22 November 1998
That day, I was in a first-grade classroom in Walla Walla, Washington, working as a student teacher. My supervising teacher was there too. We were in the midst of a lesson when a vice-principal came into the room. He was pushing a media cart with a television set on it, and he had a very strange look on his face. He plugged the set in and left the room. The children enjoyed this break in the routine; the teacher and I would not.
What was on the television was the horrible news of what had happened in Dallas on that particular November 22nd. Then, assassinations were not "usual" in our part of the world. Suddenly the ground under us shifted. Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news that day? If you're old enough, you probably remember -- perhaps Walter Cronkite announcing, The president has been shot. We huddled together in little groups... I remember one young woman in my college dormitory getting angry with her roommate for carrying on the everyday routine, furiously demanding, How can you wash your hair at a time like this?
In a way, that day we went into an exile from which we have never returned. We left behind a sense of safety for ourselves and our leaders. In our first reading, Jeremiah tells the word of the Lord to a people who had also been driven into an exile from what they held dear, from a place where they felt safe. Jeremiah is sending, for God, a clear and stern message to the shepherds of the people of Israel about what their lack of leadership has brought on the people.
But it is followed by a message of hope, a promise of restoration. God says, Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands... and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply....
God is reiterating the promises of the covenant he has made with the people; they will have a land, and they will be fruitful and multiply. As it is used here, that language relates to having many descendants.
But there are other ways to be fruitful. In the epistle to the Philippians, Paul speaks of doing fruitful labor. Both Matthew and Luke tell the story of John the Baptist exhorting the people to bear fruit worthy of repentance. In the Gospel of John, Jesus describes himself as the vine and the disciples as the branches, and tells them, My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.... I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last...
What kinds of fruit? The Bible gives us many different descriptions. Hebrews speaks of the peaceful fruit of righteousness and the fruit of lips that acknowledge [God's] name. James tells us that the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.
In Wednesday Express, our children have been studying what is probably the most familiar description of the fruit of the Spirit (It is the work of the Holy Spirit that brings the growth needed): Paul writes to the Galatians that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and he goes on to encourage them not (to) grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all...
What does that work look like in your life today? How is your life bearing fruit?
The Bible tells us that there are varieties of gifts -- and there are varieties of ways that those gifts bear fruit.
Perhaps you came early today to help prepare the altar for our worship. Perhaps the person sitting next to you helped greet people at the door, or the person on the other side of you helped to put together the new worship booklets we will be using next week as we begin the season of Advent. Perhaps you are a Sunday School teacher, or will go to Whitewater Park tomorrow or to the Mid-Valley Interfaith Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday to help hand out Thanksgiving turkeys to people who might not have them otherwise. Maybe you go up to the school to tell stories or do artwork with the children, or bring Communion to someone who can't come to church. Maybe you sing out bravely at the offertory hymn, still a new practice at this service! (As the children in the cereal commercial say, Try it -- you'll like it!)
Fruitfulness is about giving of yourself. Gifts of money help, as do gifts of time -- you've been invited to give of both at this time of the year that we sometimes call the "stewardship season". But gifts of your talents, of your being, are important too. Today I challenge you to think about tithing of your self.
What parts of the talents that God has given you are given back through worship, service, hospitality, arts, and all of the many avenues available for sharing? As we move into Advent, will you take some time to think about the gifts you have been given and how they might bear fruit for the glory of God and the spreading of the Kingdom?
Just as you sit down to look at your fiscal resources when you pledge your tithe, I challenge you to look at the God-given strengths and skills that you may not be noticing. Perhaps there is a talent or skill that you have been shy about offering, or haven't recognized as a real ministry. This may be the time to let that bear fruit.
Perhaps your gift is being who you are, as fully as possible, as a witness that proclaims the good news just by who you are in your everyday life. Think about it -- you are a witness, of one sort or another, about the Christian life in all your days. Take the time, use your talents, be one of those folk that re-present God to a world that, for all the plenty we see about us, still lives, in very real ways, in exile.
On that November 22nd, 35 years ago today, our world changed in ways that still affect us. Our world needs the message and example of God's love that only you can bring. Even as in the time of the Psalmist, the nations make much ado, and the kingdoms are shaken. But God is our refuge and strength. And we can depend on that strength as we offer up the fruits of his presence in our lives.
When we make or reaffirm our baptismal covenant, we promise to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ, and to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves.
When we give thanks in the Eucharist, we ask God after that deepest nourishment to send us out to do the work he has given us to do, to love and serve him as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. To bear the fruit of our salvation. To bear witness to those who hunger, sometimes without even consciously knowing it, to come home from exile and into the fulness of the Kingdom. To help each other know that in our Lord all things hold together and that in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven...
That is the ultimate good news in a world of exile, and we are called to share it by our being and our doing, by our bearing fruit in which others may come to know the sweetness and goodness and saving power of our God. And God said, Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands.... and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful...
How will you bear fruit today and in the coming year?
The Rev. Lois Hart
lhart@stmargarets.org
22 November 98