Life on the Vine

 

John 15:1-8, the Gospel appointed for the 5th Sunday of Easter in the Year of Mark, comes on the heels of the Great High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in the preceding chapters.  It seems out of place to have Jesus talk about remaining in Him when He has just said that he is leaving.  What is evident, then, is that it is the Resurrected One to whom we will be attached.  It is the Resurrected One and the Spirit of this One who will enable us to bear fruit in life.  Being fruitful in our union with Christ, that is the goal.  The preacher's task is to challenge the listeners to hear this call.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but have been designed to highlight the function of the Word in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers. The function of the Word is important because the way the Word functions is the way the sermon must, at least in part, function.  For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com and amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  There is both Law and Gospel in this text, both promise and a call to repentance.  The Law is present as we hear the need for pruning and the dangers of becoming separated from the vine.  We need Jesus.  He is life for us.  The Gospel is present in the promises that fruit will be borne as we abide in Christ, and more than that, our prayers to God, as God's abiding ones, will be heard and answered.

2.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are, as Augustine says, "the twigs."  We are the branches whose very life depends on being attached to the vine.  We are also those who are lovingly cut and pruned in order that God's will might be done in God's vineyard.

3.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The primary call is to abide in Christ.  We who have been grafted into the vine are called to remain in this life-giving relationship.  Also implied in the first verses is that we must be open to the pruning that the Word does in us.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Using the language present here we might consider the following couplets to guide us:  separated from/attached to Christ; dead wood/fruitful branches; dirty/clean.

5.  Exegetical work:  The opening line is the last of the "I AM" statements of Jesus:  I am the true vine. The word translated "true" can also be translated "genuine" or "real."  This is a reminder to us that there are "fake" vines, other voices that offer to be our source of life.  None of them are capable of giving the life Christ gives.  Staying connected with this true vine, "abiding in" this vine is what is required of us.  Many ancient writers, reformers, and contemporary writers recognize this.  Augustine writes, "Why, your assertion that a person of himself works righteousness, that is the height of your self-elation...For whoever imagines that he is bearing fruit of himself is not in the vine, and whoever is not in the vine is not in Christ."  (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. IVb, p. 168).  The reformer, Oecolampadius says, "...in Christ is the divine Spirit that he transmits into his members and branches - that is, into his true disciples.  And as the branches bear fruit because of the sap...so we too do good works..." (Reformation Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. V, p. 68).  Craig Koester, in his modern commentary writes, "...for the disciples to abide in Jesus means that they abide in his love like branches on a vine, drawing strength from the main stalk and thereby bearing fruit."  (Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel, p. 272).  Abiding is, however, not the only call in this text.  We are also called to be open to "pruning" by the Word.  Koester's commentary is particularly helpful in discussing this call:  "The need for pruning...assumes that sin remains an issue even for those who belong to Jesus, and God addresses the problem of sin through Jesus' word." "Cleansing by the word means confronting the sin that separates people from Jesus the vine."  "Pruning...is God's corrective judgement on sin rather than a final condemnation."  (Koester, p. 274).

6.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Chris Repp, in his 2021 analysis, does a masterful job in describing our fruitlessness as lovelessness.  It is clear, then, that Jesus' love is the necessary antidote to our lovelessness.  Go to crossings.org/text-study for the entire analysis.

Blessings on your proclamation!

The Many-faceted Image of the Good Shepherd

 John 10:11-18, the Gospel lesson appointed for the 4th Sunday of Easter in the Year of Mark is well-known as part of the Good Shepherd text.  It is paired well with Psalm 23 which accompanies it on this Good Shepherd Sunday.  What is striking about this part of the Good Shepherd chapter is the writer's emphasis on Jesus' willingness to lay down his life, certainly an extraordinary criteria for a shepherd. To risk one's life might be required of a shepherd, but to lay it down?  Here is good news worthy of preaching!

(The following questions have been developed to help exegetes discover the way the Word functions in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers. These questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are used best as part of a larger repertoire available to students of scripture.  For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word functions clearly as both Law and Gospel in this text.  It functions as Gospel, announcing God's love and care, whenever the good shepherd is mentioned:  in laying down their life for the sheep, in knowing the sheep intimately, and in including sheep "that do not belong to this fold."  The Word functions as Law, showing us our need for a Savior, whenever the hired hand is mentioned:  in abandoning the sheep to the wolf, in not caring for the sheep, and in allowing the sheep to be scattered.

2.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We have two choices in this text: we can either identify with the hired hands who are condemned for their cowardice and refusal to care for the sheep, or we can identify with the sheep who are being cared for by the shepherd.  If we choose the former, this text will call us to repentance.  If we choose the latter, this text will bring us hope and strength, knowing that our good shepherd is watching over us.

3.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  There is no word here that invites us to live in a certain way in response to God's work in Christ.  We might see an invitation to be open to sheep that do not belong to the flock as a call to obedience, but that is not explicit.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The metaphor of shepherding is rich with ideas for couplets.  A few suggestions:  snatched/rescued; scattered/reunited; abandoned/cared for.

5.  Exegetical work: Many scholars have tied the Pharisees in chapter 9 to the hired hands condemned in chapter 10.  Patristic writers and reformers alike have come to this conclusion.  Augustine is a good example:  "Who then is the hireling?  They are some in office in the church, of whom the apostle Paul says, 'Who seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's.'" (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. IVa, p. 346).  Lamar Williamson Jr. is an example of a modern scholar who falls into this line:  "Of all religious authorities who are more interested in their own prestige than in the welfare of God's flock, the text says: 'The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.' (10:10a).  In contrast, Jesus offers himself as the entry way through which the sheep have free access to security on one hand and sustenance on the other." (Preaching the Gospel of John, p. 120).  Craig Koester, another modern scholar, offers an interesting analysis of John's use of this metaphor.  He notes that "the good shepherd imagery helps integrate the human, messianic, and divine dimensions of Jesus' identity into a coherent whole."  Noting how John's listeners/readers would have likely been familiar with the OT imagery in Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and other prophets, he argues that this shepherd image is multivalent, not only showing a contrast with the unfaithful 'shepherds' (i.e. Pharisees and scribes), but revealing Christ's unique exercise of power through giving up his life, and God's extraordinary gift of love in Christ. See Koester's work to read the entire analysis. (Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel, p. 109-116).

6.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Mark Marius, in his April 17, 2021 post highlights the question of who we identify with in this text. Are we sheep, hired hands, or even wolves?  It's clear who Jesus is, but who are we? that's the question.  Go to crossings.org/text-study for the entire analysis.

Blessings on your proclamation!

The Rising of the Crucified One

 

Luke 24:36b-48 is a familiar text to any seasoned preacher.  It is the Gospel appointed for the 3rd Sunday of Easter in the Year of Mark, and so it appears every three years.  It follows a familiar pattern of Jesus appearing, the disciples disbelieving, food offered, and joy emerging from  the disciples.  In this particular resurrection story the emphasis is on the bodily nature of the Risen One.  It will be the preacher's task to lift this up as well.

(The following questions have been formulated to help the preacher discover how the Word is functioning in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers.  This is important because the way the Word functions is the way the sermon must function, at least in part.  For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock. com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word is functioning as both Law and Gospel in this text; as Law, by raising up the terror and doubts of the disciples; and as Gospel, in Christ's willingness to show them his physical body and open their minds.  The Law always functions to show us our need of a Savior; in this text, without a Savior we would be lost forever in terror and doubt. The Gospel always functions to show us Jesus, which is exactly what we have in this text.

2.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are undoubtedly to identify with the disbelieving disciples.  We assume Jesus is dead and what we see is a ghost. We need to be reminded of what the Scriptures revealed regarding the Christ, and we need to have our minds opened.

3.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to obedience comes right at the end of this text as we are called to be witnesses of the resurrection of Christ, to preach repentance and forgiveness to all nations.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Several couplets immediately come to mind as we read this text:  doubt/faith; closed minds/open minds; despair/hope.

5.  Exegetical work:  As is obvious in the text, and Fred Craddock points out so clearly in his commentary, the theme of this text is "the corporality of the risen Christ." (Interpretation series, Luke, p. 289).  The ancients agree.  Ignatius, 2nd century bishop, noted that the risen Christ ate and drank with the disciples "as a real human being."  In the 5th century, Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, in writing on this text, said that "the resurrection of the Lord was the resurrection of a real body."  Others concur.  This text is about Jesus being physically alive. (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. III, pp. 384-387).  Fred Craddock not only highlights the corporality of Christ but the crucial fact that the Risen One is also the Crucified One.  He argues that if the Christ we are called to follow is not the Crucified One, "then the Christian life can take on forms of spirituality that are without suffering for others, without a cross, without any engagement of issues of life in this world, all the while expressing devotion to a living, spiritual Christ." (Craddock, p. 290).  Reflecting on this may lead us to wonder with our listeners if a risen Christ who is also the Crucified One, is harder for us to embrace than a risen Christ who has neither suffered nor died.  Could it not be a temptation we all experience - to follow a Victorious One, but not one whose victory leads through Golgotha?

6.  How does the Crossings community model work with this text?  There are multiple examples of Law/Gospel analyses of this text on the crossings website, the most recent example being a very inventive one by Matt Metevelis, in which he uses a 2024 Super Bowl ad ("He Gets Us") to show how Jesus more than 'gets us;' he comes in our midst and stands with us.  See all the analyses by going to crossings.org/text-study.

Blessings on your proclamation!