I Am The True Vine, August 3, 2014

I am the True Vine

Isaiah 5:1-7, John 15:1-11

Grace Presbyterian Church

August 3, 2014

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller

 

Grape Vines, Vineyards & Vine Dressers As we know, Jesus called himself by many names. In the past few weeks, we’ve already heard him say, “I am the Bread of Life,” “I am the Light of the World,” and “I am the Good Shepherd.” This morning, as we prepare our hearts and minds for Holy Communion, we will look at his statement, “I am the True Vine.” As you might surmise, the vine to which Jesus refers is a grape vine. Therefore, this morning I would like to speak of grape vines, vineyards, vinedressers and grapes. I would like to do so from two perspectives: the fact that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, and the fact that wine is the symbol of the shed blood of our savior as we take communion.

In researching this sermon, I discovered some interesting facts about grapes and wine.

1. There are more than 5,000 different wine grape varieties.
   2. It takes about 700 wine grapes to make a bottle of wine.
   3. There are approximately 44 million bubbles in a bottle of sparkling wine or champagne.
   4. Wine is fat free and contains no cholesterol.  
   5. A connoisseur of wines is known as an oenophile.
    
    
   6. Just four years ago, in 2010, a bottle of 1869 Chateau Lafite sold at auction for $233,972.
   Hampton Court Palace Vine   Today the largest grape vine in the world is located in the gardens at Hampton Court Palace in England. The vine was planted 245 years ago in 1769. The vine is twelve feet around the base and its longest rod is 120 feet. In 2001, the vine produced 845 pounds of grapes, its best crop of grapes ever.
   Grapes in Bible Times   If we turn our attention to the Bible, we find that grapes were introduced into Palestine in biblical times by seagoing Phoenicians. Because the soil and climate of Israel were quite favorable to growing grapes, vineyards became one of the more important cash crops of the Palestinian economy.  Vineyards became prized possessions and a family’s wealth was measured directly by the size and number of their vineyards. Most vineyards were planted on a hillside. The ground had to be cleared of stones. Then the land was terraced and surrounded by a hedge or stone wall to keep out marauding animals. A tower erected for a watchman.  A wine press was constructed and a vat was hewn in the rock.
   Two Kinds of Branches  The vines in Jesus’ day produced two kinds of branches, one fruit-bearing and the other non-fruit-bearing. The branches that did not produce fruit were drastically and mercilessly pruned back to allow the life giving force of the vine to nourish the branches that were producing fruit.
   Laborers were hired by the vinedresser to prune the vines and weed the ground around them. The vines themselves were allowed to spread along the ground with the fruit-bearing branches slightly raised from the earth. The grapes, normally a red variety, began to produce in September and October. When the harvest began, dancing and celebrations started, with singing filling the air.
   Israel the Vine  The symbol of the grapevine was on Israeli coins until the time they were conquered by Rome. And the grape vine was so symbolic to the Jews that a huge grapevine decorated the gates of the temple. In many places in the Bible, grape vines and vineyards were compared to the relationship between Yahweh and Israel.
   In our Old Testament reading, we hear that God rescued Israel out of Egypt and planted it in the Promised Land to be the vine through which his desired fruits for humankind would be produced. [Isaiah 5:1, Psalm 80:8-9, Jeremiah 2:21, Hosea 10:1]  However, because of the disobedience of Israel, all God received were wild grapes, good for nothing.
   New Testament In the New Testament, Jesus carries on the analogy of the vine. At the time, he is in the Upper Room with his disciples the night before he was crucified. After washing his disciples’ feet and identifying Judas as the one who would betray him, he said to his disciples: “ I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.  Abide in me as I abide in you. 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. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15)  
   Thus, Jesus replaced Israel as God’s true vine.  And God was pleased with Jesus as his true vine since at both Jesus’ baptism and his Transfiguration, God said “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17, 17:5)
   We are the Branches  Now if Jesus is the vine, we are his branches. Jesus says to us, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” (John 15:16) What fruit does Jesus mean? Paul identified the fruit that we are to produce as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Our ability to bear such fruit depends solely on whether or not we abide in the vine by remaining connected to the source of our life, Jesus.
   Branches apart from the Vine Jesus tells us that apart from him we can do nothing. If we no longer abide in him, our lives become lifeless, disoriented and misdirected. We end up doing and saying things that hurt God’s holy Kingdom and hurt those around us. In other words, apart from Christ we are spiritually dead and cannot bear fruit. We are to stay connected to the vine because Jesus is the life force of our lives and of our church. Without that connection, we will fall away. We will resort to our old life apart from Christ. We will fail to serve, fail to love, fail to witness. But when we abide in Jesus, we draw upon his power and strength and end up bearing the fruits of the Spirit.
   George Whitfield  George Whitfield conducted outdoor evangelistic campaigns in the 1700’s during a period of revival called the “Great Awakening.” Thousands responded to his Gospel message. After one of his sermons, someone asked Whitfield how many people were converted. He replied: “We’ll know in five years.” In other words, the passing of time would show which decisions were superficial and which were genuine. Some would still be abiding in Christ, others would not stay Connected to the Vine.
   “I am the vine, you are the branches,” is a statement about the importance of connecting both with God and with each other. Jesus was saying that if we, the branches, are going to serve in the kingdom, we must stay connected to him, the vine.
   How can we do this? When we fill out our daily calendar, mark down time for prayer, meditation, Bible reading, or simply moments of silence. One simple, yet effective, way is to keep scriptures visible in various rooms in your house, such as your bathroom or kitchen.  For instance, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Or “Lo, I am with you always.”  “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  “Nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ.”  “This is the day which the Lord has made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it!”  “My help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.”  “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!”   On an on the list might go.  
   Homan Walsh and the Niagara River Bridge  In 1847, both Canada and the United States wanted to build a suspension bridge across the Niagara gorge to increase tourism to Niagara Falls. The gorge was 825 feet wide and 200 feet deep. The question arose: how to stretch a cable across such a chasm. Then the brilliant idea came to them. Have a kite flying contest and the first person to fly a kite across the gorge would win $5.00.
   So in January of 1848, ten year old Homan Walsh entered the contest. He stood on the Canadian bank of the Niagara River, letting more and more of his kite string go out, and his kite kept going higher, and higher, and higher ... until it stretched nearly 1,000 feet. That evening, the wind died down and his kite descended to the ground on the American side of the gorge.  When the kite was caught, a crowd that had gathered let up a mighty roar. For the first time in history, people on opposite sides of this great gorge were holding onto the same string. Later, a light cord was attached to the kite string and pulled across the chasm. Then a rope followed and eventually a cable consisting of thirty-six strands of number 10 wire. And the International Suspension Bridge was built. It was so strong that great locomotives and long heavy trains passed over it. Yet it started out as a simple, fragile kite string.
   Our Faith is Like That  When we take communion, we connect with Christ in such a way that a bridge of faith can be built. Some of us may be connected to Christ with kite strings. Others may have cords or ropes or cables as their connecting links to Jesus. But all of us are connected - connected to the vine and to each other. And blended together, our small strings of faith combine into a mighty bridge of faith.
   Amen.

John 15:1-11 NRSV

Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.  

Abide in me as I abide in you. 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. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 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. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.  

Isaiah 5:1-7 NRSV

Let me sing for my beloved

   my love-song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

   on a very fertile hill.

He dug it and cleared it of stones,

   and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watch-tower in the midst of it,

   and hewed out a wine vat in it;

he expected it to yield grapes,

   but it yielded wild grapes.

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem

   and people of Judah,

judge between me

   and my vineyard.

What more was there to do for my vineyard

   that I have not done in it?

When I expected it to yield grapes,

   why did it yield wild grapes?

And now I will tell you

   what I will do to my vineyard.

I will remove its hedge,

   and it shall be devoured;

I will break down its wall,

   and it shall be trampled down.

I will make it a waste;

   it shall not be pruned or hoed,

   and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;

I will also command the clouds

   that they rain no rain upon it.

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts

   is the house of Israel,

and the people of Judah

   are his pleasant planting;

he expected justice,

   but saw bloodshed;

righteousness,

   but heard a cry!
The Lord’s Supper  Now let’s turn our attention to the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, also known as the Eucharist or Holy Communion. On the night before Jesus died, he gathered with his disciples in the Upper Room for a Passover meal. [Luke 21] Passover is the first of three major festival with both historical and agricultural significance. It represents the beginning of the harvest season. It is related to the escape of the Israelites from Egypt after 400 years of slavery. The word Passover refers to the fact that the angel of death passed over the houses of the Jews when the firstborn of Egypt were being slain. The reason why the homes of the Jews were passed over is that Moses had told them to sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial lamb on the lintel and the two doorposts of their house.

During the Last Supper, the Passover meal, Jesus took the cup, saying “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. [Luke 22:20] Thus, the next day Jesus was crucified and became the sacrificial lamb whose blood was shed on the Cross. [Matthew 26:28]

The word covenant is the same as testament. In Jeremiah, God said that he was going to make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. And instead of Ten Commandments being written on tablets of stone, which could be broken, this new covenant is to be written on their hearts. In essence, as both God and human, Jesus made and sealed both sides of this New Covenant. Thus the Old Testament is the Old Covenant made with Israel, and the New Testament attests to the New Covenant established by Jesus.