In the Gospel reading we have just heard, Jesus paints a very clear and beautiful picture with a vine at the centre. As vines are not all that familiar to us, let’s mentally change the picture to one of a fruit tree we know personally – perhaps an apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry. We have seen them in glorious white or pink blossom this year and loved the sight. Now we await the fruit!
If we hold that picture in our mind, we can imagine the risen and glorified Jesus standing in our midst this morning. He is rooted in the eternal life of God for ever. That life-giving sap rises up through Christ and his outstretched arms. We draw on that life as we live day by day in him – attached to him by faith, by prayer and by mutual love like budding blossom and fruit on a tree. That is we how we experience the eternal life of God which is new every morning. And it is only as we are continually fed by that life-giving sap that we can live the Christian life day by day.
We have friends who have an apple tree in their front garden. Last year it had a bumper crop of fruit. The tree was laden and the branches bowed down under the weight. We were down there recently but it looked decidedly lacking in buds. We were told that it had done its stuff last year and there would be no apples this year! Well, the Christian life is not supposed to be like that! Jesus makes no bones about the fact that a fruitless life is no good, and Christians are to produce fruit not just once a year (let alone, every other year), but all the time. High on our agenda at St. Michael’s is the aim of ‘seven day a week Christianity’ – seven day a week fruit!
And Jesus is talking about ‘fruit’ not just blossom. The blossom may look very beautiful – we may look the part, say all the right words and be regular Church attenders – but if there is no fruit.....what use is that? Beautiful but no good for feeding hungry people, whether literally or spiritually.
And Jesus tells us that God our Father, like a good gardener, inspects our lives on a regular basis, and out come the secateurs and perhaps the compost. God will always seek to encourage growth and fruit, making us resort to prayer and response, sometimes by events in our life and circumstances which may be painful but which cause us to grow in character and maturity and useful output. When God ‘prunes’ our lives, it may well hurt, but his purpose is to make us more healthy and productive. (Let’s note, however, that output is not to be measured by frenetic activity. Some of the most spiritually productive people have spent a lifetime in prayer, sometimes by virtue of their calling, sometimes because illness or accident has meant that activity is very restricted.)
Fruit may take many forms, but today we are thinking about bearing fruit by reaching out to other people in the power of the risen Christ. I want to suggest two ways in which we can do this.
First, consider Philip in our first reading from Acts 8. He has the gloriously rewarding experience of guiding someone through to personal faith in Christ.
I would like you to notice two facts about this great story. The first is that Philip does not go running up to any old passing chariot and ask for a lift. He is instructed by an angel, and specifically guided each step of the way by the Holy Spirit. At the heart of this story is the fact that the man concerned is already seeking God. He is reading the scriptures and has come across a passage from Isaiah which attracts but greatly puzzles him. It is a passage which points to Jesus and the cross. Clearly the Holy Spirit is already at work in his life. What he needs now is an interpreter and a guide.
The best definition of evangelism I know was given to me years ago by a fellow minister, Gavin Reid, later Bishop of Maidstone. He was one of those instrumental in organising the Billy Graham campaigns in this country. It is very simple: “Look out for where the Holy Spirit is working, get alongside, and co-operate.”
Look out for people who are, in one way or another, open to the Gospel. The word ‘angel’ means messenger and can very well be human. So perhaps a good friend tells you someone is in need or seeking, and perhaps you can help in some way. If we prayed more and rushed around less, perhaps we would be more open to the Spirit’s leading as to who He wants us to talk to.
The second point from this story that strikes me is that Philip begins by striking up a relationship based on where the man is at that moment, and not starting immediately to preach. Start where people are, and not where you would like them to be. If we are truly open to the Holy Spirit and willing to be guided, even where it appears to take us out of our depth, we will be gloriously surprised at what God can do through us. We shall be blossoms that really bear fruit.
My second major point for today is simply that fruit may be in the form of actions rather than words. Today is Christian Aid Sunday. If we are really reaching out to bear fruit in the power of the Holy Spirit, it will be by a combination of actions and words. There is, for example, a new ‘Besom’ Group just launched in Camberley, which brings together Christians prayerfully to provide practical service to people in need. We need always to be on the look-out for lonely people to befriend, people who need a practical helping hand in one way or another, people who need our presence and our prayers. This is both an end in itself, and also usually the best way to lead into talking about our faith at a point when people will listen.
These are all very straightforward points, which really we know very well. I am not saying anything remotely original. But it is not just a matter of ‘knowing’ but of putting into practice. As James tartly remarks in his New Testament letter (1: 22 – 25): “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says......and, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.”
We are still in the wonderful season of Easter, of springtime, life and growth. As we rejoice in the presence of the living Christ and allow him to feed us with spiritual food in our Communion this morning, let us have in mind always that his nourishment is in order that we may bear fruit – not just pretty blossom, not just lots of leaves, not just handsome branches – but FRUIT! That we may actually put our faith into practice day by day. We need to review our lives with Jesus’ words in front of our eyes: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourself to be my disciples.”
DISCUSSION STARTERS
1. What do you understand by the word ‘Fruit’ in John 15?
2. Everyone finds it difficult to talk to others about their faith. Are there useful lessons we can learn from Philip in Acts Chapter 8?
3. No doubt Christians have helped you grow in your faith at certain times. Looking back, what approaches have you personally found to be most helpful?
4. One of our main aims at St Michael’s is to reach out to those outside our Church, both by word and deed. We often do things better together than on our own. List some of the ways we do this at present. Can we make them more effective? Are there new initiatives we could consider?
5. In order to ‘bear fruit’ we must keep very close to Jesus – the Vine – day by day. How can we do this? And how can we do it better than at present?
ROBERT
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