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6
Easter
May 1, 2005 Sermon by
Rev. Peggy Tuttle, Interim Rector
Readings
There is a hint of spring
all around us in spite of the fickle weather. The sun feels much closer
to the earth and the warmth of it can be felt through chilling winds.
Spring flowers have already found their way to the surface and have
opened their faces for us to see.
Gardeners are out buying, planning their gardens and getting ready to
till the soil. The Maple trees have been tapped for the gathering of
that precious sweet sap to be boiled into nectar for homemade pancakes
and waffles.
“I planted you as a choice, from the purest stock,” God tells Jeremiah.
This simple declaration conveys the meticulous attention and tender care
with which God formed the people of Israel. Isaiah writes that God
prepared a vineyard for this rootstock, selecting fertile ground,
clearing stones, constructing a watchtower, and digging a wine vat, all
in expectation of abundant fruitfulness.
Jesus speaks from his culture. He uses images that are familiar to his
listeners and his followers. He tells stories about situations that are
easily understood so as not to confuse.
Wine was most familiar to Jesus and all peoples. It was as common and
accepted as sweet tea in the south, as a pint in England or Espresso in
France. It was part of the daily lives of people.
Many toiled in the vineyards. Even if they did not drink the wine they
knew something about the growing of grapes and the care they needed in
order to produce a drinkable beverage.
A vineyard is cultivated for one end alone: the maturation, harvest, and
pressing of grapes. By virtue of its specialized purpose, the vineyard
requires constant attention. For some vintners this may mean close
monitoring of soil chemistry, while for others it may involve special
concern about changing weather conditions or invading insects. Among the
many activities that might be required to assure the health of a
vineyard, one is required without exception: pruning. Without regular
pruning, precious energy dissipates in wild, unproductive directions.
The experienced vinedresser knows just how much to trim the vines so
they can produce full and savory fruit.
God desires that we be abundantly fruitful and acts to help this happen.
With enduring faithfulness and intimate knowledge of our capacities, the
heavenly Vinedresser provides opportunity for us to shed the excess
burdens that inhibit our full maturation in God’s service. “Every branch
that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit,” says our Gospel
today. The Bible sometimes describes this process of intensive nurture
using the image of a parent exercising constructive discipline with a
child. The purpose is not to erase our uniqueness or subdue our
vitality, but rather to give us a share in God’s own holiness (Hebrews
12:10) and thereby to become “fully-developed, complete, with nothing
missing” (James 1:3).
Pruning can certainly be uncomfortable. It strips us of what is
non-essential to the power of God’s spirit rising within us. But it also
gathers and focuses energies previously dispersed in draining
distractions or even apparently worthy commitments. We do a lot of
self-damage by reminding ourselves over and over of the wrongs someone
has done to us. Psychologists call it negative self-talk. Repeating to
ourselves hurtful events so as to keep the pain coming as we pick at the
sore.
Redirecting that effort, that negative energy, toward positive and
nurturing behavior will increase the fruit we bear.
Pruning concentrates the savor of the fruit we bear, for it proceeds
from inward peace and promotes outward goodness. Pruning may mean
dealing with past hurts and allowing ourselves to heal. Pruning may mean
letting go of bad self-image, low self worth, low self esteem. Pruning
may mean giving up positions of power. Pruning may mean doing more in
your community. But pruning may also be doing less in your community and
permitting others to participate. Pruning may mean working less and
spending more time with your family
The effect of the Vinedresser’s skilled hands is always a power of life
greater than that which we would or could choose on our own.
A bit of pruning will change our experiences of wounded-ness into
occasions for growth and enrichment. How do we begin? Where do we start?
We start by truth telling. First to ourselves and then to the people who
are most important in our lives. Owning our own behavior. We have
choices in our lives and we can choose how to behave, how to act or
react. I am responsible for my own behavior but I am not responsible for
yours.
There was a scuffle on an elementary school playground. The teacher in
charge finally was able to restore order. She asked how did this get
started. What made all this happen? One child pointed to another child
and accused, “It all started when he hit Me back!” As long as we point
to reasons outside ourselves and evade our own responsibility we are
expending precious energy to be unproductive.
Without proper pruning vines expend precious energy to be unproductive.
Vines are pruned of necessity. Grapevines must be cut back severely to
encourage their growth and production.
Jesus assures his followers that he is the vine. And he assures them
that the vine has already been dressed, been cut back radically and made
ready to bear abundantly. God has seen to that, for it is God who owns
the vineyard and tends the vine.
A tree rises from the root of Jesse, reaches toward the sun, and we are
its branches. All that remains is the fruiting, the life swelling within
us and filling us, ripening until the day of maturity when we become
wine. Slaking thirst, and making glad the heart of God.
Thanks be to God.