Glorify the Father through your fruit
John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he is going to cut off. And he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will bear more fruit. 3“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I am going to remain in you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Likewise, you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5“I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. Such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this: that you continue to bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples.
Dear children, let us love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth (1 John 3:18). Amen.
Have any of you read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”? I believe it was God’s timing that I finished listening to the book last week because the story of the titular character Tom ties in so powerfully with Jesus’ words in our Gospel that he is the Vine and we are the branches. We are to be branches who glorify the Father through our fruit.
I’m going to give you some spoilers. But since the book was published 172 years ago … you've had plenty of time to read it.
In the beginning of the book, Tom is a slave owned by Mr. and Mrs. Shelby in Kentucky. The Shelbys are Christian people who treat Tom and the other slaves like family. In fact, as a boy, young George Shelby will sit on Uncle Tom’s lap in Tom’s cabin.
Mr. Shelby gets himself into debt, so he sells Tom to settle that debt. The book tells the story of Tom and other slaves in the South who were bought, sold, treated well, and treated awfully.
At the end of the book, Tom has been purchased by a vicious plantation owner named Simon Legree in rural Louisiana. Legree sees talent in Tom and wants to train him to be the head of the other slaves on his plantation. Tom is commanded by Legree to whip a female slave for being too slow in picking cotton. Tom refuses. He says to Legree, “I’m willin’ to work, night and day, and work while there’s life and breath in me, but this yer thing I can’t feel right to do – and, Mas’r, I never shall do it, - never!”
Legree replies in anger as he gives Tom a violent kick with his heavy boot, “Didn’t I pay twelve hundred dollars, cash for you … An’t yer mine, now body and soul?”
From the ground, with blood and tears that flow down his face, Tom exclaims, “No! No! No! My soul an’t yours, Mas’r! You haven’t bought it, - ye can’t buy it! It’s been bought and paid for, by one that is able to keep it – no matter, no matter, you can’t harm me!”
So Legree has two large slaves beat Tom savagely, attempting to harm him.
A while later, two female slaves escape Legree’s plantation. Legree knows Tom knows something. Legree decides he will either break Tom’s will or kill Tom’s body. He has the two slaves beat Tom mercilessly. Just before he faints from the beating, Tom looks up at Legree and says, “I forgive ye with all my soul!”
Just as Jesus prayed for those who crucified him, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”
The two slaves take Tom to a building. His wondrous words and pious prayers have convicted the hearts of the two slaves who had brutalized him so. They lay Tom on a bed of cotton and clean his wounds and give him a drink of Legree’s brandy. One slave confesses, “O Tom, we’s been awful wicked to ye!” Tom replies faintly, “I forgive ye, with all my heart!”
The other slave asks, “O Tom, do tell us who is Jesus, anyhow? Jesus, that’s been standin’ by you so, all this night?” With fainting but powerful words, Tom tells these slaves about the One who had set them free through his life, death, and everlasting presence.
The two men weep. One cries, “Why didn’t I never hear this before? But I do believe! I can’t help it!” Then the two confess together, “Lord Jesus, have mercy on us!”
The Holy Spirit converted these two men. Just as he converted the repentant thief on the cross who prayed to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Just as he converted the Roman centurion at the foot of the cross who confessed, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
Tom was a branch connected to the Vine of Jesus. In life … and with his dying breaths, he bore the fruits of that connection to his Savior. Through those fruits, he glorified his heavenly Father.
Jesus teaches, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he is going to cut off. And he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will bear more fruit” (John 15:1, 2). Jesus is talking to believers – people who are connected to him by faith. But he also warns about cutting ourselves off from him. When we cut ourselves off from Jesus – that’s when we sin and can lose our faith.
One of the greatest evils in American history is slavery. Today, we may not hurt other people with whips, but our tongues can be whips that hurt people with our words. We can lash out at others with anger and unforgiveness. We can abuse others as we fill up our minds with all kinds of vengeful thoughts.
In theological terms, these are signs of commission. The sins we commit against God and our neighbors.
In theological terms, we also commit sins of omission. These are the sins that come from the good and godly things we omit doing.
In her concluding remarks in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” author Harriet Beecher Stowe calls out Christians in both the South and the North for their sins of omission. She calls out the Christian slave owners in the South because even though they treated their slaves like servants or even family, they did not speak up or stand up to stop the horrible practice of slavery. Stowe calls out the Christians in the North who blindly said they were submitting to the government and returned escaped slaves back to their slave owners in the South.
Our sinful omission can be when we are apathetic and indifferent to others who are struggling and suffering. We can be impatient and unsympathetic toward those who are weak and hurting. We may not say a kind word, offer a smile, or lend a helping hand to someone for whom it could change their day.
These sins of commission and sins of omission happen when we cut ourselves off from the Vine of Jesus. And what happens then? Jesus warns, “If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. Such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6).
That sounds terrifying!
How do we prevent that burning in eternal hellfire? We stay connected to Jesus. And why Jesus? Because the Son of God left his heavenly throne to be born of human flesh and laid in a manger. He came to be connected to us because we cannot connect ourselves to him.
Because of his connection to us, Jesus allowed himself to be cut off from his Father. He was forsaken so we would not be forsaken. He was abandoned so we would not be abandoned. He endured the eternal hellfire during his hours on the cross so we might never have to fear one moment of those hellish flames.
For all your sins of commission, Jesus committed to do everything perfectly in your place. For all your sins of omission, Jesus never once omitted anything. On top of that, Jesus suffered, bled, died, and rose to pay for your past, present, and future sins of commission and omission.
The Holy Spirit has connected you to the Vine through his Means of Grace – the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. As branches, you are well-watered through the Waters of Baptism. You are well-nourished through the Lord’s Supper. You are well-fertilized through God’s Word. These are the Means of Grace the Holy Spirit uses to connect you and keep you connected as branches to the Vine of Jesus.
St. John writes about the fruits of faith, “This is how we have come to know love: Jesus laid down his life for us. And we also should lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16). You’ll probably never push anybody out of the way from a speeding bus. But maybe you help your elderly neighbor clean his gutters. Or you help your neighbor who is a single mother by cutting her grass. Or you help your widowed neighbor across the street by bringing her a casserole and some conversation.
Jesus showed his big way of loving you by laying down his life for you. These are little ways of saying “I love you” back to Jesus. They are also little ways of saying “I love you” to your neighbors. These little things are like grapes on the vine. They are beautiful to look at. They are sweet to the taste. They bring joy to your neighbor. They bring joy to you. They bring joy to Jesus. … And they glorify your heavenly Father.
Jesus teaches, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. … My Father is glorified by this: that you continue to bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples” (John 15:5, 8).
In listening to the 45 chapters of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” I was wondering why the author gave it that title. Tom’s cabin is only mentioned in the beginning of the book. But then, on the very last page, I finally understood the title.
The years have passed, and George Shelby is now a young man. He searches the South to find Tom. He finally finds him … on his deathbed of cotton. George hears Tom’s final words of resurrection faith. He buries Tom and returns home to Kentucky.
When he arrives home, George gathers his mother and the slaves together. He tells them of Tom’s faith, his final words, and his death. George then writes papers of freedom for all the Shelby’s slaves. Amazingly, the slaves beg not to be freed and sent away. The Shelbys have been good to them. They already feel free in their home.
George hands them the papers and insists they are now free. Free to go … or free to stay. If they stay, he will pay them and give them a home to live in.
Then George tells everyone, “It was on his grave, my friends, that I resolved, before God, that I would never own another slave, while it is possible to free him; that nobody, through me, should ever run the risk of being parted from home and friends, and dying on a lonely plantation, as he died. So, when you rejoice in your freedom, think that you owe it to that good old soul, and pay it back in kindness to his wife and children. Think of your freedom, every time you see Uncle Tom’s cabin; and let it be a memorial to put you all in mind to follow in his steps, and be as honest and faithful and Christian as he was.”
By God’s grace, Tom was a man connected to his Savior. By God’s grace, we are men and women and children connected to our Savior. Every time the freed slaves would look upon Uncle Tom’s cabin, they were to glorify the Father for their freedom. Every time we look upon the bloodied cross and open tomb of Jesus, we remember our freedom from the slavery of sin, death, and the devil. We bear the fruits of our faith shown in “love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth” (1 John 3:18). In these fruits of faith, we glorify our Father. Amen.
This is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love one another just as he commanded us (1 John 3:18). Amen.