Cut it Out

Today I was outside for much of the day pruning some of my neighbor’s bushes, in particular, a large forsythia that kept me busy for some time.  It gave me plenty of opportunity to think about how often the Church and our own personal lives also often need a good pruning. 

(For those of you who don’t know, my family looks out for and takes care of my elderly neighbor, Barbara.)

Barbara’s forsythia isn’t just huge, it’s humongous.  I bring out a ladder to reach some of the top stuff that needs trimming.  It takes a long time to shape and thin.  (My hair dresser can probably say the same thing!)  This year I was going to pay the price for having neglected this task for the past two years as I face three seasons of growth.

Long tendrils of forsythia branches had grown almost down to the ground.  New growth shoots on the inside of the bush would struggle to grow if the heavier growth on the outside was allowed to shade the interior.  

A very old, and very large forsythia in the process of being pruned.

It’s a very old bush.  Many years ago I got out there and cut out a lot of the thicker and older branches to allow some room for new shoots to fill out and strengthen the infrastructure of the bush in upcoming years.  Each year I cut out the dead wood from the previous year.  Each year I try to trim down one or two really old stalks so that the process of new growth can continue.  It seems to be working.  It is amazing to me to see some of those thick old branches still shooting off new growth, even down inside the bush.

Truthfully, I’m not even sure if I’m really doing it right.  It took me a year or two (a long time ago) before I understood that I should really prune forsythia after it is done flowering in the Spring, not in the Fall.  But in the end, the bush seems to hold a nice shape, flowers beautifully in the Spring, and my neighbor is happy that I keep it from becoming an unsightly monster.  It’s exhausting, but fulfilling.  I imagine that it would hurt (if forsythia had feelings), but the result is worth the work or pain. 

God encourages us to do pruning in our own lives and in the Church as well. 

A healthy Church does not allow individuals or groups to sway it from its Mission.  A healthy Church will, by keeping its Mission in focus, eventually trim away those whose ideas or self-interests are at odds with its Mission by not giving them the power to alter the Mission.  A healthy Church gives rise to new ideas and ways of doing things that still support the vision of its Mission.   A healthy Church builds new life upon the strength and wisdom of healthy older lives that encourage new ideas, new visions, and new ways of being Christ to our communities.

Of course, a healthy Church knows its Mission in the first place and has its roots grounded in Christ.

God encourages us to do the same with our own lives.  We are to prune away the things that weigh us down and keep us from growing… the over-commitment to things that ultimately mean little, the addictions to things that keep us from being committed to the One Thing that can make an eternal difference for our lives, and the people and things that poison our hearts and minds and keep us from seeking out the nourishing and life-giving Grace of God, to name a few.

When we do these things…our lives, and our Churches, will grow and bear fruit with the abundance that God has intended to fill our lives.

John 15:2  “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.”

Amen.  

Are you willing to cut away the dead wood in your life?  What sort of things (or people) hamper or come between you and your relationship with God?  What can you prune away to stimulate your spiritual growth?

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Joining Nicodemus on his Lenten Journey

In worship today we joined Nicodemus, a Pharisee (Jewish religious leader) in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, on his Lenten journey. Through Nicodemus we learn that God is calling us to change…to turn away from our old beliefs and our old ways of thinking and turn toward a new life with Him.


In accepting this new life with Jesus, we are born again, a concept that is puzzling to Nicodemus.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night to speak with Him for clarification and learning. The Pharisees’ encounters with Jesus during the day are hostile, but Nicodemus senses that Jesus has important things to teach him about God. He recognizes “You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” John 3:2 In his quest for knowledge and understanding about God, Nicodemus visits Jesus at the risk of the scorn of the other Pharisees who doubt Jesus is anyone special. His heart is already on the journey to being born again into a new life, but he does not yet understand.

In the following verses, Jesus tells Nicodemus that the Spirit moves throughout everything and gives new life to all. He alludes to the His death. He tells Nicodemus what a man must do/believe to have eternal life. John 3:3-21

Nicodemus’ head must have been reeling as he left Jesus that night.

His heart was on a Lenten journey.

The next time we meet Nicodemus he has had time to reflect on the things he has heard from Jesus. At risk of ridicule and chastisement, Nicodemus stands at the Jewish court debating the course of action to take against Jesus and proposes that Jesus was not guilty of anything. John 7:50-51 He was on his way to becoming a believer in the things Jesus was preaching and teaching. His heart was changing.

In our last encounter with Nicodemus on his Lenten journey, we find him helping another secret follower of Jesus (Joseph of Arimathea) to secure Jesus’ body from Pilate (the Roman ruler of the area). He brought with him about 100 pounds of spices to aid in Jesus’ burial. John 19:38-42

Again, Nicodemus risks his reputation for his belief in Jesus. He has come to believe in his ability to be re-born into a new life with God. He steps out of hiding, stands before Pilate to retrieve Jesus’ body, and provides for His proper burial. He is a changed man. His Lenten journey is complete.

Are you being born again on your Lenten journey? Leave a comment and tell us what you are doing to connect with the journey God has planned for you.

Read these above passages about Nicodemus in your Bible. Reflect upon them during your Lenten journey, and perhaps you will find yourself at Easter with a changed heart and a born again spirit.

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Thursday Lenten Taize worship @ 7:30 pm