Acts 8:26-40, 1 John 4:7-21, John 15:1-8
“Jesus said, ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit” (John 15:1-2). Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. We have the potential to evolve throughout our lives. We are skilled in particular areas, in our chosen profession, in our hobbies and activities, and may not have the aptitude or ability to be skilled in other areas. Yet, in terms of our actions and motives and thoughts and beliefs, we have the potential to evolve. In terms of our relationships with one another and our perspectives on life, we have the potential to evolve. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. How do we evolve?
The story of the United States 1980 Olympic Men’s Hockey Team is fantastic. Tryouts for this team took place in July 1979, just seven months before the Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. The young men on this team were amateur and collegiate players. Their average age was 21 years old. They had never played together as a team. Yet, they were to come up against the Soviet Men’s Hockey Team, a team filled with the best players in the world in their position, a team that had been playing together for more than 10 years. The Soviets dominated world hockey. In the opening rounds of the Olympic hockey games, the United States tied Sweden and beat Czechoslovakia, Norway and Romania. In the first medal round, they beat West Germany. And, then, they were up against the Soviets. If you saw this game and want to relive it, or if you did not see this game, rent the movie Miracle, which came out in 2004 – it is a great portrayal of this story. In a stunning upset, the United States beat the Soviets 4-3. In the final game, USA beat Finland 4-2 and won the gold medal.
How did the United States beat the Soviets? The coach of the USA team, Herb Brooks, knew that they could not play this game the way the US had always played the game. They could not be individual players focused on the individual stars they were playing against. In fact, “these players didn’t have the talent to win on talent alone.” Rather, they needed to play as a team. This strategy is brought home in the movie through an exercise that the coach conducts with the team in which he asks each player: What is your name? Where are you from? Who do you play for? The young men respond with their name, the city and state where they live and the college or university that they play for. For example, starter Mike Ramsey responds: Mike Ramsey, Minneapolis, MN, University of Minnesota. Five months before the Olympics begin, the team plays a game against the Norwegian National Team. Our players seem far more interested in the beautiful, young, Norwegian women sitting in the arena then they are interested in the game. So, the coach gets them back on the ice after the game is over. He puts them through a grueling drill over and over again, and the young men begin collapsing on the ice. Finally, one of the players calls out his name and the city and state where he lives. The coach pauses and then asks him who he plays for, and the player responds, the United States of America. A team is born, and a stunning upset is in the works. We learned that we could not win this game by playing the way we had always played. We needed to evolve from individual players to team players. The strategy worked. We evolve.
I heard a wonderful story recently about a church in New York City, Church of the Holy Apostles. In 1982, this Episcopal Church started a soup kitchen. The number of homeless people in the neighborhood was growing. On the first day, they served 35 hot meals. Within weeks, they were serving 300 hot meals each weekday. By 1990, they were serving over 900 meals every weekday. The meals were served in the Mission House, a building adjacent to the church. Due to limited space and the need to get people in and out in order to serve all the people arriving at the soup kitchen, people were given just 7 to 8 minutes to eat. Then, in April 1990, a fire in the church caused extensive damage. Meals continued to be served in the adjacent Mission House, which was not affected by the fire. In fact, the day after the fire, 950 meals were served. However, reconstruction of the church took nearly four years. During this time, parishioners came together to discern who they are as a community of faith. And, when the church was restored, the nave was left a large empty space….no pews. During the week, the space is filled with table and chairs, so that the people coming to the soup kitchen can sit and enjoy a meal in the company of others. No longer do they need to eat hurriedly and alone to make room for the next group. The nave accommodates the large number of people coming to the soup kitchen every day - 1200 meals are served each weekday. The tables are removed and chairs are arranged for Sunday services. This transition happens every week reminding this community who they are. We evolve.
We evolve in our activities and in our institutions, but we also evolve as individuals. And, we have a rich source to learn about how to evolve as individuals…..Scripture. Scripture is filled with lessons and with stories about people evolving in their actions and motives and thoughts and beliefs, in their relationships with others, in their perspectives on life. Remember, Scripture is our story…it is all about us, about where we have come from and about how we live our lives today. From the Old Testament, listen to these introductory verses in Proverbs: “For learning about wisdom and instruction, for understanding words of insight, for gaining instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity; to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young—let the wise also hear and gain in learning, and the discerning acquire skill, to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles” (Proverbs 1:2-6). Even the wise can “hear and gain in learning.” The Book of Proverbs teaches us about how to live life. We evolve.
Consider David, who we read about in the Books of 1 and 2 Samuel, David who kills Goliath, David who becomes King. He is anointed by the prophet Samuel: “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13). David is God’s anointed. He is a brave leader. He is a pious man who prays and understands his dependence on God. And, yet, he sins. He takes another man’s wife and murders her husband. What are we to learn from David? He repents, he understands the consequences, and he recognizes the limits of power. Listen again to a portion of our Psalm from today, Psalm 22 attributed to David: “For kingship belongs to the Lord; he rules over the nations. To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; all who go down to the dust fall before him. My soul shall live for him; my descendents shall serve him; they shall be known as the Lord’s for ever. They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn the saving deeds that he has done” (Psalm 22: 27-30). David teaches us about our utter dependence on God, about striving to live in relationship with God.
Of course, like the Old Testament, the New Testament is filled with stories about people learning how to live their lives. We hear about Peter and Paul and the disciples and the mistakes they make in their actions and motives and thoughts and beliefs, and we hear about their efforts to learn and to move forward, living in loving, respectful relationship with one another and with God. An article in The New York Times in January covers the prayer service that President and Mrs. Obama attended at Washington National Cathedral the day after the inauguration. The reporter highlights the sermon. The preacher “…related an oft-told Cherokee tale about a grandfather who explains to his grandson that within every person are two wolves fighting – one the wolf of anger, resentment and fear, the other of compassion, hope and love. The grandson asks which wolf wins, and the grandfather answers, ‘The one you feed’” (“A Diverse First Presidential Morning Prayer,” The New York Times, January 22, 2009). Feed on Scripture, feed on the many stories of our lives. Recognize the potential and gift in evolving in our actions and motives and thoughts and beliefs. Recognize the potential of living life in fullness, in right relationship with God and with one another. Amen.
