Sermon 9/7/08
Fruitful Congregations: Good Fruit - Luke 6:43-49
This summer, we spent the month of July talking around the theme of “seeds of faith.” Growing, planting, harvesting. We heard Jesus’ parables about wheat and weeds, good soil, faith like a mustard seed. And occasionally, in my sermons, I would use the phrase “good fruit.” As disciples, what we seek to do is produce “good fruit” in our lives. What do I mean by that exactly?
Our gospel lesson for today talks about “good fruit.” In the first part of our text from Luke, Jesus is in the midst of teaching the crowds in what is called the “Sermon on the Plain,” in contrast to Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount.” He’s just finished warning against people who judge one another, using the imagery of complaining about a speck in another’s eye, all the while having a plank in your own eye. And now, at the start of today’s passage, Jesus talks about what we should seek after in our discipleship: Bearing good fruit. “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit . . . The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speak,” Jesus continues.
The second part of our passage is about what kind of foundation we have under us, under who we are, how we live. It’s a short parable that I like to use at weddings, when a couple is looking for something different than the traditional 1 Corinthians 13. Jesus describes two men who build homes – one on the sand, one on the rock. When the storms come, the house without a foundation falls into the flooding river. But the house built on rock is not shaken, but stands strong. Jesus says that when we hear his words, but don’t act on them, we’re like the house with no foundation. But when we hear and then act in response, we’re like the house built on the rock. So this passage – about our foundation, and about our fruit, our good fruit from the good treasure, from the abundance of our hearts – this passage is about what we know, who we are, and what we do because of what we know and who we are. Jesus wants to know that we’re understanding what he’s teaching us, that we know what kind of heart we have, and that because of what he teaches, calls us to do, and because of who we are, who we’ve been created to be and grown to be in our discipleship – because of these things, we act in the world. And when we act, we bear good fruit, the products of our actions, literally, the fruits of our labors.
What do we know? Who are we? What is our fruit? Those are the questions before us, as individuals, and a congregation. Those are the questions that I want us to focus on in the coming weeks and months. Answering those questions, I believe, defines our journey of discipleship. What do we know? What do you know about God? What do you know about what Jesus teaches? How do you come to know God more fully? How do you go about deepening your relationship with the one we call Christ, Messiah, Savior? One of our goals as a congregation for the last few years, and for the year ahead, is to grow spiritually. How do we do that? Jesus says that some of us may know to call him Lord – to recognize him as an authority figure – but more is required.
What do you know? How are you pushing yourself to grow spiritually? Next month, a new group of seventh and eighth graders will begin the process of Confirmation. I will push them to learn many things that may be new to them. They’ll learn about John Wesley, and the beginnings of Methodism. They’ll learn about our structure, our committees, and about other Christian traditions. And all of these things are important to their journey. But mostly, I hope that they will learn things like: who has made their Christian journey here in this place, and why, how this congregation has been in mission in ministry for over 150 years and how we can still be disciples today; how God keeps God’s promises to them; how they are uniquely created in God’s image; how they are called to serve and put others before self and love sacrificially; how others can see the face of Christ in their actions if they’re open to it; how God’s love is unconditional; how they are gifted and how they have a purpose. Those are the things I want them to know. Those are the things I want us to know. And so this fall, I’ll try to point out ways we can push ourselves to grow spiritually – through worship, through Christian Education, through service, through fellowship, through discipleship – not because I think you need to be here a certain number of hours a week to be a good Christian – but because I want you to know these things too. I want you to know the stories of the scriptures of how God has touched life after life after life. I want you to know the arc of our history as Methodist people and about our commitment to social holiness and God’s justice. I want you to know, really know God.
Who are we? Jesus talks about the good person who produces good fruit from the good treasure of their heart. Jesus says that in our heart is an abundance, and it is from that abundance that we take action. Who are you? What is in your heart? I just hit my one-year anniversary of serving here in Franklin Lakes on September 1st. Starting in September, rather than the typical July was a challenge, and I regretted most that I didn’t have that time right at first to get to know people as well as I would have liked. But this summer, I’ve tried to change that. You’ve graciously invited me into your homes this summer for dinner, or taken me out for meals, or taken time out of your schedules to see me at Panera. This time with you all has been a gift, because finally, I feel like I’m starting to really know you. As we’ve worked in the Lay Leadership Committee this summer to match people with ministry areas, it has made a difference, knowing you better, because I can start to imagine where I see God leading you, which is one of my favorite parts of being a pastor – helping people find their path. I’ve told you that in many ways, especially ways on the surface, you’re like my first congregation. About the same worship attendance. Same look to the sanctuary. Same financial struggles. Even the same water-damaged guestbook in the narthex from a leaky roof. But just as each one of us is unique, so are faith communities. Who are you? We need to claim our gifts here, claim the abundance of our hearts, claim the good treasures that God has put within us and in our midst. Who are you? You are people willing to stick through great congregational difficulties, who pull through despite the odds. You’re a congregation with gifted children and youth who are ready to share and lead. You are congregation with members who’ve given literally most of their lives to serving God in this place. You are people who constantly reassess vision and direction. You’re creative people who express faith through music and drama and the arts with professional class. You’re people who take care of each other when it matters. You are people who try so hard to make a commitment to this place, even when every other voice in your lives is calling you away, asking for your time, your energy, your strength. Who are you? Do you know the good treasure in your own heart?
And what, then, is our fruit? What fruit do we produce? What fruit do we bear from our laboring with God? This is the hard part – this is what Jesus asks of us. He says that if we know what we know about God and God’s love, and we know who we are, then we’ll see it in our fruit. What fruit do we bear? What fruit do we offer for God’s harvest? Throughout the fall, we’ll be focusing on five themes – five practices – that we can engage in as we seek to become a fruitful congregation: Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity. We’ll try to get very specific, very concrete, when we think about what it would mean for us to really be fruitful. If we know about God’s love, and if we’re starting to realize who we are, then we want to bear some good fruit. If we know about God, and we know who we are as God’s children, but still don’t have good fruit to bear, Jesus says we’re like a foolish man who builds a house on sand, putting in a lot of hard work for nothing. What Jesus wants to know is what we’ll do because of what we know, and who we are. What will you do? What will we do? It’s time for us to answer those questions.
Today, we’re celebrating a homecoming of sorts. Home after a busy summer. Home after some time away. Home after a long week. Here, you are home. Jesus invites you to be home at this table, to share with him, in him, in the bread and cup. Come to this table in God’s house, and know God. Come, know yourself. Come, take of the fruit of the vine, the harvest of the field, and learn what it is to bear good fruit. Come, and make yourself at home.
Amen.