Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
– John 15:4-5
The late Fred Craddock, preacher and teacher of preaching, tells a story of the early days in his ministry when he was sent to the Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee to do the work of a pastor. In those days it was common, he says, for the Vacation Bible School to last for two weeks. Craddock spoke of one year, in the midst of Vacation Bible School, the material that was sent to them was on Nature and seeing God in creation and in the world. It was all well and good, he said, except he ran out of material by the third day. The material wasn’t very deep, there wasn’t much there to go on. Craddock had the group, at the time called Juniors, they were 10-13 year-olds. So he got this great idea. Since the theme was on nature, and they were in a rural area, he decided he would send them out. He told them, I’ll ring the bell once, and you kids go out and find something that reminds you about God. After you find it, I’ll ring the bell a second time, and you can bring it back and share.
Craddock remarks that after he rang the bell, and they ran off, he initially had no intention to ring the bell the second time. He relented, however, and rang the bell to call them back to the group. The kids all lined up with something in their hand. One little boy had a rock in his hand. What does this tell us about God? That God is stout and strong. Good.
The next little girl had a flower in her hand. What does this tell us about God? That God is pretty. Great.
Another girl had some huckleberries in her hands. And what do these huckleberries tell us about God? That God feeds the birds of the air, and us. Excellent.
Finally, Craddock comes to Jimmy. He remarks that Jimmy was one of those boys that when he was absent, everyone kind of sighed of relief. But Jimmy was standing there, and in his hand was the little hand of his young sisters who was in the first grade class. And what does that tell you about God?
Jimmy thought for a moment, dug his tow in the ground, and said “I don’t know.” His sister snatched her hand away and said, “Jimmy, your silly” and ran off…
Abide, is the word Jesus uses for his disciples, even as he is preparing to leave. Abid is a simple word, it makes for an excellent theme, but what does the word really entail, and further, what does it mean for us as the body of Christ?
What we find, is that to abide with Christ, we have to break free from many of our cultural norms that we have allowed to set in over time. We have been formed in a society that has led us to believe that everything is about the individual experience. It’s all about having everything you want, the way you want it. Yet, even as we begin to get thing when we want the way we want, what we find is that there is an emptiness still inside that needs to be filled. The call of Jesus to abide reminds us that what we are missing is community. A community that abides what Christ and abides together.
Right now, that seems harder than ever, I have even seen a few remarks that this time is like being a teenager all over again, gas is cheap, but we’re grounded and can’t leave the house. We long for community, for connection, we long to abide. But even as we are separate, I know we can bear much fruit as we continue to reach out to one another, check on one another, and care for one another. Keep it up, and keep looking for God in the world.
Jimmy came back when the bell rang, and in his hand was the hand of his little sister, and what does this tell us about God? God wants us to be together, to abide as one body, one people, one communion as we abide in His love, and to go out and find those whom God would have us nurture in this same love.
Grace & Peace,
Sam