John 15:1-4

“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.” vss. 1-2

It takes considerable skill and expertise to be a successful wine producer. Even the highest quality vines need to be watered, tended, and pruned to get the highest quality wines. Expert viticulturists spend years honing their craft and are in great demand wherever grapes are produced. Certainly that would have been true in Galilee during the ministry of Jesus, and he likely saw more than a few vineyards in the course of his travels. And according to the gospel of John he was familiar with high quality wine, and the effect it could have at a wedding reception. It’s not surprising then that in this section of the gospel he describes himself as “the true vine.” For him it was the perfect metaphor for the lives he expected his followers to live. They were his branches and they were expected to produce fruit in abundance. If they bore no fruit, he warns, they would be removed by the vinegrower. While that sounds ominous, that’s the ever present reality in any vineyard. Pruning is a necessity for good grape production, and the same is true for every person of faith. It’s one of the ways the Holy Spirit works in our lives to produce the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Ultimately the pruning is a blessing!

Thought for the Day: How have I experienced pruning in my life?

1 John 4:17-21

“Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” vs. 20

During these last decades it’s been stunning to see people who claim to be Christians joining the choruses of hate that masquerade as public discourse in our country and around the world. Claiming to possess freedom of speech they regularly disparage and belittle opponents at every opportunity. Could it be that they’ve never read Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount where he encouraged his disciples to love their enemies and pray for their persecutors? Maybe they missed these words from John where he says that love for God and hatred for enemies is incompatible. It really is discouraging to see how shallow Christianity has become in the lives of some claiming to be adherents. They have the latest Jesus tee shirts and love to advertise their love for God, but their behaviors make a joke of their public testimony. Admittedly good people can hold passionate positions about matters of faith and life, but that’s no reason to demean or ridicule those with opposite opinions. Nor do we have to keep our mouth shut about what we believe–people of faith should be able to have difficult conversations. But they will always be conducted in an atmosphere of kindness and mutual love. Of course such loving is not easy–that’s just the way it is with sacrificial love!

Thought for the Day: Who would it be easy for me to hate?

1 John 4:7-16

“So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” vs. 16

When we get confused about the doctrines and creeds of our denominations, and long for a plain description of God, it’s good to reread these chapters from John’s first epistle. For him everything revolves around God’s love for the world, and he even goes so far as to define God as love. Of course we know that God is much more than that, but this is God’s essence. Whenever we encounter sacrificial and unconditional love, we are seeing the face of God. This is the unbreakable bond that ties us both to God and to one another. And somehow it feels really good to know that God even works through us to lift up and sustain those who are experiencing any kind of suffering. Doubters and unbelievers might not know it but in our touches and hugs they are meeting as much of God as they would ever need to know. Love reaches across boundaries and breaks down barriers, connecting human hearts and souls all over the world. And smack dab in the middle of our caring communities stands the Christ, who is the Light of the World. We can talk about bombs and artillery shells all we want, but they will never change the hearts and souls of humankind. Genuine repentance only comes through the abiding love of God in us and in Christ!

Thought for the Day: If God is love, how can anyone be an atheist?

Psalm 22:25-31

“For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.” vss. 28-29

The psalmist had an expansive sense of the Lord’s dominion. In his estimation no part of the universe was outside God’s control and rule. Even all the people who had died, all those who slept in the earth were subjects of the Lord–it’s almost like the psalmist had a sense of what we might call “universal salvation.” But what really catches our attention is what he says about himself.  No matter what has happened to others, he proudly says, “I shall live for him!” Wow! Talk about an Easter affirmation! Even though Christ is risen from the dead and we also have the promise of life beyond life, blessed are those who are bold enough to say, “I am going to live for the Lord now! I am going to serve and love in the name of Jesus all the days of my life, and I am going to see resurrection hope in every single day that remains for me on this earth.”  It is a blessing to see people who live each day in this fashion. Joy oozes from their being, and love flows from their pores! They are alive! And no one is going to mistake them for the zombies who wander among us. Resurrection is real and it awaits us with every morning breath. 

Thought for the Day: How do people know that I am joyful? 

Acts 8:36-40

“When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.” vs. 39

Jesus had twelve disciples but Luke doesn’t say much about the majority of them in his Acts of the Apostles. The Acts stories are mostly about Peter, John and Paul–and Paul wasn’t even one of the Twelve. But the story Luke tells about Philip is a gem. Out of the blue Philip connects with an Ethiopian Jew who was an official in the court of Queen Candace, and their brief conversation along the way culminates with the eunuch’s baptism. At that point in the story Philip disappears and the Ethiopian goes merrily on his way back to the court of the queen. Nothing more is said–but we do know that not too long after this there was a thriving colony of Christians in Ethiopia. We can presume the eunuch had something to do with this. That same sort of thing was happening all around the Middle East–Paul wasn’t the only apostolic missionary. The stories didn’t get written down, but we know preachers were on the road, and we know they penetrated far beyond the boundaries of the Roman Empire and baptizing was done even as far away as Mongolia and India. There was an unparalleled appeal to the good news of Jesus, and it spread quickly wherever it was proclaimed. And it continues to spread today!

Thought for the Day: Why is the pace of evangelism slowing in North America?

Acts 8:26-35

 “So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.” vss. 30-31

There has been a Jewish presence in Ethiopia for thousands of years, and some of them regularly traveled to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. Luke here recounts how an official of Queen Candace had made such a trip by chariot, and on his return to Ethiopia had been joined by the apostle, Philip. When Philip asks if he understands the scripture that he had been reading out loud (as was the custom), the Ethiopian asks for guidance. Philip is glad to oblige and uses the passage to introduce Jesus into the conversation. This was a common tactic among early Christians. They had no scripture of their own, but it was easy for them to find passages in the prophets, particularly Isaiah, that they believed pointed to the life and mission of Jesus. Philip presented a compelling argument and the Ethiopian fell in love with the good news. Sometimes that’s how it works with chance encounters. It could be on an airline flight or in a bar. Guided by the Spirit we begin a conversation that soon turns to spiritual matters, and we are given an opportunity to testify to the good news. As a result of hearing the message of grace, it’s even possible for lives to change. Philip’s witness brought Christianity to Ethiopia!

Thought for the Day: What opportunities have I had for random testimony?

John 12:16-18

“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” vs. 16

We can’t be sure what is intended by this reference to sheep of another fold. Like other obscure verses in scripture though, people have had a field day making various speculations. Some say it refers to the original inhabitants of North America, an idea popular to members of the LDS, and a few even believe it forecasts a mission to extraterrestrials. But most interpreters simply see these words as an affirmation of the outreach to Gentiles that took place shortly following the resurrection. At first it seems  there had been little enthusiasm for moving beyond the boundaries of Judaism among Jesus’ disciples, but that definitely changed with Paul. This pattern of expansion within the Body of Christ has been present ever since. And whenever the church has become focused on establishing boundaries between insiders and outsiders, the Spirit has moved to break down barriers and to open the way to even greater inclusivity. That hasn’t also been comfortable in our congregations–it’s much easier to relate to people who are like ourselves–but there’s no way we can even imagine that isn’t the will of Jesus. There really is only one flock and it contains sheep of every conceivable shape, color, and temperament–and there’s maybe even room for aliens!

Thought for the Day: Why isn’t my congregation more diverse?

John 10:11-15

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.” vss. 14-15

Even though most of us know very little about shepherds and even less about sheep, there’s something about the image of Jesus as the good shepherd that resonates in our hearts and minds. Put simply, we love thinking of Jesus as our shepherd, the one who searches for us when we wander off and who willingly laid down his life on our behalf. It’s no accident that one of the earliest artistic depictions of Jesus, a wall painting found in the catacombs of Rome, is that of a shepherd carrying a sheep on his shoulders. And even though the twenty-third psalm was not written about Jesus, we have no difficulty at all in associating its words and images with him. To put it a bit crassly, when life gets us down, Jesus as shepherd is “mac and cheese” for our souls. We don’t have to think about some esoteric doctrine or ponder the mystery of the trinity. All we need to do is imagine the comforting rod and staff of Jesus guiding us through whatever darkness has crept into our lives. In his arms comes peace that is beyond our human understanding, and his goodness and mercy become our companions for all the days of our lives.

Thought for the Day: When have I felt Jesus’ loving arms embracing me?

1 John 3:19-24

“All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.” vs. 24

While there is nowhere that God is not, sometimes individuals wonder whether God dwells within them. They yearn for some kind of proof that the Divine Presence is in their hearts. For such folks John indicates that there is an external sign that God abides in us, and that is by the Spirit that has been given to us. At first those words seem obscure, but not when they’re read within the context of this passage. John is very clear, the Spirit is made visible by our generosity! There are many who claim to be religious, and who love to dazzle others with their piety and familiarity with scripture. But if they’re tight-fisted and reluctant to share their bounty with the needy, the Spirit of God does not dwell within them. A more familiar way of saying this is, “the proof is in the pudding,” or as Jesus was fond of saying, “by their fruits you shall know them.” The strength of a person’s relationship to God is never hidden, but is visible to any who are exposed to their words and actions. Is it possible to be fooled? Of course! But we can be pretty confident that generosity is generally not an imitated virtue. Those who have the world’s goods are almost always inclined to keep them!

Thought for the Day: How do I know God abides in me?

1 John 3:16-19

“How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?” vs. 17

A couple of weeks ago, on Easter Day, we celebrated the sacrificial love of God with hymns of thanksgiving and praise. For John this is the only true love, and in imitation of God, John teaches that believers will gladly lay down their lives for one another. This is a teaching that comes straight from Jesus, and one that we regularly affirm. But John goes on to ask a troubling question, one that the majority of Christians would rather not answer, “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?”

Our resistance arises out of our deep and abiding love for the world’s goods, and through the years we’ve invented a multitude of excuses to ignore what John pointedly suggests. It isn’t that we’re unaware of people in need! We know perfectly well that starvation and hunger are ravaging populations all over the world, and even in our own communities. We know this, and are still able to rationalize our decision to continue our self-serving mission of accumulation. If John is right, this means that oftentimes our piety is only skin deep, and God’s love is not in us. We may not like it that God’s love is revealed by our deeds, but there really isn’t any other way!

Thought for the Day: Why do I refuse to help the needy?