A Sent People
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Click here to read the sermon.
Scripture
Psalm 137
By the rivers of Babylon — there we sat down, and there we wept when we remembered Zion. Read more…
Jeremiah 29:4 – 7
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
A few weeks back I went to an orchard to pick apples. I was astounded by all the different varieties. I easily filled up my 10 lb bag with apples from all over the orchard, knowing I’d never remember which apples were which. But it didn’t matter. They were delicious. They were crisp, flavourful, and beautiful to look at.
I once lived in a house with an apple tree in the backyard. When I moved in, this is one of the things that most excited me. I imagined making pie and applesauce with the fruit of my own tree. I imagined sitting in the yard and eating an apple I’d picked only a moment before.
None of those things happened.
My apples had bugs. They fell to the ground before I could pick them. They had brown patches on the skin. All in all, my apple tree was a profound disappointment. Of course, I hadn’t done anything to protect the tree. I didn’t have any of the knowledge those who owned and worked at the orchard I visited this fall had. All I had was a tree and some hope.
There’s a section in the Apostle’s Paul’s letter to the Galatians, right near the end of the letter, in Galatians 5, where the apostle talks about fruits of the Spirit – things like patience, kindness, and generosity. It’s a great metaphor for the Christian life. When we live guided by the Holy Spirit, nurturing our relationship with God, that same Spirit of God will grow the kind of fruit in us that makes God’s kingdom tangible to others.
But if we don’t do anything with the fruit of the Spirit, if we don’t step out into the world and share that fruit, it’s really no better than the rotting apples that carpeted the ground around the tree in my backyard.
In this week’s chapter of How to Revive Evangelism, we’re challenged to move beyond talking about Christianity toward living it. The facts of our faith alone aren’t enough. Jesus said that in him God’s kingdom has come. But if there’s no evidence of God’s kingdom, if people can’t experience all the wonders of God’s kingdom (things like the hungry being fed, the sick being healed, enemies reconciling, and people choosing to serve rather than be served), what we say doesn’t make a bit of difference. If we’re going to truly be the church, we need to be it in the world around us, sharing the fruits of the Spirit.
On Sunday we’ll be looking back into Israel’s history, to a time when they no longer had a home – a time when they’d been driven out by an enemy empire. We’ll be reminded of God’s words, spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, to seek the welfare of the city in which they found themselves, and we’ll consider how these words translate for us.
As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps spend some time with the apple tree metaphor. If you were an apple tree, how would you describe your fruit? Is it buggy or is it good for eating? Is it ready to be shared? How do you share your fruit so it doesn’t just rot on the ground at the base of the tree?