The Rev. Margaret Watson
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church & School
Acts 17:22-31 | Psalm 148 | I Peter 3:8-18 | John 15:1-8
Just a few weeks ago, my family welcomed it's newest member. A little girl was born, Elinore, named after our grandmother. And it was more than just a few hours before the family ritual began. Photos were exchanged and then one part of the family started saying, "Don't you think she looks just like her mama?" And the other side of the family saying, "Don't you think she looks just like her papa?"
I don't suppose any family is immune to that kind of thing. And God really proves a sense of humor when we begin to resemble other members of our families - like our pets. But, truly, family resemblance is precisely what Jesus was talking about when he said, "I am the true vine." Because, you see, we did not give ourselves life; we are his offspring. He gives us life. We did not nurture or cultivate ourselves: Christ is our root; God is our farmer. Jesus said, "I am the true vine… The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine... Abide in me as I abide in you." This story is about family resemblance, about being offspring; and then, it is more. This Gospel has to do with our very being-ness, our center of being-ness, the way we are.
Let me share another example. It comes from a little newspaper called, The Arizonan. And it goes like this: The U.S. standard railroad gauge, the distance between the rails, is four feet, eight and one-half inches. Why that number? Because, that's the way they built them in England! (And every good Episcopalian knows we've always done it that way.) Why? Because the first rail lines built for trams were built that way. Why? Because the trams were built with the same jigs and the same tools used for building wagons. Okay… railroad, trams, wagons. So, why did wagons have that particular wheel spacing? Because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts in the old roads. If any other spacing was used, the wheels would break off. So, who built the old roads? Who formed the ruts? Imperial road build the roads. Roman war chariots formed the ruts. The war chariots were made all alike in the matter of wheel spacing — why? Efficiency? Yes. But also, war chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back-end of the horses that pulled them. Okay, so railroad tracks are based upon the width and the girth of Roman horses! Now get this. We've been hearing about the space shuttle in the news lately. Is it safe to fly again? Next time you see the image of the shuttle, notice the big booster rockets. These booster rockets are made in a factory in Utah. The engineers who designed them wanted to make them shorter and fatter, but the boosters have to be shipped by train, from the factory to the launch site. So the boosters had to be made based upon the width of the railroad track.
And there we have it. The shuttle, modern, advanced transportation, shooting into outer space, has in its size and shape roots that go back to the back end of Roman horses! If the shuttle, through two thousand years of history and half way around the globe, is rooted in the dimensions of a Roman war horse, imagine how much more we are rooted in Christ! We, who are beloved of the Father, who are made one in Christ, who are utterly joined to him: branches of the true vine. All our groping and searching for God, it's only to discover that we are already rooted in him. We may find great comfort in this, and indeed we should. But that doesn't mean we can stop there. Let's imagine what it might mean for us.
For these past few Easter weeks, there have been distinct scriptural themes. On the one hand, the theme has been believe, have faith. And, on the other hand is the theme that has been given to us in the letter of Peter, do the right thing. Believing and doing. We mind strive to do as Peter says: have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, a humble mind. Don't repay evil for evil, repay with a blessing. Suffer for doing what is right. Be ready to make our defense with gentleness, with reverence. And, in all this doing that is right, we might live a righteous faith. Believing and Doing.
But the plain truth is I know I cannot always do what Peter calls for. I am too weak, too often. And to be honest, I know that even my faith is imperfect. It's clouded with the times we live in, the news on hear on T.V., the schools I attended, the places I have lived, clouded with my very own self. I strive, but I cannot always do or even believe the right thing. I am afraid that when our God, the farmer, walks the vineyard, he will see I am not bearing as much fruit as I should. I'm afraid I will be pruned, cut off and thrown to the fire. Knowing that this is the human condition, what hope is there for me or any of us?
There is hope. There is good news. And the good news is this Gospel is not about heaven or hell. It's not about personal eternal destiny. This story is about life, about being, being who we already are: Branches. It's not about doing or believing. This story is about being, about the essence of our life.
It is because we are merely branches on the vine. The doing and believing are not ours, but stem from the source of our life. It is not my personal faith, my believing which saves me, but the faith of Christ which abides in us, all of us, together. It is not my doing, but the doing of Christ which works through us. It is not my life, but the life of Christ, of which I am a member, a branch. Paul quoted the poets: in him we live and move and have our being. Yes! We have our very being, rooted in the true vine. We have no life in ourselves, but we carry and bear the life of the vine itself our roots, our family resemblance, is Christ. A matter of fact, the beginning is Christ, the end is Christ, all is Christ.
With Christ being all, this means, I am not, except in relationship to him in absolute dependency. Christ is the I AM. Christ is the living bread which we share, the light, the gate for the sheep; Christ is the good shepherd, the way, the truth, the resurrection , and the life. Christ is the true vine. Abide in him in the knowledge that you have already been cleansed by the word spoken to you. Abide in him as he already abides in you. Look like him. Bear his harvest, his life, to the glory of God.
Amen.