"Vines, Branches, and Still Waters": A Sermon on Ecology, an Embodied God, and how God Chooses Us!

Today we worshiped outdoors under the canopy of trees in Hansen Grove. I went away from the lectionary this week and used Psalm 23 and John 15:1-16a to weave together a sermon that touched on eco-theology, a God who is embodied in humanity and nature, and the fact that God has and is choosing us even when we aren't brave or wise enough to choose God. 

Here is the text from my manuscript:

Today we gather in what is for us an unusual place for worship—in Hansen Grove, on chairs less comfortable than our pews, on ground that is not necessarily level, where the sounds of West Hills Road are muted not by walls, but instead by soft breezes and the natural sound dampening that trees, grass, and distance provide.   Today, as we gather in this space I want to say out loud a reality that I hope you all agree with—we are gathered in a Holy Sanctuary—you are sitting on Holy Ground, and today—a week removed from our rain-induced indoor salmon bar-be-que, I invite you to take in the sounds, sights, and feel of God meeting us as we gather in this space.

The scripture lessons I chose for this service rely on pastoral and agricultural images that are simultaneously dated and timeless.  Our lessons are both commonly heard in the lectionary and in churches of all theological persuasions.  Psalm 23 and to a lesser degree John 15, and both often quoted within popular culture, and perhaps you wonder why I would choose these two passages, when they have been so widely discussed.  I chose them because as I thought about gathering under the trees of Hansen Grove I thought about lessons that would both draw upon images of nature AND remind us of the ways that God nurtures us and strengthens us for the calling that God puts before us.  Quite simply as I thought about how to frame any comment about committing, or recommitting to stewardship of creation I was looking for texts that spoke of nature’s beauty, of community, and of God’s love.  These three things are here in these texts, even if they aren’t always revealed in easy ways.

In reading the 23^rd Psalm it would be easy to find ourselves confined to times when shepherds roamed the countryside tending to their animals, or to a time when it was the norm rather than an offense worthy of a citation to lay oneself down in a field or beside a stream.  It would be easy to write off the words of this passage because the pastoral allusions it contains no longer seem relevant in an age of routine cross-country travel, cellular phones, and photovoltaic cells.  Perhaps it would be easier still to just update the words of the psalm to make it reflect modern sensibilities, which might make it read like this:

God is my Top Friend on Facebook, I need nothing else.

God reserves a room for me at the resort hotel and leads me to a barco-lounger by the pool;

God revives me. God takes me to all right places.

Even when I take a wrong turn and become lost, I fear nothing for God is on my speed-dial

You bring me glorious foods, you give me the best clothing, you massage my body, and there is no end to it all.

I am sure that your love and care will be mine forever and I will live a life of peace always.

But wait—this passage isn’t about a long ago time at all.  The 23^rd Psalm is about all time, it is about God’s time.  Psalm 23 speaks with undaunted clarity about who God is and how the Psalmist has encountered God.  The Psalm opens with two statements of faith: the Lord is my Shepherd AND I shall not want.  Portraying Gods and Kings as shepherds was commonplace in Ancient Near East cultures and in Israelite depictions as well.  In this passage the shepherd metaphor allows God to be provider, caregiver, protector, and the loving critic —loving those who were being tended and nurtured, but also able to correct erroneous behavior and bring those who had strayed back into the flock.  This Psalm also tells of a God who prepares a feast, who anoints, who gives with abundance in such a way that the Psalmist knows that there is forever a place with God.  The surety about God’s love pours out in the poetry of this psalm…and we are invited to join the Psalmist in dwelling with God.

Our lesson from John also uses an image from nature—this time to depict the blessings and challenges of accepting God’s love and following the example of Jesus Christ.  In this text Jesus announces that he is the vine, God is the vinegrower, and we—all of us—are the branches that exemplify and testify to, the love of God.  Jesus tells of branches that will be pruned if they fail to live in the way of love that Jesus proclaims.  Now, I must admit that whenever I hear that I could be the next branch pruned and tossed into the fire, I flinch at the thought of a God who would do such a thing.  But I don’t actually think this is the threat that we might see it to be—because Jesus grounds this statement in a type of love that we can only know in our  relationship to the divine and that relationship is assumed as Jesus speaks.  The assumption in his words is that we always “abide in Jesus as he abides in us.”  The word abide means “to live or to make one’s home”—and thus as Jesus speaks of vines and branches we are not being threatened, but instead we are being reminded that our home will always be with God.  As I understand this passage the branches being pruned represent the pieces of ourselves that would have us ignore that God resides in us and we in God.  What we might hear as a threat is Jesus simply asking us to acknowledge what we know to be true—that we cannot be separated from God if we allow God to live and flourish in us!

This passage gives language to an understanding of God that I have long held—that God is embodied and alive in people, in nature, in all of creation.  And what I find most compelling about this notion is described in the closing statement of today’s gospel reading.  Jesus says, “You did not choose me but I chose you.” I believe that Jesus was parroting words that God has been speaking across time—think about our faith story—it has branches named Adam, Eve, Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Job, Mary, Joseph, Simon Peter, Judas, Nathanial, Mary Magdalene, and Paul. I would argue that none of these people, nor the countless prophets, theologians, teachers, and worshippers from across the globe who form the long line of saints and sinners who have birthed and continue to birth our tradition—none of them chose God—instead it was God who chose them.  It has always been God who chooses—and our faith story is a compilation of stories about how faithful people have responded to the call to embody God—to live in God and let God live in them.

Some of the branches of our faith story were given clear guidance about how to let God live in them—Jeremiah and Mary both had a clarity of call—even when they were unprepared to answer.  For others like the disciples, Mary Magdalene, and Paul living in God took a bit of wandering or discernment.  As I experience God and as I read our sacred stories I am more and more convinced that in being called to be branches connected to the vine of Jesus Christ we are called to take greater care of the natural environment that God has given to us.  Green pastures and still waters can only be sacred places if they can thrive away from pollution, waste, and unfettered human encroachment.  Vines and branches can only thrive and serve as an example of holy relationship if soil is nurtured and used with care, if farmland remains available and sustainable, and if, as consumers, we have an understanding of the cycle of our food that goes beyond carrying groceries between the store and our home.  With each and every passing day my belief grow stronger that if we truly believe that God lives in us and we live in God then we must re-evaluate and change our relationship to the earth and to all of God’s people. 

We have come so far at this point—in my lifetime I remember taking trips when it was the norm to see people throwing their garbage out of the car as they drove.  Recycling was once a novel concept, people once thought little about using electricity except when the bill arrived, carpooling was only for convenience—but now ecological concerns have moved from fringe “hippie" activity to corporate buzz, and “buying green” has become the rage on Wall Street and on Main Street too.  We’ve come so far…but there is much to do and I must admit that when tips on “green” products, green living, and green driving can be found in newspapers, textbooks, and many websites it is easy to think we have arrived.

But we haven’t…chemical runoff and sediment still destroy creeks, recycling rates flag as it becomes easier, bicycles remain parked in garages long after the rains have stopped…you know the drill.  So what are we to do? How can we re-energize ourselves for the work that we know we must do if we are to properly care for God’s creation?  How can we remind ourselves that God is embodied in everything we see?  How can we celebrate the gifts of God’s creation in a way that sustains us for the work of being the branches connected to Christ’s vine?

If we want to celebrate our role as branches on Christ’s vine I suggest we eat the fruit of the vine and take it in as a Holy meal.  So often when I eat I gobble my food so that I can get to the next meeting, or I don’t even take the time to give thanks for my food because it is easier to start dishing out food.  Too often I choose to eat what is easiest to buy, rather than what is best for me or best for our planet.  Too often I don’t acknowledge eating as a Holy endeavor— I forget that if God is embodied in everything when I take food into my body I am meeting God in an intimate, holy, and sustainable way. 

Today I would like to give you a chance to practice celebrating the gift of God’s embodiment in everything—even our food.  Join me in an exercise in holy eating. As the bowls pass by you I invite you to take a piece of fruit, give thanks for it, and to eat it—knowing that as you eat you are meeting the God who leads you to still waters in the midst of chaos and danger, you are meeting the God who calls you into relationship so that you can grow and be nurtured, and you are meeting the God who exemplified pure love through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. 

Eat, give thanks, and know that God is calling you! 

Comments

[James]

Excellent sermon! Thank you for sharing!