A sermon for Salem Lutheran Church, Pass Lake, ON on the occasion of their 100th Anniversary. John 15:1-16
Feel deeply at home in me, Jesus is saying, just as I feel deeply at home in my Father. It’s the difference between being in a house where rules and regulations keep everyone on edge and afraid of making a mess, and being a house where you know it’s going to be okay if you accidentally spill on the sofa or track dirt onto the carpet. Feel at home, trust that you belong, let go of those masks of performance that you use to be who you think you’re supposed to be. Feel deeply at home in me, Jesus says.
What a fitting passage to choose for a 100th Anniversary celebration. These familiar verses in John are rich with imagery of the love, nurture and faithfulness that have been part of this faith community for decades.
For some brief context, this is the last “I AM’ discourse that Jesus uses as he prepares his disciples to continue in life and ministry without him. So as Jesus is preparing his community for a different future than the time they’ve spent with him, he’s providing them with a series of images and teachings that might help them stay grounded in their relationship with each other and their relationship with him.For us, this is a passage full of familiar and comforting imagery. Maybe at some point you’ve memorized some verses like “I am the vine, you are the branches,” or “As my father has loved me, so I love you. Abide in my love,” or “this is my commandment that you love one another.” I thought at first that one of my favorite hymns, “Abide with me” was based on this passage, but it turns out that song is based on the story of the Walk to Emmaus. When I looked up songs that ARE based on this text, the one at the top of the list was “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
Which is actually a pretty accurate summary of what I think Jesus might be trying to communicate. In the imagery of the inter-dependence between the vine, branches and vine-grower, Jesus is reminding his disciples—and us—about our relationship with God and God’s relationship with us. For the disciples, the assurance was that they were not going to be abandoned as they remained in the love he shared with them. For us the assurance is similar—through faith we are branches of the vine planted by and tended by the vine grower. This is reassuring to us because it’s a reminder of our roots and of Gods faithful commitment to tending to God’s vineyard.
Anniversary celebrations are appropriate times to reflect on roots. I’m not a gardener, so I won’t try to make analogies to growing plants, and I apologize to any gardener for the ways everyone who reads this passage probably stretches the analogy in unrealistic ways. But I am very familiar with reflecting on legacy—the roots of faith and the roots of identity. In my family, birthdays or anniversaries that cross over a decade are opportunities to name and remember the significant blessings of the decades past, and pray about the hopes and dreams of the decades ahead. This, I think, is part of what it looks like for branches to abide in the vine: stay attentive to the source of life and nutrients, and open to the growth and possibility of fruitfulness.
So I wonder what this congregation would name as significant blessings or events from the past 10 decades? Probably you would talk about the original decisions that resulted in the forming of Salem Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church. You’d likely comment on significant pastors and interns that served the congregation at various times. There are probably significant families who have come and gone from this community. In the timeline I found from your 90th anniversary celebration, I saw that various hymnals and worship books were listed, which I took to mean that worship has been a significant part of this community. And, of course you would probably talk about the building. So many blessings have flowed through the 100 years of this congregation’s life. Today is about remembering and giving thanks for these blessings. It is a gift to be a branch in God’s vineyard through which the fruit of God’s love has been growing and spreading for so long.
It is the fruit of God’s love that witnesses to what happens when the branch is nurtured by the life of the vine. This is what we mean when we talk about the branches “abiding” in the vine. When I hear that language of ‘abide,’ I usually think it means to stay. I have a new puppy who I am teaching to stay, which she can consistently do for about 10 seconds before her own desires and energy becomes too compelling. But the word “abide” that Jesus uses is much deeper and more relational than my puppy working really hard to STAY so she earns the treat I hold out for her. The word Jesus uses is the same word used in chapter 14:2 when he says, “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places.” Dwell and Abide in these verses refer to this idea of mutual indwelling. It refers to a place where one is deeply at home. So when Jesus instructs his disciples to abide in him as he abides in his father, he’s inviting them into this deep feeling of belonging and safety. That’s what he receives from his relationship with God, and that’s what he offers in his relationship with us.
Feel deeply at home in me, he’s saying, just as I feel deeply at home in my Father. It’s the difference between being in a house where rules and regulations keep everyone on edge and afraid of making a mess, and being a house where you know it’s going to be okay if you accidentally spill on the sofa or track dirt onto the carpet. Feel at home, trust that you belong, let go of those masks of performance that you use to be who you think you’re supposed to be. Feel deeply at home in me, Jesus says.
Okay, but what does that look like, you might ask. Besides the different colored hymnals this congregation has used through the years, I found out about the words written on a piece of paper rolled up and put inside a bottle that was buried in the foundation of the first building. These words literally form the foundation of Salem Lutheran Church—By the Grace of God. Only. Being deeply at home in the love and belonging that Jesus shows us looks like leaning into and sharing the Grace of God. It looks like receiving the gift of God’s love that doesn’t demand performance or qualifications, and extending that grace to others. “Abide in my love,” Jesus says. It is the fruit of love that grows out of branches that are staying deeply connected to the branch.
Today we are recognizing and celebrating 100 years of this congregation. But more importantly, we are recognizing and celebrating the enduring grace of God that was planted 100 years ago and that has grown through the faith and love of decades of relationships, songs, prayers, weddings, funerals, baptisms, potlucks, tears and laughter. As you consider a future that might look and feel different than the past, what will it look like to remember together the roots of God’s love and grace that are still at the foundation of your community? What does it look like to feel deeply at home in the truth of God’s love while you seek to be a community through which others discover and experience welcome and belonging? How are you supporting one another in staying deeply connected to the Vine and the Vine Grower?
This congregation is literally on the threshold of the new thing that God might be inviting you into as you look back at your history and consider your future. As you rebuild a physical dwelling place for the practices, people and experiences that will tell the next chapter of Salem’s story, I pray that you stay rooted in that statement rolled up in that bottle buried in the foundation of your history: By the Grace of God. Only. And as you witness to the hope of the resurrection and continue to engage with your community and serve your neighbour, I pray you feel the abiding love of God who continues to love you and love others through you.