John 15:1-11 The context of this passage is really important for us as we read it. As our liturgist read said, this comes as a word of encouragement and promise from Jesus to his disciples as they share the Passover meal in the Upper Room. At this point, the disciples are starting to freak out. Jesus has been talking about going away and preparing a place for them. But they aren't ready for him to go, a certainly not ready to continue on without him. Peter is quite vocal & even insists on going with Jesus. And so here, Jesus encourages these men who have been his companions, students, and friends to
take a breath & focus on the relationships they're had with him and staying connected.
Specifically, Jesus says "meno" That's the Greek word that's translated "abide" or "remain". If we look at a Greek to English translation we see the word meno has a lot of nuances.
Remain/abide: meno = to continue, sojourn, rest, settle, endure, last, survive, persevere, be steadfast
The gist is basically an enduring connection.
Remain in me.
Abide in me.
Maintain a steadfast connection with me.
Do you see it?
continue
rest
sojourn
settle
endure
last
survive
persevere
be steadfast
remain
abide
Stick with Jesus.
I mean if you’ve been a disciple and you want to stay a disciple—stick with Jesus. Maintain your connection.
Now, Jesus doesn't leave it all up to guesswork. He gives the disciples a metaphor - 1 am the vine, you are the branches. I'm the base. I'm the source of strength, sustenance, & nourishment. And you're meant to be connected to me. Draw from me. Pull what you need from me. And be fruitful.
The image of a vine & branches pushes on the notion of constant connection - a vine and the branches stay connected. It's not a hose it a spigot, or a plug and an outlet, or a phone and a charger that we detach & reattach; it's a vine and branches. The branches only have life while they're attached to the vine. An enduring connection is essential. Both for the disciples in the Upper Room and for us. We are meant to develop and foster an enduring relationship with Jesus. We do that through spiritual Disciplines. We might immediately think of prayer, fasting, and Bible study, but there are so many more.
We're focusing on for this series, but I used this book to help prepare our materials and she overviews 75 different disciplines! If you think there are only a few dull ways to connect with Jesus, think again! Because for each discipline, she offers about 5 different ways to try it. That means you could do one new practice each day & not be done for over a year!
I'm not trying to overwhelm you--just to show you how many options there are. God really wants you to be connected & there isn't just one way to do that. You can be still or active, quiet or vocal, on your own or in a group in your house or out in nature, contemplative or creative - no matter what our personality, there are spiritual disciplines that will work for us. our small group study invites us to test the waters. Try some of the options. See how God uses them. See how God teaches you, affirms you, and blesses you.
Specifically, this week we are inviting you to try contemplative prayer. It's a practice of holy listening. It's not really about contemplation, but developing an "ear", a receptivity, for God. I'll be honest this is a discipline that takes a lot of intentionality on my part. I'm a talker. I'm an external processor. I gain the most clarity by speaking my thoughts. That means when I want it to sit & talk with God, l tend to talk. Contemplative prayer invites me to listen. It’s hard. Over the years it’s gotten easier, but it doesn't come naturally. But it does remind me that God does have specific things to say to me. And I need to pay attention & listen.
Do you think of God that way? Wanting to talk to you? Ready to say something specific and unique in your life?
When we proclaim a living God who loves you that's part of what we mean. God cares about you specifically as an individual. God is invested in your life and is ready to offer wisdom, direction, and encouragement. If you want to hear from God, you need to pay attention to it listen.
Contemplative prayer offers avenues for doing that. You’ll practice quieting your body and your mind so it might be easier to hear. In my experience, God rarely uses a big booming outdoor voice. It’s much more common to use a still small voice. In which case, if the literal or figurative noise in our lives is too loud, we have no chance to hear God.
Now, what should you expect God to say? Good question. And if I give you an answer, you might miss what God actually has to say. But I will give you some hints---or examples. Sometimes the “Word” God has given me is the name of someone I should be praying for. It’s often someone I haven’t thought of in a long time and they just keep coming up in my mind. I experience that as a divine nudge and will often reach out to the person to check-in. I’ve often been surprised how they are going through something hard and God uses my call to encourage them. Now contemplative prayer isn’t intercession, we aren’t supposed to be listing the people we want to pray for, but listening to God…but sometimes God needs us to intercede and so the word we get is a name or a face of someone in need.
Sometimes the “word” God gives is a feeling. We may be anxious about something and God gives us a sense of peace.
Sometimes the word God gives us is literal words. I’ve had the profound experience of God showing me someone in a particular space in a particular room and then me apologizing to that person. It was a type of prophetic word in the sense that I hadn’t been in that room with that person to say anything, but later that day I was. And I saw a repeat of the vision God had given me.
God might give you a Word of scripture…maybe to look up and study, maybe to use as a healing balm or anointing on your life.
God might give you words of a song to sing…maybe a song you know, or maybe one God gifts you to sing at that moment.
As we turn to communion, we will share in a time of confession and repentance, sometimes in that space, I’ve heard God give me the name of someone I need to forgive even as I seek God’s forgiveness. God has also shown me my habits and vices that I need to confess and lay at the foot of the cross.
God speaks in marvelous and surprising ways. My hope is we can be open to what God is saying. I invite you to begin your practice of contemplative prayer this morning, with a few moments of silence, open to what God might “say” as we turn our hearts to the gift of Jesus and his grace and forgiveness.