagine trying to comprehend the full capabilities of your smart phone by making a single call? Can husband and wife truly understand each other after a few days of marriage? (It’s more likely they’ll be baffled for a long time to come!) It’s no different with the incarnate Lord Jesus, who bears the very image of the Father and sends to us the Spirit. In the constancy of divine love- through adversity and prosperity-we begin to apprehend the immensity of God’s life. We can really only make a start here; it will be consummated in eternity.

Still, believers already have eternal life as a present possession. Our Saviour assists us in understanding these things through another very tangible analogy today. Jesus identifies Himself as the true vine. It’s an agricultural illustration that remains very relevant to us. Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”1 He says, “He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”2

Pruning is a necessity. But it’s painful. Pruning has a purpose. Just as a viticulturalist doesn’t aimlessly slash the vines, the heavenly Father doesn’t randomly trim the fruit-bearing branches of our lives. Grape vines are pruned to promote the production of more fruit. As branches attached to Jesus, the True Vine, we are pruned for the same reason. What needs to be trimmed, of course, is all the growth that’s serving our personal, selfish agendas. The Bible says, “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life.”3 The fruit of a sinful heart includes all expressions of ungodliness and unbelief. Jesus says, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”4



The pruning hurts most, of course, when our favourite depravities are severed from us. Those particular propensities of lust, greed, deceit, laziness, selfishness, meanness, cold-heartedness; or whatever they may be. Dear friends, it’s important to be brutally honest here. We might be quite happy to be called to repentance for sins in a generic manner. We’re masters at camouflaging our particular peccadillos. But when our pet sins are held under the spotlight the conscience quickly comes under duress. It’s exactly this type of pruning (and the Greek word means ‘cleansing’) that the Father undertakes for the purpose of bearing more fruit for the kingdom.

The vigor of our faith, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit, is the greatest asset we possess; bar none. Life is filled with uncertainty. We spend much time and resource trying to mitigate those risks we believe are most threatening. We fear dying, illness, and material loss. So, we purchase life insurance, health insurance, and property insurance. We fear theft, and accidents, and financial loss. So, we try to secure our homes, our vehicles, and our businesses. We fear broken and troubled relationships, poor reputations, and feelings of inadequacy. So, we try to protect our feeling and our images. Seldom are these fears irrational. Yet, it is often the case that some fears are overblown, while others are undervalued. When we are not consistently instructed by God’s Word priorities easily become misaligned. If we’re not heeding the voice of the Shepherd, we can be led in all kinds of dangerous directions. If we become detached from the Vine, we will not only cease to bear fruit, we will be severed from the source of life.

Our Lord makes the point quite directly when He says, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”5 And again, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”6 Proper ordering of our fears, devotion, and hopes is essential. There is not a single scenario of pain or loss, fear or distress, hardship or tragedy that has been experienced, could be imagined, or will ever be conceived of that is too problematic for Christ to handle or too trivial for Him to care about.

The Holy Spirit is not inept. The arm of the Lord is not too short to save7. He can suddenly intervene in human affairs in dramatic fashion, but He normally wishes to use means. He uses people, with all their faults and foibles, to reach other people. The Spirit sent Philip to the Ethiopian today. Explaining the words of Isaiah, he catechized him in the truth of the Messiah and he was baptized. Lydia was a God-fearer and the Scripture says, The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”8 She too, was soon baptized, along with her family.

God is the potter; we are the clay. But, dear friends, no believer can be so broken that the Lord cannot use him or her to carry the message of hope to others. He uses broken vessels as His instruments to bring hope into the lives of others. A simple word of encouragement; a single act of charity may be all that’s needed at the time. You and I are His broken vessels. But we are also justified by grace, through faith. We are His baptized. We dine at the table of His wedding banquet. We are righteous and holy in God’s sight for Christ’s sake. Only in Him do we truly know love. Only through Him do we actually share love. As our Scripture says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world.”9

The victim of the cross is the indisputable master over sin and death. He rose again on the third day never to die again. He did it to rescue us from the terrors of hell and open the gates of heaven to all who believe. As long as we remain grafted to Him death has no power over us. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”10 But as Paul says, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”11 For it’s not we who do it, but Christ working in us. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed. Alleluia!

+ In nomine Jesu +

Fifth Sunday of Easter
29 April 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 John 15:5 2 John 15:2
3 Romans 6:12-13 4 Matthew 15:19
5 Mark 8:36-37 6 Matthew 10:28
7 See Isaiah 59:1 8 Acts 16:14
91 John 4:10-14
10 John 15:5
11 Philippians 4:13