Staying Connected

John 15:5

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Hello, my name is Tony Pittenger. I’m a pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church in Port Orchard, Washington. And a few minutes ago, I picked this flower. So what I did is I disconnected it from the plant that was growing it. And that may seem unimportant, but I think it is important. The flower wasn’t growing on the plant so much as the plant, the bush, was growing the flower.

The reason that’s important is because in John chapter 15, Jesus calls himself the vine and he calls us the branches, grape branches, which are growing off of that vine. So the point is, as we are connected to Jesus as we are connected and stay connected to him, it’s something that he does not that we do. Let’s not credit the flower with really more than it’s capable of doing. The flower was growing from the bush, not just independent of the bush. Jesus says,

I am the vine, you are the branches. And if a person remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. (John 15:5)

We become disconnected from Jesus in many different ways. It might be anger. It might be anger back in the days of Covid, it might be sin, very shameful sin. It could be a multitude of different things, but the end result is all the same. We become disconnected from Jesus. Now that I’ve disconnected this flower from its plant its fate is sealed. It’s going to die sooner or later. A vase, cool temperatures may prolong its life or preserve it for a while, but sooner or later the flower will wilt and die. As we become disconnected from Jesus the same happens to us from a spiritual perspective, we wilt, eventually we die.

So we can become disconnected from him in a multitude of different ways. But how is it that we remain connected to him? Well, again, Jesus says,

I am the vine, you are the branches. (John 15:5)

We remain connected to him through his word, through the sacraments. Your regular church services are designed to do exactly that. They’re designed to to put God’s words into your ears and into your souls, because that’s the source of our spiritual life. His word, the things that he’s done for us, his promises. In John chapter 15, again, as Jesus compares us to those grape branches growing off of the vine, he encourages his people to remain connected to him, that we would bear much fruit.

How often doesn’t Jesus compare his word to seed that’s planted in dead soil? Saint Paul says that that faith comes from hearing the gospel. (Romans 10:17) And Paul reminded Timothy that Timothy had known the Holy Scriptures, even from infancy, and that these scriptures, these words, were able to make Timothy wise for eternal salvation (2 Timothy 3:15) through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ, after dying to pay for the sins of the world, after rising again to prove that he indeed was God and that our sins had been paid for, Jesus sent his church out into the world to baptize, to wash in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to teach everything that he had been teaching them. So he comes to you through his word and sacraments. Worship services on Sundays are exactly that. They’re God’s words for you. And we remain connected to him through his word. Sunday services through personal or family devotions, as we hear God’s promises, the story of salvation in Jesus Christ. That’s how God keeps us connected to Him. So my friends, may God keep you connected to Him through His word, through his sacraments, that you would bear fruit for eternal life. God grant this to you, for Jesus sake. Amen.