May 5, 2002
As a way into the words of Jesus about vine and branches and abiding,
allow me to share this little story about a pastor and a parishioner
and a bulldog lapel pin. Trust me, I will connect it all in the
end.
Some years ago, Keith Brown, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, saw a man after church at the coffee hour with a symbol on his lapel; it was the symbol of a bulldog. Not knowing that the bulldog was the symbol for Mack Truck, and not knowing that Frank, this man, worked for Mack Truck, he naively said, "Frank, what does that bulldog symbolize?"
Frank got a twinkle in his eye and said, "Well, Keith, the bulldog symbolizes the tenacity with which I hold onto Jesus Christ."
Keith said, "Well, Frank, it's a wonderful symbol, but you have lousy theology."
Frank said, "What do you mean?"
He said, "It should never stand for the tenacity with which you hold onto Jesus Christ. It should stand for the tenacity with which Jesus Christ holds onto you."1
"I am the true vine . . . abide in me as I abide in you." (John 15:1, 4) What does it mean that Jesus abides in us and what is it like to abide in Jesus? Does it make any difference in our world?
To abide is to stay with, to persevere, to continue with, to hang in there. It is such an old-fashioned word, an old-fashioned concept. Today you have to be able to adapt, change quickly or get left behind. We live in a world where enduring commitments are the exception, not the rule. And here is Jesus commanding us to abide in him and promising to abide in us.
What does it mean that Jesus abides in us and what is it like to abide in Jesus? Does it make any difference in our world?
To answer these questions I will borrow from one of my favorite sources of inspiration and insight: Guideposts magazine. If you are not familiar with Guideposts, it is a monthly magazine sharing "True stories of hope and inspiration." As I read these verses from John's gospel I was put in mind of a story from last month's magazine.
Part of the appeal of the magazine is that the stories are reported to the editors, they are testimonies really, then they are verified for the facts, then printed. There are no urban legends here. However, the editors and the readers see the hand of God where others see mere coincidence. Editors and readers are sensitive to the presence of God and alert for the voice of God. So the interpretation of the facts of these stories is definitely biased in favor of a living, loving, God intimately involved in the lives of men and women like you and me in the 21st Century.
Allen, our storyteller, came to know the Lord in prison.2 Addicted to alcohol and drugs, Allen worked hard, albeit illegally, to support his habit. He was finally caught, tried, convicted and sentenced to prison where he had to dry out. He remembers the events that led to his conversion:
One day in early 1989 I was slumped on my bunk in my cell, thinking, I've messed up everything worth caring about. I might as well be dead. Then a fellow inmate came by. "I'm going to chapel," he said. "You're coming with me."
I couldn't muster the energy to argue, so I followed him out of the cell block. I sat way in the back of the chapel like a zombie, not even caring where I was.
All of sudden a presence spoke to me, the voice cutting clear through my despair. "Allen, if you give me your life, I'll restore it back to you." I knew it could only be God. Who else could bring a spiritually dead man back to life?
"Abide in me as I abide in you." Before continuing the story I want to offer some additional observations: (1) Allen was invited to chapel, invited to relationship with the Lord by a no-nonsense friend. What was effective in prison is equally effective in our neighborhoods and workplaces. One-to-one evangelism, a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, inviting another to come and see is the most effective kind of evangelism. (2) A word of hope offered to someone in prison is capable of producing miracles beyond our most vivid dreams. August Belmont, John Worley, and Jan Van Puten from our parish participate in a ministry to prisoners called Kairos. They are always looking for others who will carry a word of hope, an invitation to know the Lord, to those in prison. Perhaps you are an answer to their prayers for additional helpers.
Back to our story of the abiding presence of our Lord. Allen, grew in his knowledge and love of the Lord throughout the rest of his prison stay. Upon release he continued his walk with the Lord and in a church in Florida met a woman, Marilyn, who he eventually married. Allen's sister had a son, Michael. In his difficult teen years Michael lived with Allen and Marilyn. As a young adult he started down the same road that had put Allen in prison. At age 25, however, and I suspect with a lot of prayers, Michael, too, found joy and abundant life in the Lord. He was taking baby steps with the Lord when his life was tragically ended by a gunshot to his head.
Mortally wounded he was rushed to the hospital where he was kept alive by machines. In a series of phone calls Allen's sister called for his help and his presence. While he was still arranging the plane trip she called again and asked him if she should give permission to donate Michael's organs to others, for his brain was already dead according to the doctors and his body was only alive because of the machines. Donating was the right thing to do he and his sister agreed.
Allen was able to get the last seat on a flight to his sister's Kentucky home. As he got to his seat a woman was trying to wrestle her carry-on into the overhead compartment. Allen helped and as they sat down he noticed a diagram of the human body. In the course of the ensuing conversation he learned that his seatmate's name was Jan and her sister, Deborah, was dying—she was on the list for a liver transplant, but not given much chance to survive long enough to receive it. You can probably guess the rest of the story.
Was it just coincidence that put these two together on that plane? None of those involved will accept that it was just dumb luck, a happy circumstance. "Abide in me as I abide in you. . . . Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, . . . . My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
Yes, after a series of phone calls and the dedicated work of the transplant coordinators, Michael's liver was transplanted into Deborah and continues to give life. At the Memorial Service for Michael, his uncle was able to tell others how one of Michael's kidneys went to a young father, the other to a little boy. How a three-month-old baby got his corneas; how a badly burned child received skin grafts. He was able to give thanks that 50 cancer patients received some of his bone marrow. Allen shared that "It was all because of the One who helped my family make sense of our tragedy by transforming it into a second chance for so many others." From the beginning of his life, Jesus chose to abide in Allen. Even when he was drinking, even when he was imprisoned, Jesus chose to abide in Allen. Finally, with the help of a fellow prisoner and a chaplain, Allen was able to choose to abide in the Lord. What great things came of that choice.
Likewise, Jesus chose from the beginning of his life, to abide in Michael. Even when it looked hopeless to all who loved him, Jesus chose to abide in Michael. Through people and events, Michael was able to choose to abide in the Lord. We are presented a spectacular vision of what this can mean. Jesus abiding in both Allen and Michael as they chose to abide in him. Jesus able to transform—with a lot of help—a most violent and sad ending of one life into new life and hope for many others.
This is what it means to follow Jesus' command to abide in him, this is what it is like when Jesus abides in us. This is an eye popping story. It thrills our hearts. It has the power to inspire our actions. And I hope it reminds you of your own story. A story of following the Lord in your own way. A story filled with the presence of God and the millions of small miracles God has been able to work through you because you have chosen to abide in him.
In this Service, as you come to communion, make the time, make the effort, to renew your commitment to abide in the Lord, and be assured that from the very beginning of your life our Lord chose to abide in you, and he will not quit on you. Amen.
1 Thomas Tewell, "The Tenacity of a Bulldog," Preaching Today, Tape No. 141. On the internet at www.preachingtoday.com
2 "Brought Together" by Allen Van Meter, Guideposts, April 2002, pp. 40-45
The Rev. Daniel Rondeau
drondeau@stmargarets.org
May 5, 2002