Fruit That Will Last: John 15:9-17 - Sixth Sunday after Easter

[Jesus said:] ⁹“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.   ¹²“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶ You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. ¹⁷I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” (NRSV)

Strawberries by play4smee on flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0

Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I have a HUGE sweet tooth.  But I will gladly refuse chocolate and Oreo cookies for my favorite fruits: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries.  They are a rare exception to the rule that only unhealthy foods taste good.

The only problem is that it’s rare that you can find them at the peak of freshness, especially in the winter.  And even if you do, they’re good for maybe a day—and that’s it.  You’re left with an expensive little compost heap in a clear plastic carton.  Unless it’s canned, frozen, dried, or made into wine, the doesn’t last.

Fruit is like everything else in this world that’s good—it doesn’t last forever.  It’s impermanent.  Everything and everyone has a beginning and an end.  Time and death happen to us all—even Jesus.

Today’s Gospel is part of a larger section of John’s Gospel that’s referred to as the Farewell Discourse.  Even though we’re still in the Easter season, this Gospel takes us back to Jesus’ final hour with his disciples.  He’s washed their feet and celebrated the Last Supper.  His arrest is literally moments away.  At this same hour, the very next day, he’ll be dead.

As the disciples try and wrap their minds around all these things, Jesus repeats the most important of his commands: that they love one another.  Jesus reminds them that there is no greater love than to lay down your life for others.  Jesus loves his disciples not because they chose him but because he chose them first.  Jesus chose them and appointed them to bear fruit that will last.  In other words, when his self-giving love abides in them, the fruits of their love will be permanent. 

This begs the question: what are the fruits that will last in a world where everything changes, and nothing stays the same; where time and death happen to us all?

I ask this, because I look around, and I see so much that’s like a withered piece of fruit; a shadow of its former self.  Leechburg has lost nearly half its population in a generation.  We’re sitting here in a sanctuary built a 115 years ago for three hundred weekly worshippers, and here we are just a fraction of that.  You experience the pain of impermanence as our bodies age and weaken.  You experience the pain of impermanence in the absence of those with whom we once shared this life.

Nothing you buy is built to last anymore, whether it’s cars, fashions, electronics, or appliances.  You discard it the second something better comes out.  Even relationships are disposable.  Marriages, families, friendships, communities, churches—if you don’t like it, you replace them or throw them away. 

Life has been reduced to instant gratification.  We treat success, popularity, possessions and fun like it all lasts forever, and you’ll never find yourself wanting more. 

At the same time, you worry about things that don’t last forever.  You worry about things you can’t change.  The temptation is very strong to control situations, as if you have the power to hold off an uncertain future and make everything ok.

One of the difficult things we as a congregation can do is identify the things that aren’t going to last into the future.  The building, the bank account, and the body assembled here are all subject to time, chance, and death.

But remember what Jesus said: “You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”  The good news is that Jesus is keeping his promise.

There is a lot of love in this place right now.  And love goes way beyond being nice and friendly.  Remember: love is laying down your life for others.

So many people are barely getting by.  Sometimes it feels like our church is barely getting by.  But what about the healing love that fills the parlor on Monday evenings at GriefShare?  What about our Christian Education?   What about all the time and talents that the Holy Spirit transforms into music?  What about the hours of manual labor poured out in the church basement?  We’re not merely giving clothes; we’re clothing people in Jesus’ love! 

What would it look like for our church lay itself down for others?

When you pour yourself out for others, God will never leave you empty.  New life is, after all, is dying and rising with Jesus.  When his love abides in you, you are filled with the life that defeats death and the devil.

Now more than ever, we need the Holy Spirit to guide us into cultivating the fruits that will last—and lead us away from the fruits that won’t last.  Where there’s suspicion and mistrust, we need the spirit to open us up to each other and unite us under a common purpose.  a vision of God’s will and give us the strength to act on it.  God is the author of the future, not you.   God is planting the seeds of that future in your own hopes and dreams, and in the gifts you are eager to share.  The best way to honor the past is by making sure that the love that blessed you yesterday will be there tomorrow. 

The gift of yourself to God and your neighbor is a gift that will last to eternity.  A truly blessed life is measured not by your success but by the ways God has acted through you to make this world a better place for all who come after you.  Jesus has chosen you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.