Well, hey, church family. I know most of us are snowed in right now, and we will get through this time.
And I know it's a bit of an imposition, maybe. Not what we were expecting up until just a few days ago.
And so I want to just direct us for a few minutes, even though we can't gather together in person right now,
if you're able to gather with us online this Sunday, or if you're able to go back and watch this later,
then I want to draw your attention to John chapter 15. John chapter 15.
Jesus is talking about remaining, or your Bible might say abiding.
And it's kind of the same word. This was a Greek word. Of course, we know the Bible was, the New Testament was written in Greek.
Old Testament largely written in Hebrew. And so even though we are grateful we now have an English Bible that we can read from easily,
we sometimes want to go back and find what was that original word that was used.
Well, when we see this word remain or abide in John chapter 15 and verse 4, it was the Greek word meno.
And what it meant was to abide, to remain, to stay, to dwell, or to continue.
So kind of we get the full picture of what Jesus is trying to teach us here in John chapter 15.
So as most of us are snowed in, the roads are closed, our plans have changed, or been postponed.
I know many of us had games. I was supposed to coach a game this Saturday. Of course, that got rescheduled.
And whether we like it or not, we're being told we need to remain inside.
Sometimes we're telling ourselves, you need to remain inside.
The roads may not be safe to travel, or whatever hazards this weather has brought our way is causing us to mostly stay inside for a couple of days.
So I've been thinking about this over these last couple days.
And what if this idea of remaining is not an inconvenience, but it's an invitation?
And I think that's what Jesus was expressing to us here in John chapter 15.
He says,
I am the vine. You are the branches.
Our two boys, Austin and Bo, have memorized that verse.
And occasionally in our family devotional time before we tuck them into bed, we'll have them say this verse along with some others.
And I love how they do it.
They say,
It really emphasizes that idea that, look, apart from God, we can do nothing of true eternal value.
He is the access.
He is the key that unlocks the eternal world.
And we only get access to that through Jesus.
So, Jesus is not raising his voice here.
He's not trying to challenge us into something big and bold.
He's actually bringing it down to something quiet, something calm.
It evokes the psalm that says,
Be still and know that I am God.
He's not taking us on a guilt trip.
He's just simply issuing a very basic command.
Remain in me or abide in me.
And then he reminds us,
I'm the vine.
You as the branch will grow from me.
So, a branch is not doing the work itself.
It's growing out from the vine.
That's why he says,
You've got to remain attached to me.
So, a branch, what does a branch do?
Its one job is to stay connected.
So, whether we're stuck at home,
or we're busy with our normal, usual weekday schedule,
we have the same job.
To stay connected to the vine.
And when we start doing that,
focusing on that,
then we find ourselves with less anxiety,
less restlessness,
our drive to go out and accomplish,
it might change a little bit.
Our need to feel useful and productive,
it might look a little different.
When we're staying connected to the vine.
That's going to be uncomfortable for many of us.
Because being still,
like the psalmist encouraged us to do,
has a way of revealing
the noise in our own hearts,
the noise in our own minds
that we usually try to quiet down
and distract with everything else
going on around us.
Sometimes that noise
can drown out everything else.
And that's the noise
that Jesus wants to address directly.
I'm thinking of Luke chapter 10
and the story of Mary and Martha.
Many of us who have been in church
for most of our lives
are familiar with this story.
And if you're not, that's okay.
Jesus went back to his hometown
to visit some of his best friends,
Mary and Martha
and their brother Lazarus.
And he comes into their house
and it's a big party
and everybody's having a great time
and everybody's so excited to see him.
And the two sisters,
Mary and Martha,
responded or reacted very differently
to Jesus' visit.
Mary was so overjoyed
at seeing the Son of God,
whom they knew well,
lifelong friends,
come and visit her house
that she just sat down
and said,
Jesus, I'm so glad you're here.
Just teach me.
I just want to listen to you.
I want to listen to you talk.
I don't want to miss a thing
of this time with you,
this experience.
Martha, on the other hand,
responded differently, didn't she?
She was so distracted by her task.
And in chapter 10
of the Gospel of Luke
in verse 38,
it says,
Martha was distracted
by her many tasks,
but Mary sat at the Lord's feet
and was listening to what he said.
Martha wasn't being lazy.
She was being responsible.
She was serving Jesus.
Isn't that what we're called to do?
We're called to serve God?
That's literally what Martha
was trying to do in that moment.
Her heart was in the right place,
and yet,
her heart was also
not in the right place.
It missed what was most important.
And that's what Jesus said
to Martha.
It seems that
he addressed her gently,
and he said,
Martha, Martha,
you're worried,
and you're upset about
many things,
but only one thing
was truly necessary.
And Mary chose that.
She sat at my feet.
Her heart was toward me.
It wasn't just toward
serving me.
You know what's interesting there?
Is you and I
can get caught up
in a lot of good things
that can actually
cause us to get
disconnected
from the vine.
It can cause us
to stop
abiding
or remaining
in Jesus.
We can be so busy
trying to keep
all his commandments
that we read
in the scriptures,
trying to do
all the work
that we feel like
he's laid out
for us to do,
trying to keep up
with all the things
that God has given
to us in our life
that we forget
that really the main
pursuit is him.
It's a relationship
with him.
Mary chose that.
She chose presence
over productivity.
Martha was so concerned
with being productive,
she missed
just the presence
of Jesus.
Mary chose
abiding
over activity.
Martha was so
caught up in
I've got to go do something.
I've got to get this
all taken care of.
And some of us
are just wired that way.
others,
it's just easier
to sit down and say,
you know what?
I'm just going to sit here
right in this moment.
I'm going to be with Jesus
right now.
I'm going to soak in
everything
that he has to teach me.
Everything else
can wait.
So,
Jesus doesn't
shame Martha,
but he invites her
just like he invited
all of us
in this passage
in John
to rest in him,
to abide in him,
to remain in him,
to stay connected
in him.
And so maybe
in your life,
maybe there's been
a time when you
were connected
very closely.
Maybe you've gotten
a little disconnected.
And that's why
Jesus says remain.
Stay there.
Don't break
the connection.
The connection
can always come back,
but don't break it.
because if we want
the fruit
that will grow
from God,
we read about
the fruit of the Spirit.
Love, joy, peace,
long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness,
patience.
All these things
that we need
in our lives,
our souls know
we need them,
our relationships
know we need them,
our spouse knows
we need them,
those in our life
that interact with us
on a daily basis,
they know we need
this fruit of the Spirit
and we want it.
But often we don't
see that fruit
because we've become
disconnected
and we're not remaining.
We're not abiding.
So let's take advantage
of this time,
these snow days.
I don't know
if school's going
to be canceled
on Monday,
I'm sure we'll know
that soon,
but listen,
whatever our situation
is in the next hours
or days that come
and then as we get
back into regular life,
let's abide in Him.
Let's remain in Him.
Slow our pace,
soften those reactions,
loosen our grip,
hands open,
eyes up,
and God,
teach me to abide.