Fruit for Others

From Rev Sue Ann Yarbrough

Blessings to you all and to the communities you serve! May the peace of Christ surround you and bring you joy.

Scripture: John 15:16-17
"You didn't choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you could go and produce fruit and so that your fruit could last. As a result, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give to you.

​I give you these commandments so that you can love one another."

Meditation 
Some of what happens in our lives, we really do not consciously choose. That includes both of what we call our joys and what we call our sorrows. Consequently, the first line of this scripture causes me to pause and ponder that maybe, much of what we go through, we go through as appointed ones. That we are being called to learn from all our experiences in order to produce good fruit that lasts.

Fruit that can help nourish others on their journey. Imagine walking down a long road with no end in sight and you were hungry. Maybe you even felt lost. Suddenly you come upon a tree full of beautiful ripe apples. Surely you would rejoice and eat. Why do we have these experiences? Maybe it really is about learning to pay attention. Of learning to trust. Of learning to love. Of remembering that the fruit of our lives is not only for ourselves, but for others. We are on this road together.

Today I came across a beautiful passage in the book, The Selfless Self by Father Lawrence Freeman. In it he tells the story of a man who was stunned to learn that he had a cancer that would require multiple surgeries. After one procedure, he felt so weak he really thought that he might die. However, in that moment, he felt the overwhelming love of Christ in his heart. He felt the prayers and meditations of the Christian community he regularly meditated with, and he felt healing. He did live through the experience, but even if he had not, he would have been healed. All of us will be eventually healed into death. We simply do not live in these bodies forever. Neither life nor death has the last word. The last word will always be God. God is the Alpha and the Omega, and as 1 John 4:16 teaches us, "God is love." May we always willingly let God's love have the last word. There will be the sustaining fruit we need.

Prayer
Holy One, we are grateful for all the ways you feed us, even in ways we do not completely understand. We thank you for the gift of one another. We thank you that our communities are beginning to open up. We thank you for the staff members who have worked so diligently to see us safely through. We thank you for friends and family who have been praying for us. We pray that those who are suffering in this world may know your peace. We pray that all governments will keep the well being of their citizens in all their decisions. We pray for peace in this world. We pray that our prayers can be good fruit in this world.
 
In deep gratitude we lift these prayers to you, 
Amen 
--
Rev. Sue Ann Yarbrough, Associate Pastor
San Lorenzo Community Church, United Church of Christ
www.hearthpsalms.blogspot.com 
www.spiritcareministry.org