Because We're Worth It

"STAYING CONNECTED"
John 15:1-11
Faith United
March 15, 2009


Whenever I tell people that I'm from New Jersey
inevitably, they are incredulous
and say something like
"You mean you're in Nebraska by CHOICE?"
When they find out that I moved back east 10 years ago
and then 4 years ago
decided that Nebraska is where I want to spend
the rest of my life,
their mouth inevitably drop open
and they look at me like I'm in need of serious
psychological evaluation
It's ok, it's fun
In New Jersey, as I've said many times,
we rarely knew our neighbors
and every day when we went to the grocery store
or convenience store
or just took a walk downtown
it was pretty rare to bump into someone you knew by name
The unspoken rule is
that you don't look anyone in the eye
For God's sake, DO NOT speak to strangers,
and mind your own business
But at the time I didn't mind it so much
because it was all I knew
I didn't expect anyone to talk to me downtown
I didn't expect the store clerk to smile at me
and it was always a delightful surprise to see someone
in the store that I knew

When we lived in a place called Waverly, Pennsylvania
Sarah was in 5th grade
and she had 300 kids just in her grade
When she had trouble with math
the teacher told us that they'd be glad to help her after school
if we paid them $45 a session
When I went to concerts at her school
I knew absolutely nobody
I do understand that growing up in a small town
is not all sweetness and delight
I do understand that you don't always want everyone to know
what's happening in your life
or what your kid is doing at school
I understand that small towns are a hard place
to break into
if you weren't born here
And New Jersey and Pennsylvania certainly have their perks
as well as their annoyances
But I spent the first 25 years of my life pretty anonymous
other than at church, where I was the pastor's kid
you are just a face in the crowd there
and when the stuff hits the fan
you are basically on your own
to find your own support and help
and it usually costs you

When I went to summer camp at the age of 15,
it was my first time ever going to camp
Again, in New Jersey, camp just wasn't as big a deal as it is here
But it was that camp that got me through the often tough times
of high school
Our camp became a little community
That first year I went we learned that the camp was in danger
of being shut down due to lack of participation
So those of us who were there spent a lot of energy that year
recruiting and advertising
and we quadrupled the attendance the following year
During the year I wrote letters to my camp friends
I could call them when I needed to talk to someone
We sent pictures back and forth
had reunions during the year
It was a place I belonged, where people knew my name
and valued me
and we were all trying to find our way
through the sticky journey of high school
I fit in at camp
whereas I didn't find a place to fit in in high school
I was not an athlete
and it was a big enough school
that you had to try out for teams
and be pretty good to even sit on the bench
I was so shy that I didn't even get into the choir
until my junior year
because I'd always choke at the auditions
But I always knew I was part of a community
that valued me for who I was
and who shared my values
and they were just a phone call or letter away
I still keep in touch with the director of that camp
who is a pastor
we've known each other for 29 years now
and that is the only person I've kept connected to that long
outside of my family
We all need to be connected, for better or worse

Jesus is talking to his disciples at the Last Supper they had
together
he's loading them up with Stuff they would need
to make it through after his death
They are about to go through a horrifying loss
a terrible time in their lives
when they will have every reason to shake their fists
at God
and say, "what are you doing to me?"
Here they are called to follow Jesus, be his disciples
they've left family and friends to do it
and now he's going to get killed?
What kind of deal is that?
How can God abandon them like this?
Jesus knows those days are coming
and he knows that he can't fully prepare them for that
He can't control whether they will walk away in grief
or stick it out and carry on his work
But right now, he's giving them what he can
to ge them through
"I am the vine," he says, "and you are the branches,"
God is the vine grower.
God removes every branch that doesn't bear fruit
and every branch that bears fruit will go through some pruning
to make it bear more fruit…."
And that doesn't mean that God is going to do terrible things to them
to help them grow
I do not believe that God sends us terrible things
What kind of parent would intentionally hurt their child?
Would you force your child to go through horrible things
just so they can get stronger?
Of course not
So why would God?
Walter Wink, a longtime theologian
once wrote that he sees God as a gardener
who grieves while watching a violent storm
rip through his beloved garden
But after the storm,
the gardener lovingly and tenderly prunes the injured plants
in order to guarantee their survival
and to restore their beauty and harmony
That gardener clears away the debris that's left behind
from the storm
God doesn't send the storms
Storms happen
And God is there to pick us back up,
clean us up,
and help us use the experience to bear more fruit
Abide in me, Jesus says, as I abide in you
Do we think about that? What he's saying?
He's saying that he abides IN us
Being "in" is the language of intimacy
it describes an ongoing relationship of closeness
God is not out there somewhere
but all throughout the Bible we are assured
that God is IN us
The spirit of God abides IN us
God is a part of us, not something outside of us
We are made in God's image
and therefore the divine dwells in all of us
yeah, it's 'harder to see in some as in others
but it is there
The divine is in us, it flows through us
and in order to stay truly and fully alive
we need to stay connected to the source of our lives
to keep that Spirit flowing in us and through us
The Spirit gives us the Stuff we need to live this life fully
and not merely survive
To Abide in means to persevere, continue, stay with it
What that image means is something that we don’t see a lot of
We can all lament about how marriages just don't last anymore
that marriage as an institution is valued less and less
But it's not just about marriage
it's about all the relationships in our lives
we give up too easily
It's all or nothing
we are good at leaving and quitting
We don't have a lot of images in our society
to show us how to abide
to hang in there when the going gets tough
to hang in there when we disagree or disappoint each other
To remember ultimately that we belong to each other
and are bound to each other in Christ

But we are created to be in connection with each other
and with God
it's an innate need to be related to something bigger than ourselves
You may complain about living in a small town
where people can be stuck in their ways, stubborn
or that you get tired of the rumors
and people not minding their own business
Community with human beings is never perfect
but we can't live without it
We need to be known and loved for who we are
we need to be a part of a community
that will love us even when we screw up
even when we embarrass ourselves
even when we disappoint
And when things fall apart
we need to know that we are not alone
we may not be able to eat all those casseroles
that come to our door
but we are glad for the human beings that carry them to us
because it means we matter
that we are not invisible
and that we belong

One thing that troubles me is when the Church
starts looking like the rest of the world
Jesus never called us to be in a one-on-one relationship with him
yes, he wants us to have relationship with him
but it was never meant to be a private one
He called us from the very beginning
to be in community
Faith is not meant to be lived out alone
If it was just about me and Jesus
just about my own personal salvation
then we would get self-centered
We start seeing the Church as existing to meet MY needs
to serve ME and to do what I want it to do
But we are not consumers here
Out there we pay our money and we get what we shop for
Here it is about the community
we all serve God in community
and it's not about our needs getting met
that will happen in the process
but it's about serving Christ, giving to one another
and giving to those in need
living our lives in community

We see it all the time
people shop for Churches
like they shop for a new TV
If it's not entertaining enough
if I can't make all the decisions
if things don't always go my way
then I can just leave and find another church
We will be a member as long as our needs are getting met
but as soon as you make someone mad
they are out the door
if we don't sing the right songs
or study the right books
people are gone
that's not what Jesus called us to
He called us to abide together
to be a community
to be bound by our sole purpose
of living for and serving him in love
Of being there for each other
even when we want to strangle each other
even when we don't get our way
even when we don't like the color of the banners
We are here to do what God wants
we are here to learn how to be a connected people
in a community of love

Joan Borysenko, a doctor and retreat leader
writes that "relationship is an invitation into a parallel universe
where fear, doubt and separation are unknown
The miracle of community is the simple, homely reality of love
and God is never closer than when
the space between two hearts is narrowed…"

The author Rita Snowden tells of her visit to a small town
near Dover, England
She was having tea in the late afternoon
when she became very aware of an unbelievably pleasant scent
filling the air
She asked the waiter the source of the scent
and was told that it came from the people passing by
He explained to her that they worked in a perfume factory
down the street and were on their way home
When they left the factory they carried with them
the fragrance that had permeated their clothes
during their day's work
Snowden saw this as an illustration of what the church can be
at its best
We should be a people who allow ourselves in worship
to be permeated by the love of Christ
and the sweetness of his presence
Then as we go forth into the world
the fragrance of God goes with us
and all the people we pass experience something
God's sweet fragrance in us..
Wouldn't that be cool?

"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love
just as I have kept my Father's commandments
and abide in his love…" Jesus says
I have said these things to you
so that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be complete….
We are born to be God's people
we are born into a community of love and grace
Love is what holds us together when things fall apart
When the storms hit hard
and wipe us out, God is there to pick us up
clean us up
and get us back on track
and God sends people to our doors
bearing casseroles and hugs
prayers blankets and a listening ear
People, angels in disguise, to remind us
who we are and to whom we belong
to remind us we are not alone
and we will make together
Twelve Step groups
have a saying at the end of their meetings
"Keep coming back, it works if you work it
and you're worth it…"
And we can say that here
Keep coming back, you belong here
stay connected to the community of faith
and to the source of our lives
let the Spirit of God flow through you
to cleanse you, strengthen you, and help you grow
It works if you let it
and in God's eyes you are very much worth it….