Sermon: 5th Sunday of Easter, 4/28/2024

Text: John 15: 1-8

Grace, Peace, and Mercy from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
As many of you might know, I’m a huge Star Wars fan. May the 4th is coming up this Saturday, it being Star Wars celebration day, May the 4th be with you, so I would like to start getting my Star Wars energies up for this week.

I would like to take an illustration from the Original Trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, especially in A New Hope. I refer to the latter part of the film, when the battle over the first Death Star is well on its way. Luke Skywalker, the farm-boy pilot who is beginning to learn the ways of the Jedi and of this mystical reality known as the Force, is in the trenches of the Death Star looking to shoot the proton torpedoes right down the correct hatch to destroy the Empire’s feared weapon of mass destruction. Right behind Luke is Darth Vader trying to take him down. Luke is a whole mishmash of emotions. The music is intensifying in the tension of the moment. He just saw his beloved mentor, Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi, struck down by Vader. And then he is in this perilous moment where he is in charge of finishing off the attack plan that will save the rebellion from destruction by the Empire. In the height of this tension, Luke suddenly hears a voice, it is Ben-Kenobi’s voice, saying to him “Use the Force Luke! Let go!”. Luke realizes there is something powerful happening at that moment, and he takes the gamble, he turns off his targeting computer, and now he is tuning in to this mysterious reality that is accompanying him. And as he trusts this feeling, this presence, everything falls into place, Han Solo swoops in the Millennium Falcon with a life-saving assist to take Vader off Luke’s back, he shoots the proton torpedoes, and boom, Death Star destroyed, he accomplishes the mission and the rebellion gets to fight another day. In the relief of victory, Ben-Kenobi leaves some parting words for Luke: “Remember, the Force will be with you, always”. These words were the assurance to Luke, that while Obi-Wan Kenobi is not with him physically anymore, in the Force, he is very much present to him. It is the reality that Vader could not understand when Obi-Wan declared to him: “You can’t win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful that you can possibly imagine”. For those in the light, the Force held mysteries and life beyond the death, Vader being consumed by the dark, could not comprehend this side of the Force that overcomes death. For Luke, it was the assurance and promise that he was not alone, that Ben-Kenobi was not truly gone, he abided in him through the Force, as the Force abided in Luke, always. This moment was the catalyst for Luke to know that greater things were in store for him in the Jedi path, trusting in the parting words of his mentor.

This Star Wars tale plays out the dynamic that is happening in today’s Gospel. It is important to understand the context of this pronouncement of Jesus. This is one of the last statements of Jesus in what is known as His Farewell Discourse before he is crucified and resurrected. For the past few Sundays, we have been listening precisely to this discourse, characterized by many striking “I am” statements. These statements hark all the way back to the Old Testament, with God naming Himself as “I am that I am”. So Jesus says, “I AM the bread of Life, I am the Light of the World, I AM the Resurrection and the Life, I AM the Truth, the Way, and the Life, I AM the Good Shepherd, I AM the gate for the sheep, I AM the vine.” Jesus is not only remarking about His divine identity, but He is preparing His disciples for his physical absence. They will not be with Him in the same way they were living with Him at that moment, so Jesus begins to disclose the different ways they will experience His presence among them. After the Resurrection, Jesus is and becomes all these things for our sake. Last Sunday, we heard how the Risen Jesus is the Good Shepherd that cares for the sheep and leads them to abundant life. This Sunday we hear that the Risen Jesus is the vine, of which we are the branches.

So what is Jesus communicating to His disciples? First and foremost, Jesus gives them a commandment to follow: “Abide in me as I abide in you”. We often define abide as remaining with or staying with someone. But in the Gospel of John, abiding takes a spiritual dimension. To abide with Jesus is to persist in relationship with Him. I see it almost like inhabiting a unique atmosphere that we acclimatize to. To follow Him is to live out the world He brings with Him. As we exist in this Christ environment, we can start to see how our lives becomes an extension of His life. The branches stretch out from the vine itself. Alone, they cannot give fruit, and fruits are the sign of life and growth. Meaning, that as Christ-followers, we should expect a certain result from our way of life. Now in the same way, the vine cannot give fruit, if it does not have branches by which the fruit may grow. In being the true vine and us the branches, Jesus is inviting us to this shared existence. His life gives us life. And through us, He is able to love and feed the world. There is a mutuality in this image of Jesus that is enriching. We are because we abide together. Life is then defined as being together. It should be no wonder to us, as a Harvard study shows, that it is the cultivation of relationships that are the best determinant of human happiness. Jesus invites to that kind of living, rich in relationship to Him and the neighbor.

Now, to abide in Jesus does not entail a pollyannish sense of happiness. Abiding in Jesus is to live truly with the reality of your sin, your forgiveness, and your redemption. As Jesus says: “Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit”. We are always in a process of renewal that diagnoses where we fall short, and uplifts and reorients us with grace, giving God new opportunities to bring life.. This offers us a happiness that is founded in our relationship to this God who is with us, and not simply based on our own unfavorable external circumstances. Remember, one might be in any kind of undesirable situation, and God abides as a source of strength, hope and comfort. We simply need to trust in this relationship, to look forward to how it’s shaping us in the image of Christ, to reveal Christ to others everywhere we go. Love is always looking to bloom within us and around us.

As I continue to ponder the meaning of these words of Jesus, I cannot help but think of the many students and faculty that are encamping in favor of peace in many of our universities. I am inspired by their courage to abide in the cause for liberation and freedom of a suffering people. They teach me what it means to abide, in the face of conflict and or threat of pain, they persist in relationship to the cause, and seek to not forget that in their hearts there is this godly intention to alleviate the suffering of the people in Palestine. Their actions might not change anything immediately, they might not provoke the ceasefire, but their solidarity is a sign of love and compassion, it is a sign for Palestinians to know that they are seen, and that we recognize what needs to happen. So in any way that is possible, they are seeking the fruits of peace. I pray God will increase the yield, and bring forth what we continuously pray for.

Knowing that Jesus abides in us, and us in Him, let us take heart. There are many that will benefit from our faithfulness to Him, and He sends us to be the hands and feet that manifest His Love. What a gift it is to share in this togetherness with Jesus for the sake of others!

Let us pray:
Lord, we give you thanks, that in you there is much life and abundance to heal our ailing world. Strengthen us to abide in you. Send us out and make us fruitful in love, that we may bring about in our lives a harvest of goodness and mercy for all neighbors, near and far. Give us courage to abide!
In your name we pray, Amen.