“Can You Hear Me Now?”                Mother’s Day, Easter V, 2006        May 14, 2006

Jesus said that he is the true vine, and his Father is the vine grower. We don’t have any vines growing in our yards, but we are growing and mowing the grass. In my yard we grow Bermuda grass and a few weeds, too! This time of year, the grass is growing lush, deep green. Most lawns are looking good. As I write this, I can hear the sound of gas powered lawnmowers throughout my neighborhood.

The problem is, the Bermuda grass is spreading into my garden and flowerbeds. I’ve tried pulling it out, I’ve tried killing it with Roundup and other chemicals. When I lived out in the country, I even tried to kill it by burning it out. Nothing works. In fact, the more I try to kill it, the more it grows back. Burning it actually stimulates even more growth. (I didn’t know that at the time, but I learned quickly.) You already know this happens.

Bermuda grass has but one purpose, to spread and take over. Wherever there is sunlight, soil, and water, it grows and keeps spreading. It doesn’t distinguish between the flowerbeds and garden. The more you cut it, pull it, burn it, or even pour Roundup on it, it keeps spreading.

When Jesus said, I am the vine, and you are the branches, he was talking about that same organic principle. He said his Father is the creator of the universe who made the soil, water, air, plants and animals, the whole creation. Then Father God made human beings like you with the freedom to love him as much as he loved us. But sin came, and connection between God was broken. There was the first murder, first war, first

The Father chose the people of Israel to be God’s agents to restore the connection. God sent them prophets like Moses, Elijah, and Isaiah to teach them and show them how to abide in him. But time and again, they turned away. Their princes and queens murdered each other, they forgot to feed the hungry, or even give drink to the thirsty. For 2000 years, Father God tried to show them how to live hoping that one day, they would return to him. Finally God sent the Son, Jesus Christ to do what Israel could never do, to build the kind of eternal kingdom God wanted with peace and justice for all. They also rejected him, and killed him. But God raised him so though the Son, Jesus Christ and through him alone, can we become a new creation and abide with him forever. He gathered a small group of twelve disciples to bring God’s kingdom to fruition. He was the vine, planted in the soil of the creation, and he called the disciples the branches. Like Bermuda grass, their sole purpose was to grow the kingdom, and to produce the fruits of the Spirit.

Those disciples produced fruit, which bore more fruit, and the kingdom was spread to every continent so that today, there are over a billion people who are disciples.

Now you know what I’m going to say. ******** Jesus wants us to do the same, like Bermuda grass. We are the branches of the fruit of the one true vine, Jesus Christ. He wants us to stay rooted and abide in him, and he will abide in us. Jesus’ main purpose for each of us is to produce more Christians who love him as he has loved us. So when comes the harvest time, we will be cultivating more and more branches from the one true vine, Jesus Christ.

Ring, Ring, Ring ...

Excuse me a minute. Mom, why are you calling? Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? Mom, I can’t talk now; I’m right in the middle of my sermon. Remember it’s an hour earlier out here. No, Im not preaching about Mother’s Day, exactly. I’m preaching about Bermuda grass, and spreading the Word. Never mind it’s a long story. Listen Mom, ... uh..uh..., I got to go. I’ll call you later, okay? Yes, we plan to visit in July. Happy Mother’s Day.

I’m sorry. I have to learn to take phone out of my pocket. You, know my Mom has a point. I should say something about Mother’s Day and how important that is being a faithful disciple. She was the one who was there to hear my borning cry. She was there when I was baptized, to see me go to Sunday school, church. She was there to make sure I went to confirmation and worship regularly. She was there when I was married, raised my children, and was ordained as a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She made sure I developed connections to God, my family, and the world.

My father didn’t want me to go to church. He was angry with God because my younger brother died of leukemia when he was three. It was a terrible tragedy for me and my family. He held God responsible for that and was angry until the day he died.

Mother, on the other hand, started going to church more after her three-year-old son died, my baby brother. The year after he died, She and I became charter members of a Lutheran mission congregation. The church didn’t have much in the way of a building or programs, no gym, no Mother’s Day Out or preschool. All that mission had was faithful members who believed that Jesus wanted them to reach out for Christ to the community and to the world.

Mom always had a heart for reaching out to the community. For many years, she was the chair of the evangelism committee. She initiated a program of outreach to a halfway house not far from the church. But the people looked different and acted different from the other Lutherans. When they came to a church dinner, all they brought was their appetites, and they ate everything. It made Mom mad when other members said that they didn’t belong in church. Eventually, they stopped coming.

Now Mom is older, over 80 years old. But the faith she had with Christ lives in me. It abides in me, and what I want to do spread that gospel to you, to this community, to the next generation, and all the generations that follow until Jesus comes again for the final harvest.

This year, Mother’s Day takes on new meaning for Marilyn and me. This year, we said goodbye to Marilyn’s mother. I know you’ve never met her, but you have met Marilyn. In some ways, she’s a lot like her mother, and her father. Now this Mother’s Day, I’m giving thanks for her life, and for giving birth to her daughter. In many ways, we are connected to our parents biologically. But it’s also true that the way we live is often formed by our Mothers and Fathers. It’s Part of that wonderful connection we have as human beings.

There are three connections we need to cultivate and grow. First is our relationship to God who made the whole creation we have to live in. It’s the time, our talents and possessions that God has given us. Our offering is a reflection of our thankfulness. God the Father grew the vine that is Jesus Christ.

Second is our connection to Jesus, the vine to which we are all attached. He is the way that will sustain us to eternal life. If you haven’t committed to following him, now are the time! Here is where we eat the bread and wine that nourishes our souls, and connects us to Jesus, the true vine.

The third connection is to our family and our community. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to live in families as sons, daughters and parents, as citizens of the world God has given us. This is why Mother’s Day is so important to the church. Our relationship to our Mothers, brothers, our fellow disciples are a blessing from God’s Holy Spirit.

God was there at the beginning, is with us today, and through Christ, will be with us in the eternal future. Let us sing praises for the gifts God has given us! Amen

Amen