Michelle, Eli, and I have been doing some landscaping at the parsonage. By that I mean we have been sawing, cutting, clipping, pruning, pulling, and uprooting. Monkey grass had overtaken all the flower beds and was threatening to breach the front door, so we decided to fight back with shovels, rakes and various poisons we found in the basement that I believe were left over from the Zell era. (One bottle was labeled ‘Kathy’s Kill ‘em all let God sort ‘em out weed spray’.[1])
We have successfully pushed back the assertive grasses to the perimeter of the property but a few weeks ago I decided to venture behind enemy lines and engaged in hand to hand combat with what was once a Japanese maple tree. This tree – and I use that term loosely- this tree and I had a date with destiny from the day I moved in. The tree was placed (yes, I said “was”) it was placed a pace or two from the curb at the entrance to the driveway. You could tell it once was a welcoming sight to all who arrived, but the years had not been kind to this tree. It was in pathetic shape when I first laid eyes on it. It was all misshaped and had maybe 17 leaves on the one branch that seemed to be still capable of supporting life. I wanted to chop it down as soon as I saw it. But the parable of the gardener kept ringing in my ear, “ ‘Sir,’ …, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”[2] So, I gave it the winter. But honestly that eyesore was living on borrowed time.
I was not at all surprised this spring to discover when all the other trees started to green up, this sad sapling looked even worse that it had the year before. Not a single leaf. Just a lifeless stump with a few dried-out branches sticking out of it. It put up a good fight, but after four or five hours the dead stump was uprooted and ready to be burned.
But now I have a problem. There is this hole where the tree once stood, and the flower beds are now barren patches of dirt. I need to do something before my HOA puts me on trial for war crimes. I thought about giving Gerry McManus a call. Did y’all know she is a master gardener? She says I’m not allowed to technically call her that but since my gardening skills seem to be limited to cutting down and tearing up I figured I could use all the help I can get. But unfortunately, Gerry is no longer in the gardening game. She has hung up her spade and retired her pruners. Thankfully, I know another master gardener I can consult. One who has been planting seeds since the soil was new. His name is Jesus.
Today in John’s Gospel, Jesus shares with us some gardening tips on how to grow a garden that produces abundant fruit. In chapter 15:1-8 Jesus shares with us the three “P”s of gardening. Planting, Pruning, and Production.
Where something is planted makes all the difference in the world. A plant needs a healthy supply of nutrients in order to survive and thrive. Jesus the master gardener explains the importance of where something (or someone) is planted. In verse one of John chapter fifteen Jesus, our resurrected and ever living Lord says, “1 I am the true vine.” By metaphorically referring to himself as the vine (specifically in the original Greek a grape vine or a vine that produces fruit) Jesus is drawing upon an illustration that was common and familiar to his agrarian listeners. But the illustration is simple enough for anyone to understand. The concept of fruit growing on a vine is not new to us. We understand the role the vine plays in the production of fruit. It is the vine from which all nutrients and life comes. Then in verses 4-5 Jesus says, “4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” You are now brought into the illustration as a metaphorical branch. Again, the part a branch plays in the production of fruit is familiar to us. We understand that the branch is the bearer of the vine’s fruit; provided, that is, that the branch is connected to the vine, a point that Jesus makes by saying, “apart from me you can do nothing.”
Now, you may ask yourself, how is it that I came to be connected to Jesus; how did I become part of the vine. The answer to that question involves some masterful gardening on the part of our Savior. You see, you and I were not planted in the traditional sense. We are not a native species in the garden of God. In the spirit of this illustration, I would say we had more in common with a thorn or a thistle. Scripture tells us, by nature, we were dead in our sins, hostile to God, and lived contrary to God’s will. Because of the sin we were born in and the sin we do, we were not part of the vine; that is, we were not connected to Jesus. But because of God’s great love and rich mercy we were grafted into the vine. In his letter to the Romans Saint Paul uses a similar metaphor when he explains, “you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree.” God the Holy Spirit connected us to Jesus through the waters of baptism and the preaching of His word. The Holy Spirit created faith inside of us that attaches us to the forgiveness of sins accomplished on the cross and the assurance of salvation proclaimed from the empty tomb. It is by grace that we have been saved; by grace that we have been grafted into the vine.
Where something is planted makes all the difference in the world. But even when a plant has a ready supply of nutrients, that does not mean that it will remain healthy. In order to ensure the continued health of a plant, regular pruning must be done. Jesus; The master gardener, explains the importance pruning in verses 2-3. There he says the heavenly Father, “2 … cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” God’s goal is to keep you connected to the vine so that you can keep on producing fruit. He wants you to stay connected to Jesus so that you can keep commandments, obey God, and serve others. The problem is, as long as we are in this world our ability to do those things is frustrated by sin. Like a fungus or a disease, sin causes us to occasional produce rotten fruit. If that sin is left untreated it will eat away at us until our connection to Jesus is severed. Again, God does not want that to happen and so he prunes us; He cuts away at our disease and infection. In verse three Jesus tells us this pruning is done through, “3 the word I have spoken to you.” God’s Word; his law cuts away at our sin so that our branch is preserved, and fruit production can continue. God’s law causes us to confess our sin, plead for his forgiveness, and pray for the strength to stop doing that sin that threatens to separate us from Jesus.
Granted, pruning is not always a comfortable experience. Nobody likes to be confronted with the law; nobody likes to be rebuked or corrected. Nobody likes to be called a sinner. But it is a preferable to the alternative. In verse six Jesus tells us what happens when sin is allowed to rot the branch. Jesus says such a person “is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” A branch that fails to produce fruit has but one use. If it will not provide fruit it can at least provide heat. I am sure you appreciate the application but just to make sure we are clear, if we become so rotten with sin that we are unable to produce fruit than we will be dealt with like I dealt with the eyesore in my front yard. Worse even, we will be thrown into the fires of hell where we will burn for all eternity. So, when God is pruning you, I understand you don’t like it and I understand it is uncomfortable, but trust me, it is far better than the alternative.
In fact, God does not prune us because He likes to make us uncomfortable. He prunes us so that we might become more productive. An interesting thing happens when a plant is pruned. The energy that was once directed to the diseased or rotting limb is redirected to healthy productive pursuits. Jesus, The master gardener, explained the results of pruning in verse 2 when He said, “every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” The goal is to make you as fruitful as possible. Jesus does not want us to waste all our energy on sinful behavior and activities because when we are spending all our time and energy being resentful or jealous or hateful or greedy or just being ugly to others we have no time or energy to be the kind of people God wants us to be. By redirecting our energy away from sinful behavior and activities we can live much more fruitful and productive lives.
In his letter to the Galatians Saint Paul describes the different types of fruit the properly pruned Christian can produce. In Galatians 5:22-23 we are told, “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.” You have been planted. You have been pruned. There is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to produce these fruits in abundance, my friends. In a world full of hatred, be a bouquet of love, joy, and peace. In a world full of deception, be an arrangement of goodness and faithfulness. In a world full of vulgarity, be a spray of gentleness and self-control. In a world rotting and decaying with sin, Jesus has made it possible for you to live fruitful and productive lives. Let’s be all that the master gardener wants us to be.
I am not sure what I will stick in the hole left by that uprooted maple in my front yard. But thanks to The master gardener (Jesus, not GerryJ) I now know whatever I put there needs to be planted in such a way as to receive a steady supply of nutrients and it needs to be regularly pruned of any disease or rot so that it can it can be a healthy productive plant.
When my neighbors see the healthy productive plants in my yard they will no doubt be impressed with my gardening skills. Who knows they may even petition the HOA to award me the “yard of the month” winner. (my neighborhood does not actually have such an award… which will make receiving such an honor all the more special.)
Just as the gardener gets the glory for a fruitful plant, Jesus gets the glory for a faithful Christian. Our lesson ends with verse 8 where Jesus says, “8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Fruit is produced by living branches that are connected to the living vine. To the glory of our God lets show the world the kind of fruit that can be produced by those who gather around the empty tomb. We have been planted. We are being pruned. Let’s be productive. Amen? Amen.
[1] Not really
[2] Luke 13:8-9