"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.” 

John 15: 4-5

Many years ago I sat on a church camp committee and we had to interview for a new camp director.  We had four candidates for the position and on paper, one of them stood head and shoulders above the others.  He had ten years experience in directing and was presently employed as full-time director of a very prestigious camp in the province.  He was our first interview and he came across as quite competent and capable.

     About half way through the interview someone asked him the “faith question.”  They said, “As you know, we are a church camp and the director plays a spiritual role at camp…tell us about your faith-life.”  I’ll never forget his response.  He said:  “The church has been a source of many fine teachings and truths for me in my life.  I have been challenged by those truths and try to live by them.  And I believe it is important to teach them to our children.”  

    Now, for the rest of the committee his answer went over as smooth as peanut butter…but it troubled me.  I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly, but something about that answer just didn’t sit right and for the rest of the interview I found myself mulling it over.  

As it turned out, we didn’t hire the guy anyway, more for financial reasons than theological ones.  But I was relieved; because I figured what we would gain administratively we’d lose spiritually.  What was missing?  I think John’s gospel helps with that answer.

The key word in today’s passage is “abide.”  And you don’t have to be a theologian to know this – you just need to be able to count.  “Abide in me as I abide in you.”  
“If you abide in me and my word abides in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.”

“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.”
The word abide is used eleven times in this passage of eleven verses!  And Jesus uses this word extensively throughout the gospel of John.  In fact the Wednesday morning Bible study group just finished studying John, chapter 14 this past week – “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.  If it were not so would I have told you I go to prepare a place for you?”  

The literal translation of “dwelling places” is actually “abiding places.”  We use this passage at funeral services because it is such a comfort to know that death does not take us away from the abiding presence of our Lord, but into it.  And that promise is echoed in some of the great hymns of the day:  “Abide with Me” and “Blessed Assurance.”
    But when we read this verse at a funeral we don’t usually take it all the way to verse 23 where it says this:  “Those who love me will keep my word and my Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them”.  That expression “make our home with them” comes from that word “abide” again.  So what Jesus is saying is that his abiding presence isn’t just a future hope but a present reality.  Christ comes to live with you and me now!  
So the great painful gulf and vacuum created by the departure of Jesus is addressed with this promise of abiding.  He goes to prepare a place for us, yes, but he also comes to us if we are prepared for him.

    And we know that both of these are true.  If one of our children or grandchildren asks us “Where is Jesus?”, what do we say?  Well we might say, “Jesus is with God.”  After all, he said “I go to be with the Father.”  But we might also say he’s with us!  “Whenever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst.”  “I am with you always, even to the close of the age.”  So his abiding presence is both a future hope and a present reality.
    At the Celebration service we sing “Be Still and Know that I am God” before the prayers of the people.  There is sign language for this song.  The sign for God is a finger pointed up towards the sky and then brought down to the chest.  God is out there, but God is also in here.  That expresses the abiding presence of God beautifully.
    And in chapter 15 Jesus uses the image of the vine and the branches to express this abiding presence.  I am the vine and you are the branches.  We are linked to Jesus like branches to a vine…we have life because we are attached; we grow and bear fruit because we are attached.  And we are joined to Christ in several important ways:

• We are joined in mission:  “as the Father sent me so I send you.”
• We are joined in love “as the Father loved me so I love you.”
• We are joined in common struggles “as the world hated me so they will hate you.”
• We are joined in common achievements “What I do you will do, even great things than these will you do.”

Finally we are joined in identity – when the branches bear fruit it shows that the vine is alive…so when we bear fruit it shows his living presence in the world.  
All of this shows us that John’s gospel is very much tied to the person of Jesus Christ.  It is Christo-centric.  John is not interested in gleaning the important teachings of Jesus and then to hold those up as eternal truths to live by.  Now that is the way some people approach religion.  If you read the gospel of Thomas you’ll find it’s only interested in the teachings of Jesus and has absolutely nothing to say about the person of Jesus Christ.  Now what’s wrong with that?  The problem with that is it’s not enough to sustain us.  If Jesus had said to his disciples, “Listen, I gotta go, but here’s a copy of all my lecture notes…”  I don’t think there’d be a Christian faith here today.  And we know if we are sick in the hospital, while it’s nice to get a Hallmark card or some flowers, what’s best of all is a visit from the person.  That’s the most encouraging thing of all.  You see, faith is a lot more than just having the right information at hand.  Being a disciple is more than simply believing certain tenants or truths.  Being a disciple is following Jesus Christ, the Living Word…he’s the vine and we are the branches.  So faith is a personal relationship – not just a set of beliefs…which is why Jesus says “believe in God,” not “believe that God.”

And it is the fundamental longing and desire of every person to know God.  Some of us know that and are searching for God diligently; others haven’t a clue what they are looking for.  They have fridge door of life wide open and they’re just looking in.  “What are you looking for?”  “I don’t know but I’m hungry!”  Everybody is hungry to know God.  Notice the first words out of Jesus’ mouth in the book of John?  He turns around and sees two of John the Baptist’s disciples following him and he asks them “ What are you looking for?”   They say ‘Rabbi – where are you abiding (staying)?’  And Jesus says ‘Come and see’.   And that’s the beginning of their relationship with Jesus.  It is the fundamental hunger of the human heart to know God and abide in him.  That’s why Phillip says to Jesus ‘Lord,  show us the Father and we’ll be satisfied.”  And Jesus says ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father’.  In other words,  the abiding presence of God is found in Jesus.

The fellow we interviewed for camp director years ago said ‘The church has been a source of fine teachings and truths for me.”   Do you see what is lacking in that answer?  Knowing the teachings of the church doesn’t make you a disciple any more than knowing the rules of baseball makes you a player.   We need the abiding presence of God.  That’s why we gather here each Sunday – to experience the Holy presence of God in the midst of the gathered community.  Captivating preaching isn’t enough -  even a great sermon can only carry you till Monday lunch!  Stirring music isn’t enough either – it might lift your soul for few days but that’s all.   If we don’t come away knowing something of the presence of God in our service,  we are still hungry.  

Vine and branches.  He is the vine and we are the branches that are sustained by him.   And why does he sustain the branches?  What do they do?  They bear fruit.   We are joined to Christ so that the things we do will bring glory to God.   Now that’s important to remember…our lives are capable of bringing glory to God.  
Chariots of Fire is now a classic piece of cinematography.  It’s the true story of two British athletes who both ran in the 1924 Olympics.  One runner Harold Abrahams is fueled by his inner determination to win and the other,  Eric Liddell,  is fueled by his deep faith in God.  As he says “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”  So he runs to bring glory to God.   In the end Eric gives up his hope for an Olympic medal because he refuses to run a race on a Sunday.  To do so would be to betray the very reason for running,  so he forfeits the chance and is completely happy with his decision. Harold Abrahams ends up winning that race as a result,   but the win doesn’t bring him the satisfaction and happiness he’s looking for…something is still missing.  You see,  the way you run has its own rewards.

We are all runners and it doesn’t matter where the run takes you... you can still bring glory to God.  It takes some of you into the hospital where you care for patients each day.   It takes some into the classroom where you  teach children or youth.  It takes some of you into the nursing home where you care for senior citizens.  It takes some into the armed forces where you are sent on missions.   Today we celebrate Mothers -  because the run even takes some into motherhood and they’ve brought glory to God by the way they’ve raised their family.  

I think Paul says it best when he says ‘So whatever you do,  do everything to the glory of God.”   I think that’s how we run the race of life.
There’s the story of an American who was living in Germany some time ago when his luck ran out.  He found himself in a place of lonliness – he had no friends around him,  no money,  no food,  no lodging.  He was contemplating suicide as he sat down on a park bench to cry.   A bag lady (homeless)  was came along and sat down on the same park bench.  She saw him there,  had pity on him and she shared half of her sandwich with him.   As she was getting up to leave he asked her why she did what she did.  She said ‘Gott ist goot.  Jesus ist mine highland’  

‘Whatever you do,  do everything to the glory of God.’    

Amen