Cultivating a Fruitful Faith

First Reading: Gal. 5:16-26

Second Reading: John 15:1-8

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jn 15:1–8.

Cultivating a Fruitful Faith

When I was growing up, the closest I ever came to a farm was knowing that my Grandfather, my mom’s dad had been a farmer before moving to Janesville and taking a job with Wisconsin Power and Light. And I remember going to their house and seeing that they always had a small plot of ground and Grandma would can some of the stuff they got from the garden.

But there are some basic truths I know even without experiencing it first hand. For instance, I know that an orange tree will produce oranges. A pear tree produces pears. And a peach tree produces peaches. Each tree will produce fruit in keeping with the nature of the tree.

No matter how hard it wishes to, an orange tree will not produce apples. And a cherry tree will not produce bananas. The trees will produce what is in keeping with their nature. They will make whatever type of fruit they are.

And the caretaker or the gardener will walk through an orchard and examine the trees. And there are two questions the caretaker will be asking. First, is this tree producing? Second, do I need to trim and prune the tree so it will produce more?

Jesus frequently took images His disciples would be familiar with from everyday life and used them to teach. And in our text, this morning, Jesus and His disciples may very well have been walking among a grapevine as He begins to talk.

The gardener walks among the vines asking these same questions. Is this branch producing? Do I need to trim back anything that is keeping this vine from producing more? And Jesus points at these vines and says, “This is what I am.” And He points at the branches and He says, “And this is what you are.”

And God is the gardener. And He walks among the vineyard and asks two questions. Is this branch producing? And if I prune it, will it produce more?