Our lessons for today are about being in community together. In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes a number of “I AM” statements such as I am the Light of the World. I am the Good Shepherd. I am the Bread of Life. Each of the I AM statements gives us a little window into who Jesus is. In today’s Gospel, Jesus not only gives us a peak into who he is, but also into who he is calling us to be. Jesus says, “I am the vine and YOU are the branches.” Jesus talks about his connection to God the creator and desires us to be as deeply connected to him, like branches are to the vine and he is to God the Father.
This past summer, I planted some morning glory seeds by a trellis. I wasn’t sure they would grow. They had been sitting dormant in my basement for a year or two, but I decided to plant them anyway. And three of them grew! I went away for a few weeks and when I came back, I expected the trellis to be full. But it had nothing on it. The branches hadn’t found the trellis. Instead, they wound themselves around other plants. So, I untangled them from the other plants and re-routed them up the trellis so they could have more light. They loved better access to the sun and began to grow even faster. I was so excited for them to blossom. But the next day, I noticed that the branch in the middle was starting to droop. Curious, I brought my watering can over to the plant, thinking that it might just need a little water. But then I discovered – some little animal – most likely rabbits - had eaten the bottom of that branch, disconnecting it from the rest of the vine. And you know what happened then, when the branches weren’t connected – they died.
Jesus illustrates the importance of staying connected to him through this metaphor: “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.” And, not only do the branches need the vine for nourishment, the vine also needs the branches in order to blossom and grow.
Jesus has this kind of relationship with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is so interconnected that you can’t tell where one stops and the other starts. And this is the kind of interconnectedness that Jesus desires with you. But here our English translation of the Gospel is not clear. Jesus says he desires to have this interconnectedness with YOU. And when he says this, Jesus is not speaking to just one person – to Peter or John or Mary, instead Jesus is speaking to YOU ALL. In English the way we normally speak it, we don’t have a clear “you all.” But the southerners do. Jesus is speaking to You’all. -- not just to individuals or just to those in his presence then, but to all of you here at Faith Lilac Way and at Cross of Glory, and at First Lutheran and across the country, North and South, East and West, and in other places = in Mexico, down to South America and across the ocean to Africa, Asia, Europe, from the biggest cities to the smallest farm. TO All of You’ALL, Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you all; abide in my love..”
Abide in my love. I love that image – but what does it mean in our daily life. Jesus tells us. He says, “If you’all keep my commandments, you’all will abide in my love.” Throughout the Gospels: Jesus tells us quite clearly that although there are over 600 commandments written in the Hebrew scriptures, Jesus all of these commandments are contained in just two: Love God and Love others (all the others) as yourself AND as Jesus loves you.
Two commandments, three action:– love God; love yourself; love the one you call other. This is easy to say. But these commandments are not always easy to do. And this is why Jesus says, abide in me. Abide means to live, to dwell, to remain in Christ. Because we do not have to do this by our own strength. Abiding in Christ Jesus means: Living into community with Jesus and with one another.
In our lesson from Acts, the early church gathered together in community, generously supporting and caring for one another. They provide a great example for us. And so, throughout the years, Christian churches and communities have found ways to reach out to support each other – and the neighbor, the one who is in need. Our goal, like that of the early church, is that no one will be in need but that all will have enough. We don’t always get it right. We are, after all, both Saints AND sinners. But we have a Jesus who not only gives second chances but 77x7 chances… and then starts over again. With overwhelming Grace, Jesus calls us to abide in him and to follow his commandments. This means we are invited to continue to listen to God’s call to be in community with one another – with YOU ALL – whether here in this place, friends gathered online, the churches down the street, the neighbors near and far – no one is called “those people.” All are called children of God, siblings of Christ.
As some of you remember, almost twenty years ago, there was an affordable housing shortage in our neighborhood, especially for Seniors. Also at that same time, Hennepin County was expanding the road in front of our church and in the process, bought some of the church land and the lots of the neighboring houses. Change was happening. But instead of mourning the loss of these neighboring buildings and land, through prayer and discernment, we as a church, led by Pastor Bob, envisioned collaborating with other partners to do something new – to build affordable housing for seniors in that space. The result is RobbinsWay.
I almost take it for granted now, but paving the way for this project wasn’t simple. We were going to lose some of our parking. Some people didn’t like it because they didn’t qualify, others quietly wondered what “those neighbors” would be like. But, in addition to all of the prayer and hard work by Pastor Bob and the leadership team, the Holy Spirit was also at work in a sweet older woman named Shirley Dahlen.
Some of you may remember Shirley. She was a charter member of the church. She loved to tell me stories about how the church began in the basement of the Masonic Temple in downtown Robbinsdale. It served as a meeting hall on Saturday night and so she had to come to church early Sunday morning to pick up the cigarettes and the beer cans so that they could have church. Then, after worship, she would take home the offering and put it in her freezer. Then, and she would always smile when she said this, on Monday morning, she would go to the bank and deposit the “cold hard cash.”
Shirley lived just down the street in a little house her father built. She never married and so the church family became her family. She volunteered for everything, including rocking the babies. She was beloved. And she was growing older.
When Robbins Way became a possibility, Shirley became excited. Pointing to the empty lot next door, she told everyone at church, “I want to live there in the third story, in that apartment looking down at the church. Don’t you think that would be a good idea?” And no one could say no to her. Who wouldn’t want the little old lady who brought cookies to church as their neighbor? Sometimes the Holy Spirit works through sweet little old ladies.
Shirley got her dream. RobbinsWay was built and Shirley got the third story apartment overlooking the church. She was overjoyed. And, then, she brought her new neighbors with her to Bible study. Although Shirley has since died, the Bible study – and other ministries -- continue. Just this past week, one of the newer residents came to Bible study and shared some of her challenges and the joy she felt in being able to be in community together.
Sisters and brothers, siblings in Christ, we have come to another time of change. I don’t need to name all of the changes going on in our world, our country, our communities, our churches. You know them. But regardless of the changes around us, Jesus’ call to abide in him and to follow his commands remains the same - even when it means that God may be calling us into a new creation, into doing things differently, into serving God in some new ministry that we have not yet discerned. And so, brothers and sisters, siblings in Christ, let us pray for the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and to work in and through us so that, like Shirley and her neighbor, we all may be filled with the joy of Jesus. Amen.