How We Grow
Spiritual growth comes from maintaining a strong connection to a source, rather than individual effort alone.
The following is my sermon for Sunday, July 28, 2024 at Church in Bethesda.
I have a love/hate relationship with plants. I want to be good at caring for plants. I want to be one of those people who has nice plants in their home, but I’m not very good at keeping them alive.
I have a dwarf palm that I love, but it’s the third one I’ve had in three years. The other two did not survive my presence.
When I lived in New York, a friend once asked me to care for his indoor herb garden while he was in Africa.
“No problem.”
But the longer he was gone, the worse everything got. So I panicked and decided to improvise.
In his kitchen, on top of his refrigerator, I saw a jug of that powder that people mix and drink before they go to the gym, and I thought, “If it helps people grow, it should certainly help plants.” So I mixed it up and added it to the plants.
A week later, I had to go to the store to replace all his plants before he got back.
So I suck at plants. I even managed to kill a cactus once. How does anyone kill a cactus? Is that even possible? Yes.
Our passage for today is a passage about plants; growing them and maintaining them.
It says this.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”
John 15:5–8
The society of Jesus’ time was largely agrarian, with 80–90% of the population making their livings from agriculture. So Jesus often taught, using farming and gardening as metaphors that the people of his region would understand.
And whether you are like me (knowing nothing about plants) or the people in this story (who knew everything about plants), one thing is for certain. If a plant doesn’t grow, it’s never the plant’s fault.
If my dwarf palm stops growing and starts dying, it’s not its own fault. Whos’ fault is it? Mine. Plants only know how to grow. If their surroundings are right and nothing gets in the way, they thrive. It’s really that simple.
Jesus says God is like a gardener, that Jesus is like a vine, and we are like branches.
There is something at the top of that chain of nourishment and responsibility. It’s not you and it’s not me. It is God.
And this is what Jesus wants his hearers to realize.
You do not have a spiritual growth problem; only a connection problem.
Jesus says,
“If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
This is why our connection to God, above all else is so important. Because God is where life comes from. It’s where growth comes from. It’s where inspiration comes from.
So the question isn’t, “What can I do to grow?” Rather, it’s “What can I do to strengthen my connection to that which causes me to grow?”
And the answer to that question is maddening.
“What can you do? What can I do?” Nothing. Yes, all you can do is nothing. All you can do is remain. Other translations use the word “abide” in place of “remain.” All you can do is say “yes” or “no” to it. Your connection to God is something that you’re either surrendering to or resisting in each present moment.
You want to know a prayer that will destroy a dormant life?
Every morning when you wake up and every night before you fall asleep, pray, “God, help me to want what you want.”
And even if you only mean it a little bit, God will meet you there.
Islam says it this way.
“I am just as My servant thinks I am, and I am with him if He remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group, I remember him in a group that is greater than they; and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.”
One of my favorites, a 14th century text called “The Cloud Of Unknowing” says this;
“For I tell you this: one loving, blind desire for God alone is more valuable in itself, more pleasing to God and to the saints, more beneficial to your own growth, and more helpful to your friends, both living and dead, than anything else you could do.”
What is keeping me from that?
What is keeping you from that?
What is keeping us from that?
“But Ryan, I don’t even know if I believe in God!” That’s okay. You don’t have to believe in someone else’s version of God for this to work for you. Maybe you’re still searching for your version. The search itself is enough.
This is how people grow. It’s how we’ve always grown. Through our connection to the God that is connected to all of us. This is how the world gets better. This is how families get better. This is how we take back our power, not to win, not to disseminate an ideology, but to love, to serve, and to listen.
