Pruning for Fruit

John 15:1-8

”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 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. 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. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 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.”

---

The summer we started the Grace Garden here at church, I planted something that is still in the garden today — I planted grape vines. Unlike everything else in the garden, which is destined to be distributed to our food pantry clients, my vision for the grapes was to make wine out of it to use in worship one day (maybe literally for one day).

I planted three vines that first summer, but only one survived to the next year. I didn’t know how to care for them and I still don’t know why one survived and the other two did not. The next summer I didn’t want to do anything to lessen the chance for the vine’s survival, so I didn’t touch it. By the time the third summer rolled around, I realized I had a bit of a problem because by never pruning the vine, it had grown out of control. Pruning was supposed to be done in the winter, but it was too late and I could only watch as the tangle of branches produced large leaves, but never a single grape.

This year I put it on my calendar to prune the vine in February. I was full of doubt about the process. Is this really what I’m supposed to do? Am I doing it right? Would it make a difference? Is there a chance I could kill it by removing so much of its growth? Pruning shears in hand, I nervously set about snipping off long branches and wayward growths, reducing the vine to a stub with only two branches splitting off in either direction. I looked at the end result and thought for sure I had killed it. Today, however, it looks healthy and has buds on it’s two remaining branches. In a few months there just might be some juicy grapes growing on it.

All that to say, this year as I read about Jesus’ spiritual teaching about the vine and the branches, I connected more with the story than I had before. I had a deeper connection to the illustration of removing branches from the vine as well as God’s promise to bring fruit forth from the vine. This time around, the story convicted me of my reluctance to prune away branches...both the literal ones in the garden as well as the figurative ones in my life.

I was hesitant to prune the grape vine because I didn’t actually know how to care for the vine. I was ignorant.

Also, I was so grateful to have one that survived that I couldn’t imagine taking a blade to it in any capacity. I was scared it wouldn’t live.

And finally, I was sure I would mess it up. I was full of self-doubt.

Ignorance, fear, and self-doubt are three things that prevented the grape vine from flourishing. Ignorance, fear, and self-doubt are also three things that prevent me from flourishing spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

Ignorance. Why is it that we so often lack the knowledge necessary to take care of ourselves or others? Do we realize that we have to remove branches from our lives that bear no fruit? Are we even aware that there are branches in our lives that do not bear fruit--that is, things in our lives that redirect and waste valuable time, energy, and resources from the truly good things in our lives?

Fear. What are we afraid of? Is it truly possible for us to fail if we are attuned to the presence and direction of God in our lives? Would God let us prune away too much? Would God allow us to sever the wrong branch? Would God prefer simply to chop us down entirely rather than carefully tend to our needs?

Self-doubt. Why is it so difficult to love ourselves and be filled with God’s grace? Why do our inner monologues seek to tear us and others down? Why do we cling to resentments and disappointments? Why do criticisms from others remain with us longer and demand more energy from us than compliments? What is it that prevents us from trusting that God is a master vinegrower and we are valuable vines?

Close your eyes and imagine a garden that is tended to by someone who is full of ignorance, fear, and self-doubt. What do you notice about what is or isn’t growing in the garden? How does it make you feel to look at that garden, to walk among it?

Ignorance, fear, and self-doubt ruin more than just gardens, of course. They can also ruin lives. Ignorance, fear, and self-doubt will prevent a human life from reaching its full potential. Yours, as well as those with whom you are in relationship.

The antidote to ignorance is knowledge. The antidote to fear is courage. And the antidote to self-doubt is faith.

Close your eyes once more and imagine a garden that is tended to by someone who is knowledgeable, courageous, and faithful. What do you notice about what is or isn’t growing in this garden? How does it make you feel to look at this garden, to walk among it?

The difference between the two gardens is that one has been pruned.

When Jesus tells us that God, the vinegrower, will prune the branches that do not bear fruit, we are to hear this as a promise, not a threat. This speech Jesus gave to his first followers shortly before his crucifixion is not a warning about the fires of hell for those who fail to profess Jesus as Lord. Rather, it is an invitation to trust that God will prune the fruitless and wasteful branches of our lives in order for us to flourish. And with enough knowledge, courage, and faith, we will begin to identify those fruitless branches ourselves and do a little self-pruning. If the notion of self-pruning sounds a little too awkward or painful, you could also call this process “discipleship.”

Knowledge, courage, and faith are good gifts that come from God. We do not earn or create these gifts; but we do encounter them and become more aware of them in prayer, scripture, and acts of loving service to others.

Knowledge grows as we admit we do not know everything and approach life with an open heart and an open mind.

Courage grows each time we engage with others from a position of vulnerability and honesty.

Faith grows each time we seek out and wrestle with God’s presence in the midst of this world that God loves and redeems.

May you be filled up with wisdom about who God is, whom God created you to be, and what wasteful branches in your life should be pruned away.

May you be courageous and bravely set out to make a positive impact in the world, even if it comes at great personal cost.

And may you be faithful to the God of love who is, at this moment, using his followers to redeem, restore, and reconcile the world and one another.

Amen.

I'll See It When I Believe It

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors on the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” When he said this, he showed them his hands and his sides, and the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. He said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so now I send you.” And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Now, Thomas (who was called “the Twin”) one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared. So the disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the marks of the nails in his hands, and put my fingers in the marks of the nails, and my hands in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later, the disciples were again in the house and this time, Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your fingers here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Now, Jesus did many other signs which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you might have life in his name. 

---

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

We’ve all heard that before right? “I’ll believe it when I see it.” I didn’t do any research about who said it first or if Thomas gets the credit for it, but that’s his sentiment exactly. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” “Unless I see the marks of the nails in his hands, and put my fingers in the marks of the nails, and my hands in his side, I will not believe.”

Maybe we’ve said it ourselves – “I’ll believe it when I see it” – not about things of faith, even, but about anything unexpected or hard to believe or too good to be true.

Like, that lottery ticket you bought on a whim being the big winner. “Yeah, right. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Or like your kid cleaning up his room without being asked. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Or, like that chronically late friend actually showing up on time. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Or, like so-and-so who wants to believe that this relationship will be the one that sticks. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Some of us are naturally more cynical and skeptical than others, but we all do our fair share of doubting the difficult or unlikely ways of the world around us ... sometimes for very good reason. But I thought of a story this week that made me think differently, this time around, about what Jesus might be up to with Thomas, that’s different – and not so simple as – “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

The story goes that there was a wise old woman who, for years and years and years, weekend after weekend after weekend, took the bus into and around the city. She loved the city for all of its hustle and bustle, for all of its people and places, for all of its colors and food and shops and more. And, as much as she loved spending time in the city, she loved the bus ride just the same, because she liked she loved to watch and to talk with the people who would come and go at each stop along the way – especially the young people who were new and curious and so green about it all.

One day a young woman sat next to her on the bus and explained that she was new to town – she had never been to the city – and she wanted to know what it was like. The old woman asked her, “What have you heard? What are you expecting?” And the young woman – eyes smiling and full of excitement – said she heard it was beautiful and fun and full of food and lights and interesting, colorful, kind people. She couldn’t wait to get there and wasn’t sure she’d ever want to leave. The wise old woman sitting next to her, smiled and said, “You’re in for a treat. That’s exactly what you’re going to find in the city.” The young woman thanked the old lady and bounded off the bus, wide-eyed and smiling as she strode off into the city.

The next weekend a sullen young man plopped down in the seat next to the wise old woman, on their way into town, and grumbled his way through her attempts at some small talk. She asked him why he was in such a grumpy mood on such a beautiful day and he said he wasn’t looking forward to his visit to the city at all. He’d never been there before and he expected what he’d heard to be true – that the city was dark, dirty, and dangerous, that it was loud and crowded, that the people were mean and that he would be ready to leave as soon as he got there. As he moped his way off the bus, the wise old woman wished him good luck because, she said, that was exactly the city he was going to find when he got there.

Never mind, "I'll believe it when I see it." The point of the story is that the opposite is true a lot of the time, isn't it? "I'll see it when I believe it.” What we believe sets the stage for what our hearts and minds and eyes will see and experience. We can believe ourselves into happiness and joy and contentment and peace. Or we can believe ourselves into sadness and fear and anxiety or worse. I’m not pretending this is so cut-and-dried or easily done for any of us, but so much of the time, we see and experience what we believe – or what we’ve convinced ourselves – to be true.

And I wonder if this is something like what Jesus had in mind in those first days after Easter. I wonder if all of this showing up behind closed doors after the resurrection and his willingness and desire to show Thomas what seemed too good to be true is an even deeper lesson in what it means to live a life of faith than it looks like on the surface of Jesus's scarred sides and holey hands.

What if, when Jesus says to Thomas – and whoever else was paying attention – “blessed are those who have not seen [yet] and have [already] come to believe” – he’s saying something like, “You’ll see it when you believe it.” 

Now, there might be no amount of faith or belief on your part that will clean your son’s room or change your friend’s knack for being late or mend someone else’s relationship woes. But our willingness to have faith or hold space for possibilities we can’t always see, might actually change the way we experience the world for ourselves – and see God alive and well in the world around us.

Like, if we believe there can be forgiveness by God’s grace – for us or for someone in our life – we might be able to not only imagine that forgiveness, but we might find a way to receive it, or to offer it up, too. “I’ll see it if/when I believe it can be true.” 

Or, if we believe there can be healing from some kind of hurt or brokenness in our life, we might start looking for ways to facilitate and manifest that healing in ways that actually bring it fruition. “I’ll see it when I believe it.”

Or, if we believe there can be new life or a second-chance or some resurrection after a tragedy or a loss or a failure, our eyes might be more willing to look for and able to actually see new life, or a second chance, or resurrection when it shows up to surprise even the most cynical among us.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” “Blessed are those who have not seen [yet] and have [already] come to believe.” Or, “You’ll see it when you believe it.”

See, I think Jesus knows this faith and belief stuff is hard. I think that’s why he kept showing up for those first disciples – and especially for Thomas, the one who had such a hard time believing – for good reason – what seemed too good to be true.

Because who knows what was troubling Thomas at the time, after all. Maybe he couldn’t get his son to clean his room. Maybe Thomas was the one who was always late and that’s why he wasn’t there the first time Jesus appeared. Maybe his relationship was on the rocks. Maybe his wife had breast cancer. Maybe his father was in the hospital, or his best friend was dying, or he’d just lost his job, or his dog had died. Maybe he was as scared as the rest of the disciples about what was next for them all, now that Jesus had been crucified, died, and was buried.)

Whatever the case, Jesus wanted Thomas to believe that that wasn't the end of the story; that there was more and better waiting for him by the grace of God. And I wonder if Jesus wanted him – and wants, us, too – to believe this, first, so that we might look for and come to see the very real presence of God among us in real, surprising, loving ways because of it.

Like that wise old woman on the bus in the city, maybe Jesus longs for us to believe in and to expect more of God’s grace to find us on this side of heaven, so that we might go looking for it – especially in the broken, wounded, fearful places of our lives – so that when it shows up in our midst, we’ll be ready to recognize, reach out, touch, receive, and share that kind of grace with the world in his name.

Amen