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Invite Everyone

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Sabbath Day Thoughts — “Invite Everyone” Matthew 22:1-14

July third was the wedding of the decade as singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chief’s tight end Travis Kelce tied the knot in Madison Square Garden with 1,000 of their closest friends in attendance. The bride and groom both wore white—a custom haute couture gown and a hand-stitched tuxedo by the fashion icons at Christian Dior. Tatytay’s ring featured an eight-carat Old Mine brilliant-cut diamond. In attendance? A who’s who of celebrities, from Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts to music icons Paul McCartney and Miranda Lambert to sports superstars Olympian Simone Beils and quarterback Tom Brady.

The dinner was sumptuous. Food stations served everything from steaks and seafood to burgers and fries. A dessert table featured no fewer than thirty cakes, along with Pop-Tarts, cookies, and an assortment of pastries. Multiple bars offered drinks, including 3 signature cocktails, specially crafted for the nuptials.

Taylor and Travis wanted everyone to rejoice with them, so they made $26 million in charitable gifts to food banks, children’s hospitals, educational programs, and an animal rescue organization. It was a party for the ages with music and dancing continuing into the early hours of the morning. Invitations were the hottest ticket in town. Even guests who love to spill the tea signed non-disclosure agreements and checked their cell phones at the door.

Jesus told a story about a wedding for the ages. The King’s son was tying the knot and no expense would be spared on the royal wedding. The marriage contract was signed. The rabbi was ready. The fatted calves would be roasted to perfection. The finest wines would be poured out. The musicians were tuning up. There would be dancing and singing and rejoicing all night long.

There was only one problem. The guests of honor wouldn’t come. In actions that were downright treasonous, they made excuses, then mistreated and murdered the King’s envoys. Once the rebellion was quashed, an entirely new guestlist was invited to the wedding banquet. Everyone. Literally, everyone, regardless of social standing, income, age, or ability got an invitation. In they came with great rejoicing, filling the courts of the king with loud shouts of “Huzzah!” and the sounds of celebration.

Jesus said that this story is about the Kingdom of Heaven. To understand his message, context is everything. As Jesus spoke those words, he was in Jerusalem at the Temple. Passover was near and pilgrims had flocked to the holy city from across the empire. Although Jesus found a warm welcome from the crowds who were eager to hear what he had to say, those who controlled the Temple—the chief priests, scribes, and influential elders of the Sanhedrin—were not so happy to see him. They questioned his authority, challenged his teachings, and tried to insinuate that he was a threat to the empire. Later that week, when Jesus finished spinning parables and interpreting scripture, those powerful opponents would put their heads together and plot his arrest and execution. On Friday, Jesus would hang upon the cross.

Considering that context, Jesus’ scary, exaggerated story of a fabulous wedding feast, rebellious subjects, and an angry king becomes a thinly veiled critique of the wealthy and powerful Temple elite, who were planning his demise. Jesus began his public ministry with the words, “The Kingdom of Heaven has come near.” Now as his public ministry came to a close, he used this Kingdom parable to challenge those who would deny and murder him. Jesus was saying, “Open your eyes, people. Don’t you know the bridegroom when you see him? God’s banquet is in full swing. You are meant to be honored guests. Get over yourselves, come on in, and celebrate with me.”

When we hear Jesus’ story, we are tempted to pass judgment. We shake our heads and tsk, tsk, tsk over those first century insiders who were blind to the work of God and the presence of the Kingdom. We are tempted to pass judgment on people here and now, too, like our atheist neighbors who think our convictions of faith are stuff and nonsense. It’s tempting to pass judgment on the powerful elite of our day, who are too busy building their own kingdoms to serve God’s Kingdom. It’s tempting to pass judgment on contemporary Christians who are eager for the Kingdom, but can’t be bothered to serve it, who can’t be bothered to clothe themselves in the wedding garment of love, compassion, justice, and humility.

But I suspect that we’ve all had moments when we have received the King’s invitation and allowed it to go unanswered. Our calendars are crowded, and it’s hard to make time for Jesus in our busy schedules. We skip church, forego Bible Study, and fall asleep at night before we can say our prayers. Some days, we struggle to allow the King to have authority in our lives. Afterall, we have big commitments to work, family, and community that demand our time and our better selves. Maybe we can sprinkle the King around the edges of all that important stuff. We may even be ashamed of the gospel. We play down our convictions of faith. Our neighbors may know us as parents, grandparents, teachers, healthcare providers, retirees, or Ice Palace Workers, but do they know we are Christians?  Do we acknowledge that the most important relationship that we will ever have is our relationship with God through Christ?  Do we see that the most important mission that we will ever have is to forge a world where the limitless love of God is known by all? 

We say, “No,” to the Kingdom. Given enough time and enough “Nos,” our life begins to feel like we’re living in that burned-out city or that outer darkness of bitter tears and gnashing teeth that Jesus talked about in his parable.

But if we listen with the ears of our hearts this morning, we can hear it. The Wedding Feast is on. The bridegroom is here. There is a place at the banquet table with our name on it. There is room on the dance floor for all who will put on their boogie shoes. Won’t we join Jesus in the celebration? Won’t we join him in making the Kingdom of God come alive for our community? We are all invited, my friends. Everyone. How will we respond?

We’ll say “yes” to the King by feeding hungry people. 47.9 million Americans experience food insecurity. That means they will lack reliable access to sufficient food this year. With rising food prices, that number is also rising. Globally more than two billion people are hungry. Whether we lace up our shoes and walk in the CROP Walk, bring peanut butter and jelly to the Food Pantry collection bin, glean potatoes, or donate two-cents-a-meal, we will say “yes” to the King’s invitation.

I hope that a couple of you will say “yes” to the King’s invitation by sharing a story about your life of faith on Reformation Sunday. In what has become one of our favorite Sundays of the year, we listen deeply to stories of those blessed moments in life when we have known the goodness of the Lord. It could be a story of a life lesson learned. It could be a story of a challenge overcome. It could be a story of the surprising Jesus, who comes to us in the guise of a needy neighbor, a child, a wise mentor, or even the good creation. Your “yes” will inspire all our “yeses” as we consider how we will make a Kingdom difference through the church in 2027.

Our “yes” to the King could look a lot like Christian caring. We’ll visit with a lonely neighbor. We’ll listen compassionately as a friend shares their struggles. We’ll extend a kind invitation for a meal or a walk or a church service. Perhaps we’ll gift a prayer bear, some flowers, or a prayer shawl to someone who needs love. We’ll pray for others, inviting the King to be present and powerful for those who feel alone and powerless.

All those “yeses” will serve the Kingdom. All those “yeses” will nudge this fearful and broken world a little closer to the beautiful feast in the Kingdom of God. All those “yeses” are like being an honored guest at the wedding of the decade, at a wedding for the ages. My friends, the table is set. The savory smells of the feast waft from the kitchen. The dessert table beckons. The champagne is about to be poured. The musicians are tuning up. Consider this your royal invitation.

Resources

David Lose. “Preaching an Ugly Parable” in …in the Mean Time, October 6, 2014.  Accessed on-line at http://www.davidlose.net/2014/10/pentecost-18-a-preaching-an-ugly-parable/

Lance Pape. “Commentary on Matthew 22:1-14” in Preaching This Week, October 12, 2014.  Accessed on-line at http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2204

Carolyn J. Sharp. “Commentary on Matthew 22:1-14” in Preaching This Week, October 11, 2026.  Accessed on-line at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-28/commentary-on-matthew-221-14-10

Rachel DeSantis. “Taylor Swift Found ‘Happily Ever After’ with Travis Kelce. All the Details from the ‘Fairy-Tale’ Wedding” in People, July 7, 2026. Accessed online at https://people.com/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-all-the-details-fairy-tale-wedding-exclusive-12013138

Editors. “They’re Married! Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Wedding Details” in The Knot, July 7, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.theknot.com/content/taylor-swift-wedding

Matthew 22:1-14

22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad, so the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

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In the Midst of Chaos

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Sabbath Day Thoughts — “In the Midst of Chaos” Matthew 24:1-14

Our world is feeling especially chaotic these days.

It’s been a week since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran. The images have been alarming: Tehran’s Mehrabad airport on fire, plumes of black smoke rising from the city, rescuers digging through the rubble of a girls’ school in search of survivors. According to Central Command, the US has struck more than 3,000 targets inside Iran. The strikes have killed at least 1,200 people, and nearly 300 people have been killed in Lebanon since Monday when Israel began strikes against suspected Hezbollah sites. Six National Guard soldiers have been killed. Nearly every country across the Middle East has sustained damage from missile hits, drone strikes, or shrapnel. Yesterday, the president warned that the crisis will escalate, saying the US will strike Iran “very hard” with “complete destruction and certain death” for targeted groups.

We are feeling chaos closer to home like surging gas prices, volatile economic markets, and beloved ones deploying to conflict zones. Christian nationalist churches are preaching a false gospel that the escalating conflict in the Middle East is part of God’s plan to bring on the apocalypse. All the while, there has been a different kind of war unfolding on the home front as concerned citizens and protesters square off against Homeland Security agents. Whistles blow, protest songs ring out, placards wave, tear gas cannisters and threats fly, and force is used—sometimes deadly. Even here in the North Country, immigrant neighbors are disappearing, snatched by ICE or Border Patrol and whisked away to crowded detention centers.

We all know daily chaos, too. The cold virus that just won’t quit. The overcrowded schedule. The relationships stretched thin. The never-ending work. The soaring grocery and gas prices. The worries for our children. Our chaos abounds and it can be hard to know how to live in the middle of all that.

Jesus lived in chaotic times. Jesus lived in an occupied nation. Israel was ruled by Roman-appointed client kings, who did the emperors bidding. Soldiers were garrisoned throughout the land from Capernaum—Jesus’ home base in the Galilee—to the Antonia Fortress—right next to the Jerusalem Temple. There were exorbitant taxes as the people paid for the costs of their occupation and the lavish lifestyles of their appointed rulers. Civil disobedience was ruthlessly dispatched with crucifixion to humiliate dissidents and terrorize communities.

Even the spiritual life of the Israelites was shaped by the chaos of occupation. The High Priests, who controlled the inner workings of the Temple, were also Roman appointees. They came from ancient, affluent priestly families that sat at the top of the social and religious hierarchy of Jerusalem. In the gospels, two High Priests shared top billing. Annas was appointed by Quirinius in the year 6 when Jesus was just a boy and removed from power by Valerius Gratius in the year 15. Yet he remained immensely influential. He controlled a leading faction of the Sanhedrin (the governing council of the Temple). Five of his sons would also serve as High Priests.

Equally powerful was Caiaphas, the son-in-law of Annas. He served as High Priest at the time of Jesus’ death, holding office for almost twenty years. According to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, Caiaphas had a particularly close and cordial relationship with Pontius Pilate. It was Caiaphas who determined that it would be better for Jesus to be executed than for the wrath of Rome to fall upon the nation. So powerful was the Roman hold upon the High Priest, that, according to Josephus, the priestly vestments were held at the Roman headquarters in the Antonia Fortress. High holy days, like Passover, were strictly controlled by Rome.

After a day in the Temple, as they returned to their lodgings in Bethany, a disciple pointed across the Kidron Valley to the magnificent walls of the Temple, crowning Jerusalem. While the disciples marveled at the beauty of their religious center, Jesus saw the future. The Temple razed to the ground. Famine and earth quake stalking the land. Corrupt, self-serving rulers. And his followers persecuted, tortured, and executed.

Whether we are first century Israelites or twenty-first century Americans, chaos does not feel good. When the bombs fall, we lament civilian deaths, mass destruction, and the rising specter of a third World War. When protesters are abused and immigrants detained, we fear for our public safety and the preservation of constitutional rights. When we are sick or sick and tired, when there aren’t enough hours in the day, when we have more month than money, when tempers are short and love is stretched thin, we feel overwhelmed and anxious. Sometimes this world’s chaos leaves us feeling powerless, even hopeless. We are tempted to tune out and shut down, just to make it through the day.

In today’s reading, Jesus shared wisdom about living in chaotic times. Amid all the fearsome realities that the disciples and the early church would face, Jesus urged his disciples to stand firm in their faith. When false leaders arose with selfish ideologies and big promises, the disciples should trust in God instead. When fear threatened to close them down and shut them up, they were to keep calm and carry on. When chaos brought hatred and betrayal, they must choose the better way of love. For it is only love that has the power to save in the midst of chaos. The disciples would need those words of wisdom. By the end of the week, Jesus would be hanging on a cross, and they would be scattered amid the chaos.

I suspect that if we heed Jesus’ wisdom, we’ll find encouragement and a roadmap for how to live in the midst of our present chaos. We start by standing firm in the faith. As I’m always telling the church’s children, any good relationship takes time, attention, and good communication. We tend our relationship with God by feasting upon the Word in scripture, whether we frequent the Wednesday Bible Study, join in Lenten Learning, ponder the weekly sermon, or enjoy the quiet discipline of reading our Bibles. We build our relationship with God through prayer. Perhaps we’ll serve as a link in the prayer chain or attend to the prayer list in the bulletin. Maybe we’ll open our hearts during the prayers of the people or set aside some quiet moments daily, to pour out our cares and listen quietly for the comfort and leading of the Spirit.

As we seek God in scripture and prayer, trust grows. We remember the promise that Jesus made to his disciples at the conclusion of Matthew’s gospel, that he would be with them always, to the end of the age. When chaos threatens to overwhelm us, we hold to the promise that Jesus is with us. We can face the evening news, the overcrowded schedule, and the rising costs because we are not alone. The future belongs to God and we can trust that there will be a better tomorrow.

As we stand firm in faith and grow in our trust of God, we find that we can carry on. We see that we are part of a community of brave and faithful people who call the world to that better tomorrow that Jesus holds for us. We live in ways that anticipate that future. We gather on Sunday mornings to worship and praise, then we go forth into the week to be like Christ, whether we are feeding hungry people, comforting friends in crisis, welcoming strangers, standing with immigrant neighbors, visiting those who are sick or homebound, or speaking the truth in love. When we carry on and get into some good trouble together, hope finds a toehold in the midst of our chaos. We kindle the fire of love—and we know that love, not bombs or bullets or the stock market or Homeland Security, only love can bring lasting peace and salvation for our world.

I wish I could promise that the chaos is going to be better at this time next week. But if I did, I would just be one of those false prophets that Jesus warned his friends about. The war in Iran will undoubtedly escalate. There will be civilian casualties, and we will likely lose more of our own troops. We may shake the last of that cold virus, but the markets will continue to struggle and those gas prices are certain to rise. Kristi Noem may have lost her job at Homeland Security, but the outlook for our immigrant communities will remain bleak. We will live in the midst of chaos, but take courage, my friends. We got this. Stand firm in the faith, trust God, carry on, and love—always love. Amen.

Resources

Matt Skinner. “Walking the Palm Sunday Path: A Lenten Sermon Series for 2026” in Preaching Series, January 21, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching-series/walking-the-palm-sunday-path-in-lent-a-sermon-series-for-2026

Jessie Yeung, Sophie Tanno. “Everything we know on the eighth day of the US and Israel’s war with Iran” in CNN News, March 7, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/everything-we-know-on-the-eighth-day-of-the-us-and-israel-s-war-with-iran/ar-AA1XHgna?ocid=msedgntp&pc=W251&cvid=69ac63a3ee9343808a0aacc504be01e0&ei=21

Julia Frankel. “Country by country, here’s how the unfolding war is affecting the Middle East and beyond” in Associated Press World News, March 6, 2026. Accessed online at https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-war-israel-strait-or-hormuz-deaths-f1619c6bfbbd5fe10857ff0af073aa0e

Corey J. Sanders. “Commentary on Luke 19:28-40” in Preaching Series, Jan. 22, 2026. Accessed online at https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching-series/sermon-series-matthew-241-14-jesuss-temple-discourse

Rodney Sadler, Jr. “Exegetical Perspective on Matthew 24:1-14” in Feasting on the Gospels: Matthew, vol. 2. WJKP, 2013.

“Annas” and “Caiaphas” in the Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 1, A-C. Yale U. Press, 1992.

Matthew 24:1-14

As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
3 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: 8 all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs. 9 “Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10 Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

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Abiding in Christ

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Sabbath Day Thoughts — “Abiding in Christ” John 15:1-8

Last week, our gospel reading invited us to consider Jesus the Good Shepherd. This week, John’s gospel brings us another of Jesus’ bold statements of identity, “I am the true vine.” Herding sheep and tending a vineyard are tasks far removed from our daily experience, but these agricultural metaphors would have been familiar to Jesus’ listeners. In Jesus’ world, vineyards were an essential part of the landscape. Grapes were eaten as fresh fruit, dried into raisins, and mashed into jams. Grapes were turned into wine, sweet syrup, and vinegar. Vineyards passed from generation to generation within families. As fruit ripened, whole communities pitched in with all-hands-on-deck to bring in the harvest.

When Jesus told his disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches,” he was alluding to grafting, a vineyard practice that is as important in the wine industry today as it was for first century vine growers. Brent Young, a viticulturalist at Jordan Vineyard and Winery in Sonoma, CA, gets animated when he describes the work of grafting new varieties of grape onto old root stock. First, old grape vines, which are well-established and especially suited to the soil, are cut off, leaving a stump that is allowed to freely bleed and weep for about a week. Then a specialized team is called in. The vinedressers move along the row of cut vines, scoring each stump with a sharp knife. Next, the vinedresser slips a few small budding branches or scions into the scores. The scions are then carefully wrapped to secure their new home in the old vine. Over the following weeks, something wonderful happens, the old root stock gives life to the new scion. It grows, branches, and eventually bears new fruit.

Jesus’s words, “I am the vine, you are the branches,” were meant to comfort and exhort his friends. As Jesus spoke, it was his last evening with the disciples. He had washed his friends’ feet and shared a special meal with them. Judas had already slipped away to betray him. The disciples needed a word of wisdom to guide them through the terror that would soon grip them. Jesus was the true vine, his life revealed God’s will and word for humanity. His death would demonstrate God’s limitless love. Soon the true vine would be cut down, yet the disciples could endure because Jesus was an essential part of them. He would always be with them and, grafted into him, they could put forth miraculous new life and branch out in his purpose.

In viticulture, if the budding scion that the vinedresser attaches to the root stock loses its connection, it withers and dies. Separated from the vine, no life-giving sap can nurture and sustain it. Likewise, Jesus reminded his friends that they would need to abide in him. The Greek word for abide that Jesus used here, meinate, means to stay or remain, to live, dwell, lodge. Abiding in Jesus means cultivating an ongoing, inward, personal bond with the Lord that imparts nurture, meaning, and purpose for our lives.

We long for the meaning and purpose that come with abiding in Christ. But unlike the viticulturalists at the Jordan Vineyard and Winery in Sonoma, we don’t have an expert team of vinedressers to ensure that we keep our connection with the lifegiving true vine of the Lord. I’d like to focus on three ways that we can abide in Jesus the true vine.

Abiding in Christ means feasting upon his words in scripture, whether listening to Sunday sermons, reading the Bible, or participating in Christian Education. The late Fred Craddock, who taught preaching and New Testament at Emory University, once shared that the most influential person in his life was his Sunday school teacher, Miss Emma Stone. She gave him his first Bible and taught him to memorize scripture verses, saying “Just put it in your heart.” Miss Stone taught Fred a verse for each letter of the alphabet. Years later, Craddock reflected upon the importance of those twenty-six verses of scripture that he learned as a child, saying “I can’t think of anything, anything in all my life that has made such a radical difference as those verses. The Spirit of God brings them to mind time and time again.”

We have likewise been sustained by the abiding promises of scripture. In our bleakest moments, we find ourselves praying with the words, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4). When we’ve made a mess of things and lost our way, we hold to the promise that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believeth in him may not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). When we are feeling vulnerable or overwhelmed, we remember the words of the Apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). What are the holy words that help you to abide in Christ?

We also abide through prayer. We all have stories of learning to pray. Sometimes we learn in church. Author and spiritual director Jane E. Vennard writes that although she came from a family of staunch church goers, they never prayed together. Yet every Sunday in church, she was inspired by the beautiful prayers of her pastor. He had survived childhood polio, which left him partially paralyzed, but on Sunday mornings he stood in the pulpit with the help of crutches, stretched out his arms, and lifted his face to pray with a look of pure joy. The beauty and ardor of those prayers inspired Jane to her own lifetime of prayerful connection with God.

Others among us learned to pray from family members. One woman tells the story of learning prayer from her German grandmother. Every night, she would run up the stairs to her grandmother’s room, climb into bed with her, and snuggle under the blanket while her grandmother prayed. An adult now, she says, “I don’t know what she was saying, but her words seemed full of love, just like her arms around me.”

We have similar stories of parents, grandparents, or caring friends who modeled for us a prayer-filled life. As we’ve grown, we’ve learned to make prayers of our own. We share table graces with our families. We recite the Lord’s Prayer each morning as a daily devotion. We find holy refreshment in centering prayer. We may even resort to what author Anne Lamott says are the only two prayers we will ever need to know, “Help me, help me, help me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” How has prayer equipped you to abide in Christ?

Abiding in Christ comes naturally when we are part of a community that loves and serves the Lord. I think about this church’s United Presbyterian Women, women like Evelyn Outcalt, Anna Ferree, Jan Bristol, Carroll Dixon, and Gert Bickford. They were the heartbeat of this church for many years. Most of them were already in their eighties when I came to Saranac Lake almost two decades ago, yet they still gathered monthly for fellowship and spiritual friendship. They had been woven together by years of rummage sales and potlucks, births and celebrations, family tragedies and deaths. They were there for one another with prayers and casseroles, Hallmark cards and simple kindnesses. In that faithful fellowship, they knew the abiding presence of Jesus.

The UPW may be no more, but we continue to find Jesus in this church community. We abide in Christ as we gather each Sunday morning to praise and worship him. We abide in Christ with singing as harmonies are learned and voices blend to the glory of God. We abide in Christ when we grapple together with the big questions of faith in Bible and book studies. We abide in Christ with the fellowship of Coffee Hour, camp outs, and picnics. We abide as we merge our gifts for leadership and care as elders and deacons. How have we abided, growing closer to God and one another in the body of Christ?

Jesus taught his friends that as they abided in him, they would bear fruit. Our growing identity as branches of the true vine is revealed in fruitful works and ministries that reveal the love of Christ to others. When we are grafted into the true vine, we work together to serve others. We find ourselves teaching Sunday School, extending Coffee Hour hospitality, and cooking healthy meals for friends in tough times. When we are grafted into Christ, we serve our vulnerable neighbors. We grow produce in the church garden and share it at the Food Pantry. We pray fervently for folks in every kind of need with the prayer chain. We support neighbors in crisis with the Deacons’ Fund. We help vulnerable world neighbors, like the widows of Mzuzu, through the Women of Grace. As we abide in Christ, his ministry finds new life in us, and the world is blessed by that good fruit.

We may never be viticulturalists, but we have been grafted into the true vine. We are the branches. May we abide in Jesus with scripture, prayer, and the blessing of Christian community. And may we bear good fruit to the glory of God and for the good of our neighbors.

Resources

Jane E. Vennard. “Learning to Pray,” The Alban Institute at Duke Divinity School, July 24, 2006. Accessed online at alban.org.

Brent Young. “Field Grafting Grapevines,” wine education video, 2012. Jordan Vineyard & Winery. Accessed online at Field Grafting Grapevines | How Grapes are Grafted to Change Varieties | Wine Education Videos (youtube.com)

Robert M. Brearley. “Homiletical Perspective on John 15:1-11” in Feasting on the Gospels, John, vol. 2 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press), 2015.

Luis Menendez-Antuña. “Exegetical Perspective on John 15:1-11” in Feasting on the Gospels, John, vol. 2 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press), 2015. Karoline Lewis. “Commentary on John 15:1-8” in Preaching This Week, April 28, 2024. Accessed online at Commentary on John 15:1-8 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary

John 15:1-8

15”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

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