Sermon by the Rev. Iain Reid

First of all, let me say how glad I am to be here with you at this service for Christian Unity.

Most of you won’t know me, so perhaps you’ll allow a little history. I came back to faith in my early 30’s. I’m from the evangelical wing of the Church of Scotland and you know what they say about evangelicals? They are very keen on The Word, on getting people into the Kingdom and they can be rather zealous!

We’ve all got them every denomination and they’re all absolutely committed to their cause so much so that the more extreme ones are convinced they are right and everyone else is wrong!

I was ordained to a parish on the Isle of Skye and if you know much about the Islands you’ll know they are well known as places where you’ll meet zealous evangelicalism.

After eleven years I became the Chaplain at The Victoria Infirmary.

This position, which I held for six years, required me to lead a team of chaplains that was both ecumenical and Inter-Faith. Since then I’ve been The Minister of Williamwood Church and for the last three years have played a full part in Clarkston Churches Together.

And so, in the course of my ministry you’ll be able to conclude I’ve moved a long way & so thank God have the denominations.

One of the things I’ve learned is; if we spend our time navel-gazing absorbed in refining our own positions we’ll remain far apart. But- if we can look beyond our own church experience and see the bigger picture we soon realise we are related cousins in the huge Christian family & have far more in common than we disagree about.

This is the point made so simply in Jesus’ teaching about the Vine & the branches. This section is part of our Lord’s last, major conversation with His disciples. It begs around chapter 13 verse 31 and ends at chapter 18 verse 1. Most of it was taught on the move, for we know they left the upper room just before the section we’re looking at today.

It’s of huge importance: Jesus is preparing them for what is to come. He explains what it is He’s going to do & He introduces The Holy Spirit as the person of God who’d take over from Him and be their link to Him when He’d returned to The Father.

They say last words are imp. It’s often when someone has their hand on the door handle that they get round to saying what they really came to say. These are Jesus’ parting words to His friends.

It’s in this context that He talks about the Vine and what he had to say to them is just as powerful and relevant for us today.

The gardening analogy is so stark. Every branch is dependent on the Vine and it’s connection to it- for its survival.

There are only two kinds of branches- those connected and bearing fruit and those which are not and will be cut off ready to be burned. Jesus says He is The Vine, the disciples are the branches, His Father is the gardener and He implies The Holy Spirit is the life-juice flowing in the vine-stem to the branches. “I will ask The Father and He’ll give you another counsellor to be with you forever who’s lived with you and will be in you.”

Here- Jesus speaks of disciples remaining in Him and His word remaining in them. This echoes his teaching about The Spirit: “All this I have spoken while still with you but The Counsellor; The Spirit whom The Father will send in my name; will teach you all things and remind you of everything I’ve said to you.” And so- Jesus says: “If you remain in me and I in you you’ll bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”. ‘Apart from me- you can do nothing’- and that’s the crux brothers & sisters- that’s the first thing we have to remember.

At this point in history- we can look back and see The Church split in two in the eleventh century; divide into four or five in the fifteenth century and, in Scotland, make an art form of division between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. But in the twentieth century the churches the denominations began talking to each other and taking steps towards each other. The latter half of the last century has certainly been an interesting time to be around. & though we haven’t time today to look at the subject in detail, we can say that some in the ecumenical movement want to see One Church, while others want to retain distinctiveness yet end divisiveness. It’s a huge subject perhaps worthy of a combined Lent study sometime. Jesus is stressing the need for disciples to acknowledge each other’s connectedness to Him- The Vine wherever there are signs of bearing fruit, and those signs are there in every denomination. Secondly Jesus stresses the importance of remaining in His word – for then- when we ask for something- it will be given to us. Sisters & brothers- prayers are being answered in every denomination.

These words of Jesus need to be heard by the zealots in our churches. For far too long, they’ve convinced themselves, they have the monopoly on revealed truth. And thirdly Jesus stresses, from these two will flow, love for one another, just as that love flows between Father and Son and Holy Spirit. This love, says our Lord, will bring joy. “Love each other as I have loved you.” And he did, so much that He laid down His life for us. Fellow pilgrims, He calls us friends and He offers us Joy./ I hope you’re experiencing joy- joy that no zealot can take from you./ Joy that can smile at sour faces & see humour in issues of ‘No Surrender’. I’ve learned our Lord has a great sense of humour. Anyone who could call ‘both ft in the mouth’ and ‘hot one min and cold the next’ Simon: Rocky? Or pick up a branch and tell people to get this out of their eye- before they peer at the splinter in someone else’s; has a very strong sense of humour. And isn’t it true he’s often had to listen to us wittering on about something whilst noting ‘So here’s another thing you say you’ll never do?’ We’ve all done that whether it’s reading a lesson in church, praying out loud or some other form of religious service. Remember- our Father gave us our sense of humour-& He made us in His image, so like Him- we can use humour to respond to stubborn situations.

I heard about a Presbyterian & a Baptist minister. It seemed some adults wanted to become members of the Presbyterian Church, but hadn’t been baptised and they asked for full immersion. The Presbyterian Min didn’t believe in full immersion- but couldn’t afford to discourage them, so he asked his Baptist colleague if he’d do it. The Baptist Minister didn’t believe in baptising people whose testimony he wasn’t sure of but didn’t want to just say ‘no’- so he wrote back. ‘We don’t take in washing- but we’d be happy to lend you the tub.’ Joy is what we’ve been promised and it’s what we need- to be able to face difficult & intransigent situations with a healthy dose of humour. A child once prayed- ‘Lord- please make the bad people- good- and the good people- nice!’

Over the years I’ve come to see the need for us all in the Christian family to hold together on the vast majority of things we have in common and never ever forget our need 2 remain connected to the Vine.

Here’s a true story:

A man had gone off to work for the Kirk in India. During his years there- he contracted leprosy.

When he returned to Britain he was half blind, partly paralysed and very far from God. Turned out he’d nowhere to go, so he was taken to a community run by nuns. He was a bitter and angry man and often thought of suicide. One morning, unusually for him, he got up early and went for a walk. He heard what seemed to be a buzzing sound and he followed it to the chapel.

There he found the sisters were praying and they were praying for each patient- praying in front of their names which were written on the walls.

Afterwards, though he couldn’t see well he found his own name and that experience was a breakthrough for him. He felt he’d been joined to God through their prayers. He felt Re- connected and it changed the rest of his life.

Let’s remember we are ALL connected to Jesus, The Vine. And may this encourage us to rejoice in our unity in Him & resolve to work for greater togetherness and co-operation for His & The Father’s glory thru The Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now- and ever shall be- world without end. AMEN.