During the springtime of flowers and blossoms, I am struck by a humble truth: I have a tendency to kill houseplants. It’s unfortunate. Friends have given me lovely potted plants over and over, and try as I might, I can’t seem to keep them green and growing. I am not going to ask anyone here to raise their hand if they have ever let a houseplant die, but let’s just assume that I am not alone in my plight. Now, there are a number of reasons why people have difficulties keeping houseplants alive—from lack of sunlight, temperature fluctuations, poor drainage, and pests—but the number one reason why houseplants die is overwatering[1]. When a plant is overwatered, the roots are flooded and lose touch with the soil, and that prevents the roots from getting enough oxygen. When the roots lack oxygen, they decay and die[2]. I’m learning that it is better to let a plant’s soil grow dry for a day or more instead of keeping the soil too wet. Plants need the right balance of good soil, sunlight, and the right amount of watering in order to thrive and flower.
Jesus understood the importance of healthy roots in maintaining a healthy faith. As he prepared his disciples for his passion and death, Jesus offered the metaphor of the vine and branches, with God as the master gardener, to help the disciples understand how they could stay faithful. Jesus knew that in order to stay strong after his death and ascension to God, the disciples needed to stay connected to him.
Listen to this teaching from Jesus now, from the fifteenth chapter of the gospel of John:
[Jesus said] ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. 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. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
There is plenty to unpack from these verses from John’s gospel. Remember, this chapter is the middle of the farewell discourse in John. Jesus prepares the disciples for his death and resurrection by sharing the last supper, washing their feet, proclaiming the depth of God’s love, and concluding with a prayer for the disciples and those they lead to faith through the Word.
Jesus offers his final “I AM” statement here in John 15, saying “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower.” He later emphasizes “I am the vine, you are the branches.” We often seek to find our place in the text, and here Jesus makes it clear. Jesus describes what God is doing, through Jesus, the Word made flesh and fresh. Jesus is the vine, sent to strengthen the branches and produce fruit for God, the master gardener. As the branches, we are not the main character. We trust the vine-grower to prune, cleanse, and tend to the branches so that we can bear fruit. Jesus is the source of life and abundance for us. If you hear nothing else from this sermon, remember that apart from Jesus, we can do nothing! Jesus reminds us that faithful discipleship is about staying connected to Jesus and knowing God through the word. This passage centers on what God is doing through Jesus, not on our own actions.
This week, I joined the celebration for President Jacq Lapsley’s inauguration at Union Presbyterian Seminary. During a symposium about the purpose of seminaries, four seminary faculty and two alumnae, who are currently serving as pastors, spoke about the function of seminaries and of the church. A question from the crowd was, “What is one thing President Lapsley should keep her eye on as she leads the seminary?” Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean, Professor of Youth, Church, and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, and clearly a friend of Dr. Lapsley, quickly responded, “Jesus!” Now Jesus is often the right answer to many questions on a seminary campus, but after the laughter subsided, Dr. Creasy Dean said more. Looking at Jacq with fondness, she said, “I know you are here because you love God, and you want to love God better, and that motivates everything you do.” That is the kind of response Jesus is teaching the disciples. That is the goal of discipleship for all of us, no matter if we have ever attended seminary or not. Jesus teaches the disciples and teaches us that we are here to love God and to love God better, and when that love is the source of who and how we are, then we will bear the fruit of joy. Jesus starts by emphasizing that God is the source and main actor as the tender Gardener and artistic Creator that puts everything in motion.
My second point grows from the first—Jesus stresses that the work of the branches, the work of discipleship—is not done alone. We cannot do anything apart from Jesus, and we cannot live the abundant life God promises in solitude. Being faithful is not a solo or individual venture. Jesus uses this metaphor of the vine and the branches to highlight the importance of community. If a branch is cut off from the vine, it will not thrive. Branches are pruned to sustain life and create the best outcome of the whole vine. The Rev. Austin Shelley notes, “The branches either produce fruit or do not; both fruit-producing branches and nonproducing ones are subject to pruning for the sake of the continued health and ongoing life of the whole plant. Equating each branch with a singular person is a mistake…[to] avoid. Instead we can think more holistically, regarding the branches cut away as the parts of our shared mission that no longer bear fruit, such that pruning them redirects nourishing resources to branches that still hold potential for thriving.”[3]
I believe this is one of the main purposes of the church. Together, we are able to love God and love our neighbors better! Our choirs, both the adults and the children, are such a blessing in worship because of the beauty of so many voices, singing together in harmony. Our Walk-In lunch and shower ministries support over one hundred neighbors every week, thanks to the steady commitment of dozens of volunteers. One person could not do it nearly as well alone. In the Greek, the “you”s in this text are plural. Frances Taylor Gench instructs her students, this is a time when Jesus meant “y’all” in proper Southern speak. Jesus isn’t talking to us individually; he is repeating over and over that discipleship is a group project. Imagine Jesus saying, “Abide in me as I abide in [y’all]. …. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved [y’all].” Our task is not to try to be faithful by ourselves. Jesus encourages us to be faithful together.
Finally, the goal of abiding in Jesus, the reason to abide in God’s love is to bear fruit. The fruit of the vine is not for the branches or the vine to enjoy. The fruit is for the vine grower—for God—to use and share for God’s purposes. What might that fruit look like for us? It could be giving generously to the Pentecost Offering next week, to support the Sacred Heart Center’s summer day camp program on the Southside. It could be sharing a hug, high five, or handshake with someone you don’t recognize during the Passing of the Peace and introducing yourself after worship. Bearing fruit could look like little Blair playing in the water after her baptism, or toddlers being served communion by the youth during our Family Worship service. It could be sending a handwritten note to someone after they’ve had surgery or lost a loved one. Acts of love and glimpses of joy are the fruit of staying connected to Jesus and interwoven to each other.
God inspires us to move with the Spirit in ordinary and extraordinary ways all the time, when we abide in Jesus. For when we abide in God’s love, God’s love shines through. And there is nothing—“neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,nor height, nor depth, [nor overwatering, nor lack of sunlight,] nor anything else in all creation [that] will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[4] We don’t have to worry. The Master Gardner will take care of us, as long as we abide in Love.
[1] “Why are my houseplants dying?” Foliaire. https://foliaire.com/why-are-my-house-plants-dying/
[2] Ibid.
[3] “April 28: Easter 5B (John 15:1-8; 1 John 4:7-21)” Austin Shelley. The Christian Century. April 22, 2024. https://www.christiancentury.org/lectionary/april-28-easter-5b-john-15-1-8-1-john-4-7-21
[4] Romans 8:38-39
