[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Easter 5B- “Jesus said, ‘I AM the Vine- Stay Connected’”

[Joe Parrish]

Forwarded: 
-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 4/27/18  9:08 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Easter 5B- “Jesus said, ‘I AM the Vine- Stay Connected’” 


Dear Friends,

 

This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Jesus said, ‘I AM
the Vine- Stay Connected’” and deals with the gospel (John 15: 1-8).  Here it is:

 

This morning I’d like us to think through the implications of Jesus’
statement that he is the vine and we are the branches; so we are to stay
connected to him.  Look at the bulletin
cover.  I have no idea why the picture is
so small, but do you see the pink flowers? 
If they were real and if I cut some flowers and leaves- what do you
think they’re going to look like by next Sunday?  Sure, they’ll be dried up and falling
apart.  These healthy green altar plants
have been thriving for a few years now. 
Why do they last, week after week, month after month, year after
year?  Sure, because they’re connected to
their strong root system.  That’s why
Jesus said to stay connected to him.  A
couple of days ago, someone with a real problem called to discuss something
very important.  All of a sudden, it was
like I was talking into nothing.  Our
phones disconnected.  We had to redial so
we could talk.  The same thing happens in
our relationship with Jesus, if we aren’t careful.  Many behaviors threaten to interfere with our
connection to Jesus, the Vine.  There are
three that especially seem to affect us if we don’t stay on guard. 

 

Have you ever said to a child you love from the bottom of your heart,
“I love you; but I surely don’t like what you’re doing right now!”  Christian love has absolutely nothing to do
with feelings, otherwise there is no way we could love our enemies!  Christian love is wanting what’s best for the
other person; and never gets revenge- that’s God’s business.  John reminds us, “If we say we love God, and
don’t love others- we are liars!” (1st John 4:20a)  Not
loving our neighbor separates us from the Vine.

 

Handling negatives impulsively (letting
it all hang out) separates us from others in God’s family and also the
vine.  We haven’t reviewed this for ages, so now’s a good time: T-H-I-N-K before you speak or act: “T”= is it true? “H”= is it helpful?  “I”= is it important?  “N”=
is it necessary? “K”= is it kind and
loving?

 

If I showed you a plastic flower it
would remind us of another way we separate ourselves from the Vine- having an
exterior, fake focus.  Plastic flowers are beautiful!  They may even look better than real flowers-
no insect holes, all the colors exactly even. 
And they last and last and last. 
But except to look at, what good are they?  Real flowers contribute to the life power of
God’s amazing creation.  Real flowers
change carbon dioxide into oxygen.  Their
roots hold the soil so it doesn’t erode with the wind and water.  Butterflies and bees use them for food.  Then, when they die, the plants turn into
mulch to enrich the soil, and their seeds spread far and wide to make new
flowers.  What does the fake flower
do?  Just sit there and look pretty-
unless we look too closely and see where the plastic isn’t quite right.  The lesson for us?  Be real! 
Stop worrying so much about what’s on the outside.  Sure- pretty clothes and a fancy hairdo and
well-done nails are nice; but what’s really important is what’s on the
inside.  Are you a Christian through and
through, or are you just a fake Christian? 
Do you only come to church or serve God or reach out and touch or share
your offerings when you feel like it and it’s not too inconvenient?  Be real; so the inside looks even better than
the outside.  Live what you believe.

 

The thought for the week (“Life is ten percent what happens to you and
ninety percent how you respond to it.”- Lou Holtz) reminds us of the third behavior that can separate us from
the Vine- having a pity-party.  Don’t
let every little problem have you so depressed feeling sorry for yourself that
you don’t feel like saying your prayers or going to church or reaching out to
others. 

 

I’d like to close with a familiar story (last July) that reminds us of
why we need to stay connected to Jesus. 
A family had been renting for years and finally saved up enough money
for a down-payment on a house- a home of their own.  After moving in, they decided to renovate the
yard, since it had been neglected for years. 
They planted and watered, so the flowers grew and the grass became green
and lush.  Everything responded to their
loving care- everything that is, except the row of bushes that separated their
yard from the neighbor’s property.  The
family gave those bushes lots of attention, watered and fertilized them
regularly, and hoped they would thrive; but all their work seemed useless. No
matter what they did, the bushes remained spindly and nearly lifeless.  They finally lost patience and decided to
uproot those pitiful, unresponsive bushes. When they pulled the first one up,
to their amazement- they found it still had a plastic bag from the nursery
wrapped around its roots!  Would you
believe- each plant was this way.  With
great care, they removed the plastic and replanted each bush.  In a few years, the bushes were the most
beautiful in the neighborhood.

 

May God bless us as we remove all the sins and distractions and
attitudes that encase our souls like those plastic bags; and may our lives be
rooted and connected to Jesus, the source of our wisdom and power.  Amen.

                                               

 

For anyone who is
interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are
posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .

 

Blessed preaching,

Judy Boli

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw, Michigan





-- 

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Propertalk" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to propertalk.topic+unsubscribe at ecunet.org.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://stsams.org/pipermail/propertalk_stsams.org/attachments/20180427/46af94bd/attachment.htm>