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Home Page
The Rector's Welcome
Worship
Sermons
Music & the Organ
Newsletter
Schedule & Events
History
Programs & Ministries
Tour the Building
Links
Map & Directions
Monthly Calendar
Home Page
The Rector's Welcome
Worship
Sermons
Music & the Organ
Newsletter
Schedule & Events
History
Programs & Ministries
Tour the Building
Links
Map & Directions
Monthly Calendar
Fr. J. D. Ousley
27 April 2008John 151.8“Branch Office”
In the Name of God: Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Amen.
I recently read a newspaper article about a wine expert who was also a recovering alcoholic.
Amazingly, he is able to rate wines by looking at them and smelling and tasting them — but without ever actually drinking them!
The expert is only one of the growing throng of people who make their living from wine. Wine is so popular these days that many restaurants not only have "wine lists," but also employ stewards who can help diners make their selections. Newspapers feature wine columns to offer yet more expert advice.
Of course, these wine gurus need new vintages and varieties to talk about, so another result of the burgeoning interest in wine are new vineyards; wine is now produced in every state in the continental U.S.!
Now, of course, the wine business is a very ancient occupation, often mentioned in the Bible. In much of Israel fresh water was scarce; wine could be relied upon as a source of fluids when safe water was hard to come by.
Jesus himself often used images of wine and vineyards in his teaching.
At the beginning of today's second lesson, Jesus says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower." Later he claims, "I am the vine and you are the branches."
In this passage, Jesus portrays himself as the "vine" who mediates between God who is the "grower" or Creator, and us, his disciples; we are "branches" of Christ because we share in his life and ultimately in the divine life.
Unlike vines of ivy that grow along the ground and climb onto walls, grape vines are really like small trees. Thus, we as "branches" have a distinct identity. At the same time, however, we still depend on the central "vine," Christ, the incarnation of God, for our spiritual "nutrients."
As a result, Jesus says, "Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit." But Jesus also adds, "apart from me you can do nothing."
We are more likely, I think, to appreciate the first part of this message. We recognize that we are happy in life when we are in touch with our spiritual roots. We know that we need to be nourished by the power of Christ within us. We want to "abide" in Christ.
But we don't always realize just how dependant we are on the Spirit. Jesus makes this point in no uncertain terms: "apart from me you can do nothing."
Separated from the vine then, we are powerless. Yet while we accept this claim in theory, in practice we try to function without spiritual nutrition. We believe we can live our lives on our own, not facing the fact that we are like branches on a vine, subject to many factors beyond our control.
In the case of wine-makers, seemingly minor variations in weather can affect a given year's crop. Grapes on one hill can be the source of much better wine than grapes from another hill, just across the valley.
So, too, grapes must be harvested carefully. The grapes that make Sauternes dessert wine must be removed from the vine one-by-one, using special clippers.
Following this analogy, we can appreciate how our relationship with the Spirit can vary according to external factors. If I haven't had enough sleep, I may find it hard to pray.
But interestingly, the reverse is also true: if I haven't prayed, I can find it hard to sleep! Before I go to bed, I may need to process my innermost thoughts and feelings, so that I can offer to God whatever is weighing on my soul. Only then can my soul and body together find rest.
In other words, because we are spiritual beings, we have interior needs that we can't ignore. As a branch depends on the vine of which it is a part, so we depend on the Spirit.
But since we are talking here about the spiritual realm, the relationship of dependence involved can be even more complicated than wine-making! No wonder it's so hard to get our relationship with God exactly right.
Still, wine-making provides us with an analogy for the spiritual life. Scientifically speaking, wine-tasting isn't rocket science. The basic facts are known.
And yet, you can plant your vines where they will get the sunlight and the rainfall they need, and you can prune the vines and fertilize the soil, and you can follow all the rules and yet you won't know how good the wine is until it ferments, and you open the bottle and you try it!
Complications also occur when we encounter the elusive Spirit of God. Take an ordinary event in human life: disappointment. You pray hard for something that you want and that you think you deserve — and you don't get it.
Even though disappointments aren't rare in life, they can still make you really angry. Even angry at God. It's like you are working hard in the "branch office," and you expected the main office to come through for you, and it doesn't.
Now, notice another thing. Not only are you upset that God appears not to have been able to work things out the way you wanted him to, but you resent your dependence. You may even wish you were an independent operator who didn't have to rely on God.
What Christ is telling us with his images of our relationship to the divine is that we can't go off on our own. We don't have a hope if we ignore our spiritual roots.
If we try to be independent, we literally don't have a prayer. We will never find happiness if we think we can be lone rangers in the realm of the spirit.
Take, for example, St. Augustine. Augustine was born in 354, and he started off as a real lone ranger of the spirit. Augustine spent his early life doing exactly what he felt like; he dabbled in dabbling in whatever religions and philosophies struck his fancy, according to his "tell-all" autobiography entitled, Confessions.
Augustine was at various times a pagan worshipper and a Manichaean. Along the way, he enjoyed the company of various women and then abandoned them.
Finally, through the influence of his mother, Monica, and Bishop Ambrose of Milan, Augustine joined the Christian Church. He went on to write works of theology that helped to define orthodox belief; he also served as a bishop in his native North Africa, and his life, ironically like many church leaders today, was complicated by separatist movements that loudly claimed themselves to be more truly Christian than the regular church.
What did St. Augustine conclude from his own long and religious journey? In the most famous line in the Confessions, Augustine prays to God: "Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee."
Granted, for most of us, the searching is necessary. Like branches of a grapevine, we take years to mature spiritually.
But what a relief it is to discover that sheer independence doesn't make us happy. What a relief it is to know that we are born to be restless, and that we will find inner peace only when we end our restless searching, and find our rest in God.
And now unto that same God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be ascribed as is most justly due all might, majesty, power, dominion and praise, now and forever, Amen.