Easter +5 Sermon

Membership

We all like to belong.  We all like to be part of something.  And, when we think about it, we all have a number of memberships in something.

And these memberships demonstrate themselves in many ways.  

Some people are members in private groups or clubs; these may have acceptance requirements or special forms to fill out.  Some of these also may have a cost attached – a membership fee may be a one-time thing or an annual requirement.

Some people may hold specific positions in an agency, which denotes a membership.  Boards of Directors, for example, are people who have been elected or appointed as the decision-making members who speak for an organisation.  

Some folks are members in wider agencies or groups where anyone can join – think of the Girl Guides or a band – there still needs to be a commitment, but there is a definite membership acknowledged – usually by a uniform or a members’ card.

Then there’s the membership in a family.  It’s a group of people to whom we belong, either through bloodlines or adoption.  No fees, no cards, no application forms.  And our groups of friends are another of our memberships – again, this is informal membership.

So what does it meant to a member in the family of God?  Is it formal or informal?  Do we apply, or is it just granted?  Do we proclaim this membership to the world, or do we just presume it’s known?

I suggest that our membership in God’s family is both formal and informal – we know that we are members, with all of the responsibilities and obligations that go along with that, but we also live and breathe and exist as beloved children, as casually as we carry our surnames.  We don’t need to fill out paperwork for membership, but we do need to apply our hearts.  We have to choose our actions to live out the great commission.  And yet for all those that do wish membership, it is granted.  And how we share our membership depends on what is comfortable to each of us – for some, they cannot proclaim the good news enough – it will permeate their every conversation.  For others, their faith is demonstrated in action but not shouted in words.  Everyone’s faith is individual; likewise everyone’s expression of faith is individual.  And so long as it remains their expression of their unique relationship with God, it’s good.

Our membership in the family of God is all about how we live out belonging.

The first reading today speaks of joining something, of belonging.  Of being part of something bigger and more powerful than we thought possible.  And of the importance of connection in order to have a grater understanding of God.

The eunuch is reading his scriptures, but admits that without being guided, he doesn’t actually understand Isaiah.  And who can blame him – the Hebrew texts can be confusing at times.  And so Phillip realises that his mission – his branching out – is to educate, nurture, and baptise.  To teach the good news of God in Christ.  The eunuch is so delighted when he understands, when he is one of the members of the household of God, that he goes out into the world and proclaims this good news. 

The second reading celebrates the love of being part of the family.  We’re invited to love one another as equals, as members of the family.  We’re invited to love as God loves, “because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”  We’re challenged to go into the world and show that love as proof, not just that we belong to this great family, but that we are encouraging others to join us as well.

The gospel today celebrates this family connection, and invites us to think about how we are rooted and situated within it.  We get this lovely analogy, which comes to us at a great time as we start to think about seeding and gardening and all the benefits of our fertile environment.  We know that when we are growing a plant, we do need to take off parts that are not healthy, parts that are not truly connected to the roots.   

Otherwise, these unhealthy offshoots can be damaging to other offshoots and to the whole plant, as they are always all connected.  They are all parts, or members, of the same whole. 

God’s family is like that – God is the vine, we are the branches.  We are part of the whole family of God.  And so we are called to recognise how it is that we connect to the vine, to God.  Are we a healthy offshoot, flourishing and fruitful?  Are we just sitting there, holding our own?  Are we in need of some fertiliser because we’re not growing?  What is our role in the growing family of God? 

We’re invited this week to think about our role in the family.  About our membership.  As one part of the family of God, rooted in Christ and branching into the world.  We’re invited to consider whether we’re a proud member of this family, living out our vocation and responding to God’s calls to us.  If we are, praise God.  If we’re not, we need to think about why not?  And in what ways can we change our lives so that we can re-establish or re-strengthen our connection to God and to the world in healthy ways, to once again be fruitful branches?

We’re invited this week to continue our growth, celebrating our connection to the vine as our support and nourishment, branching out into a world that is in need of the fruit we have been called to bear.  May we all show the world the love of Christ as members of this family.