Sermon: "The Vine and Church Unity"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

[This sermon by Bishop vonRosenberg was delivered using the following notes.]

After ten years on the job as bishop, I think I am beginning to understand a little bit about what I've gotten into. There are many aspects to the job that might change, depending on circumstances of the church and the world, as well as depending on location of the particular diocese. However, the primary role - the big picture, the macro view - really is pretty simple. That is, a bishop represents the promise of unity beyond the individual church - incomplete though that promise may be and flawed though our unity may be as well. In examining the service of ordination of a bishop, we may see there a vow that is central to this ministry - to "guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church" (BCP, p. 518). Our faith provides the content for unity, and church discipline offers the means for unity. From many experiences and various perspectives, I have come to see, therefore, that this job really is all about unity. And, it is for that reason that I especially appreciate Bible readings like the on e from our Gospel today.

"I am the vine, you are the branches." (Jn 15:5) The message today has to do with our connections, our interrelationships, and our unity, as Christian people. We are indeed connected to one another, like branches. And ultimately, our connections and our unity depend on the vine, which holds us together - the vine that is Jesus Christ.

I remember a certain house that Annie and I bought, atop a red, Georgia-clay hill. The wardens of the local church looked at that formidable, bare hillside with us. And they said they actually knew something that would grow in such a harsh environment. However, they said, I would need to sleep with one eye open because the vine they had in mind might invade the house at night. Of course, we decided against planting kudzu on our hill, and we struggled with grass and ivy instead. Kudzu is indeed durable, and it grows almost anywhere. I wonder, in fact, if those were characteristics that Jesus had in mind when he said, "I am the vine, you are the branches."

This Gospel passage actually has another personal reference in my life - perhaps especially appropriate for Mothers' Day. When my mother was diocesan ECW President in East Carolina years ago, this same reading was chosen as the Church Women's theme. And, of course, Mom had a certain clergy contact from whom she requested several meditations on the theme. I cannot read this passage without thinking of her and of her request of me, just after I was elected bishop. Thus, one message for us today is that our connections with one another have all kinds of branches - even reaching the realm of the communion of saints. "I am the vine, you are the branches."

Also, in the reading this morning from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear the connection between the Ethiopian eunuch and Philip - a connection made more sure through baptism. We are reminded there - and in today's service as well - of the basic unity that baptism confers. We are indeed one in spirit, for through baptism we all claim Jesus as our brother.

Then, in the First Letter of John, we hear that love provides the power of unity. Indeed, Jesus makes it clear that the Great Commandment - our Lord's command to love - is fundamental to the exercise of the Christian faith. As is expressed so vividly in today's reading, "Those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen." (I Jn 4:20)

Our unity as Christian people, therefore, exists in the context of the community of the baptized, as we strive to live into our Baptismal Covenant with God. And, our unity is lived in everyday life as we follow the commandment that Jesus gave, to love one another as he loves us.

Thus, this perspective on Christian life - the perspective of connections and unity - is commended to us today in each reading from the Bible. I believe that perspective is an essential and basic one for our lives in Christ. We are not called to be Christians alone. Rather, our call is to be Christians in community - and further, to be Christians in community for the sake of those outside the community. Thus, we come together to be strengthened and nourished by the vine - and we are sent out to grow and flourish and flower in the world whose needs call us every day.

In a little while, the candidate will come forward for Reception. He will renew the promises of his baptism. He will confirm those promises as a way of life. The rest of us will indicate our support for him in this life - a verbal sign of our connection and our unity in Christ. Then all of us together will reaffirm our Baptismal Covenant, which is the agreement that expresses our connections with each other and with God, in Christ. "I am the vine, you are the branches."

From this time forward, therefore, may we recommit ourselves to living into that which we are - branches on the vine of Christ. May we draw our strength, our nourishment, and our life from the vine. And may we perceive other branches to be like ourselves - connected to one another in unity … a unity that depends ultimately on the vine himself. Amen.

Copyright © 2009 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee