To Bear Fruit

Each Sunday as we gather, the acolyte brings the light into the Sanctuary to remind us that God is present in this place. The word “acolyte” comes from a Greek word that means “attendant.” The tradition of an acolyte bringing in the light for worship grew out of two Old Testament relationships: Samuel assisting the priest, Eli, and Elisha assisting the prophet, Elijah. Acolytes have been bringing the light into worship since around 250 A.D.

And then at the close of worship, they take the light back out, and they snuff it and hang the candle lighter until the next week. Fire out, until next week. Right? Or not?

Mark Labberton is a Presbyterian pastor and professor, and he wrote a book titled, “The Dangerous Act of Worship.” I don’t think of worship as dangerous…except maybe when the acolyte is bringing in the light and people don’t realize it and are in the aisle. But in his book, Rev. Labberton tells about a man who came into his office one day “looking for help in making sense of the nightly conversations about Christianity he was having with his newly converted wife. He made it clear he was very busy, very successful and didn’t really have much time for this – just some bullet points, now, please. It would have been easy for me to hand him some books or pamphlets,” said Pastor Labberton, “And while those can be good, instead I said, ‘I can see you are a busy and successful person, so I don’t think what you’re asking for is a good idea.’ Frustrated, he asked why. ‘Because,’ I explained, ‘if I were to give you some bullet points, and you were to really understand them, they would have such a significant way of working into your life that it could really mess things up. You would have to rethink the meaning of success, of time, of family, of everything really. I don’t think you want to do that, do you?’”

What happens when that light goes down the aisle and out of worship? Does it get snuffed, or does it keep burning? It depends on what our answer would be. Do we want worship to have such a significant way of working into our lives that it could really mess things up? Do we want to have to rethink the meaning of success, of time, of family, of everything really?
The passage that we read from Micah this morning is God’s response to a request for a bullet pointed list:
Here’s the request: With what should I approach the LORD
and bow down before God on high?
Should I come before him with entirely burned offerings,
with year-old calves?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with many torrents of oil?
Should I give my oldest child for my crime;
the fruit of my body for the sin of my spirit?
I just want a bullet pointed list. That’s it…what do we need to do to be on God’s good side? What is required?
Times were scary. All the talk at the city gates was the threat of Assyria. The northern kingdom, Israel, had been captured in 721. Now 20 years later, the Assyrians have turned their assault on Judah, the Southern Kingdom.

So, the question “with what shall I come before the Lord?” came with the caveat that we are very busy and successful, and we don’t have much time for this – just some bullet points now, please. What does it take to appease God, and we can move on?
But the answer is, “You already know. God has shown you what is good. What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

The Lord requires that when you worship, the light that leads you out not be snuffed, but transferred. The acolyte carries the candle lighter, but you carry the light.

Just like a gardener grafting a branch that is capable of bearing beautiful, abundant fruit but not capable of holding itself up, in worship, we are grafted into the True Vine, we are connected with Christ whose roots are deep in the fertile soil of the love of God. In worship, we are pruned, and fruit is set.

Rev. Labberton in writing about the purpose of worship says, “…justice and mercy are not add-ons to worship, nor are they consequences of worship. Justice and mercy are intrinsic to God and therefore intrinsic to the worship of God…..We should not fool ourselves into thinking that it’s enough to feel drawn to the heart of God without our lives showing the heart of God.”
When horticulturalists choose two plants to graft, one plant is chosen for its roots and the other for its fruits. Jesus’ roots are firmly set in God. And we have been chosen for our fruits. The success or failure of the graft is seen as we leave worship. Successful grafting in plants only requires that a vascular connection take place between the grafted tissues. In plants, the vascular connection allows food and water to nourish and grow the fruit.

Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you, abide in my love.” Successful grafting requires that vascular connection of Jesus’ love to nourish and grow the fruit.

So, how do we carry the light out of worship? It starts by wanting to abide in the True Vine, it starts by wanting to walk humbly with your God. Just like the man in Pastor Labberton’s office, we have to be open to the Gospel messing things up and making us rethink the meaning of success, of time, of family, of everything really. “It starts by asking God to enlarge our heart,” to graft us into the True Vine, to give us eyes of mercy “to see people in need in our immediate community and gradually see people beyond that too,” and to give us vision for justice.

It is easy to hear the injustice in our world and say, “It is so complicated; so complex” and shake our heads and go on with our lives.
25 Million people are living in slavery today.
40 percent of the world’s population lives without basic sanitation
Over 1 billion people in the world today will use unsafe water
Last night 30 people came seeking a Room in the Inn, but there were only 27 beds.

We could see the needs and know we cannot meet them all and say “It is too much. It is too complicated. It is too complex.” But, it is not true.
Love is not complicated or complex.

When asked about the enormity of the problems of this world and the seeming futility of what any one of us can do, Mother Theresa answered, “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of the missing drop.”
The darkness of our world will not be banished as long as we only light this room. Will you pray for God to enlarge your heart, to give you eyes to see and a vision for justice? Will you abide in the love of Jesus? May we go forth from this place to love and to serve, and may God’s light go with us.