A Handful of Wild

Easter 5 + John 15:1-81 + Pastor Petri Against the Danger of Good Works Let’s begin with a short “nature” quiz: You’re hiking in the woods and you get hungry for some sweet berries. There in a thicket stands a large, woody , much like one you’ve seen in your neighbor’s garden. Each is big as a hand, and hanging in different spots on the vine are heavy clusters of juicy, purple . You’ve eaten these your whole life. So you pop a bunch into your mouth. What did you just eat? If you said grapes, you are just now beginning to have con- vulsions, vomiting, and diarrhea. For you didn’t eat grapes but canadense, or Canadian moonseed, an imposter of the wild that resembles it, except that it is poisonous. Of course, you could have guessed I’d toss a curve ball and been leery of what I was leading you to think. Good for you; you’re still alive! But then tell me: Why is it some folks are cau- tious about eating wild berries and mushrooms, yet when it comes to religion they’ll swallow anything? Some folks even pride themselves on not looking too closely at a religion’s finer points. By contrast, Jesus warns that such an indifferent attitude can be as deadly as poison.2

[WRONG VINE] First, notice the nature of the vine itself. Many readers recognize John 15 as the passage where Jesus calls himself a vine. But he really says he is ‘the vine’, not ‘a’ vine, mean- ing he is unique.3 Moreover, Jesus says he’s ‘the true vine’, meaning there are imposters. Jesus has no patience for counter belief systems like Hinduism, Islam, or Scientology. To say these are equal to Christianity is like saying all purple berries are equal to grapes. It can be a serious mis- take. Only Jesus brings us to the heavenly Father,4 uniting heaven and earth.5 So be careful! Can we at least be safe if we stick to strictly Christian churches? No. For who defines what is Christian: Mormons? Jehovah’s Witnesses? Jesus warns that false christs will arise.6 Imposters will come in Jesus’ name to lead astray the elect if possible!7 Only a fool believes just anyone who alleges to know the truth. Yet many do just that, treating all claimants equally. Lutheran. Methodist. Mormon. Catholic. It makes no difference to those who won’t get bogged down by details. As long as a church sings Amazing Grace, that’s good enough for them. Just think how many people ignore the differences—and happily so—as if knowing less makes one wiser. Yet tell me, when has ignorance ever been a badge of wisdom? Still, they wear it as such, declaring that all churches are basically the same. Right. And all wild berries are grapes. Here, eat some Menispermum canadense and just call them basically grapes. Oh what careless fools some be!

1 Unless otherwise noted, all passages are from The English Standard Version of the Bible. 2 Mat 24:11 “Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.” 3 Act 4:12 “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 4 Joh 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” 5 Joh 3:13 “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” 6 Mat 24:5 “Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.” 7 Mar 13:22 “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.” [WRONG ] But Jesus’ words in our Gospel text don’t stop with the vine. A second look makes us question ourselves. Jesus said, “I AM THE VINE; YOU ARE THE BRANCHES .” And that raises new questions: If I’m a branch, where are my fruits? And what are my fruits?8 Is it that I do good deeds, or love my family, or memorize Bible verses? Or is it something else I haven’t even thought of? And how can I tell if I’m being ‘pruned back’ to do more, or ‘cut off’ as a lost 9 cause? We certainly don’t want to be dead wood that is “GATHERED, THROWN INTO THE FIRE, AND BURNED.” And so we turn Jesus’ words into a yardstick by which we measure ourselves. But it is a stick too heavy to lift. It only us fretting that we must try harder and do more! Yet isn’t this also an imposter religion, not a grape vine at all but a Menispermum canadense that appears to bestow life even as it takes life? Good Works is the world’s oldest imposter religion. Rather than give grace, it burdens us with demands. And we Lutherans stumble over it as much as others. We fear punishment and so we try to make ourselves fruitful. We clean up our language. We renew our commitment to church. We dutifully stand and sit all 99 times during a service, quietly hoping God will take note. Yet if it is fear driving us, our religion is false, no matter how much it resembles Christianity. For Jesus’ message is that our salvation is a gift God gives by grace and we receive by faith.10 Anything else misses what he is really saying.

[RIGHT VINE & FRUITS] What, then, is Jesus saying? A third look reveals that Jesus provides the very fruit he wants. In fact, he says “APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.” As negative as it sounds, this is one of the sweetest sentences ever spoken, for Jesus takes charge of the fruit we bear. He pushes life into us, forming the fruit. He does it! A woman once rushed up to the master violinist Fritz Kreisler after a concert and cried out: “I’d give my life to play like you.” Kreisler replied, “I did give my life.” He had dedicated his life to perfecting his art, but Jesus literally sacrificed his life to perfect us—just so he could dwell in us.11 Now we bear Jesus’ fruit because he is in us.12 He fills us with his life-giving Word. He fills us with the bread and wine of Holy Communion. He fills us with the water of Holy Baptism. In these we have new life, like a branch fed by its vine. And Jesus is that Vine. he says, “WHOEVER ABIDES IN ME AND I IN HIM BEARS

MUCH FRUIT.” (V. 5). We bear fruit not in the things we do but in the life we share with Christ. This is what I want you to understand. Being a Christian is not a matter of acting a certain way or of putting on a good appearance. The woods are full of deadly that put on a whole- some appearance. The Christian faith is never as simple as acting the right way. It is simpler. It is a matter of trusting in Jesus, and letting his holiness, his innocence, his blessedness, and his fruitfulness do its own work through you. Nothing can be sweeter than that. Except maybe for a handful of true wild grapes. Amen.

8 Mat 19:16 “A man came up to [Jesus], saying, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’” 9 Even the psalmist worried about this at times, crying out (Psa 13:1) “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?” 10 Eph 2:8 “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” 11 Gal 2:20a “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” 12 Gal 2:20b “And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”