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Be Fruitful

In the very beginning, God said: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.” Genesis 1:28. Recently, a priest proclaimed that this was God’s first commandment: Be fruitful. I realized that I have always focused on the second part (the easy part): “and multiply.” I can do that.

Later, Jesus reminds us of our creation and of our purpose: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” John 15:16.

We are appointed so that we can go and bear fruit. How are we supposed to bear fruit? Jesus tells us:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

John 15:1-8

I think this might mean more than go multiply.

Jesus tells us that we need to bear fruit, and if we do we will continue to bear fruit. And although fruit may certainly be our children, it is so much more than that. We are chosen and appointed that we may go and bear fruit and that our fruit will also abide. Our fruit needs to abide in, remain in Jesus. And while I hope and pray that my child will do this, our fruit is not limited to our biological children.

So how do we do that?

Well, love brings about children.

And love also brings about other fruit. Loving God allows us to bear fruit. Remaining in Jesus, abiding with Him, listening to His word will allow us to bear fruit, and not just a life for this world. But, as the priest proclaimed in a recent mass, “we have the potential to pass on eternal life to others.” That is being fruitful. Loving others, sharing God’s love with others, provides that opportunity. If we stay connected to Jesus, hold on to Him, we will remain in Him and He will remain in us. And our branches can reach out to others who may not have listened to His word, who may not know His love. That is more than creating life for this world. That is fostering life for the next.

Jesus,

Help me to be fruitful. Help me to be an active disciple, who uses the gifts you have given me to multiply your kingdom. I know that without you, I can do nothing. But if I abide in you, if I abide in your love and in your word, I can do all things through you. Prune me so that I may bear fruit and glorify God.

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Faith of Abraham

So this past week, I took my only son to college, and dropped him off for a new adventure.  And as proud as I am of him, the separation is heart-wrenching.

This morning the Bible opened to the story of Abraham and Isaac:

Then God said: Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you. Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac, and after cutting the wood for the burnt offering, set out for the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham caught sight of the place from a distance.  Abraham said to his servants: “Stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over there. We will worship and then come back to you.” So Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. “Father!” he said. “Here I am,” he replied. Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”  “My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.” Then the two walked on together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he bound his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar. Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. “Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the angel. “Do not do the least thing to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you did not withhold from me your son, your only one.”

Genesis 22:2-12

This story challenges me, even more so this week.  This is faith.  This is putting God before all else.  Do I have the will and desire to put God before all else?  I like to think I do but my actions rarely carry this out.  Could I have done what Abraham did?  I feel pretty strongly that as much as I would like to say yes, the answer is no.  It was hard enough just to drop my son off at college.  Thankfully, God has not tested me in this way.  Probably because I don’t pass the much smaller tests.  All too frequently I fail to put God before work, before social media, before my favorite TV show, before sleep, before whatever it is I want to do.  I blame the lack of time, the busy world, the need to be there for others.  After all, the world is exhausting.  These seem like good excuses, don’t they?  Of course, they are not.  Especially since God promises us the rest that we need:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Matthew 11: 28-30

Why then do I let the world get in the way of what I need.  Why do I let it stop me from coming to God, putting Him first.  The only answer is a lack of faith, a lack of patience and a lack of a willingness to sacrifice.  I know God is the answer.  I know He will provide.  I know that it is only through Him that I will find rest and peace.  But my senses are bombarded with the worldly promises of happiness, which never quite come true.  I don’t want to give up what I want.  I don’t like to sacrifice.  I am stuck in the world and mindset of “I want it now” and if I can’t get what I want now, I will settle for what seems like the next best thing.  This is what keeps me from having the faith of Abraham.  And as I say it out loud, I know how stupid it sounds, how childish it sounds, and I pray, as my son heads off on his own, that he has not learned this from me.

God,

I know that you are everything, everything that I want, everything that I need.  I want the faith of Abraham.  I want to put you first above all else, but I am struggling.  Help me, Lord.  I am burdened and weary.  Fill me with your love and your peace.  Fill me with your strength so I can resist the temptations of what seems easy.  Give me the patience and faith when I cannot see you or feel you to not settle for something else.  I love my son and I miss him dearly, but I love and miss you more.  Pull me back into your arms, so that I may do your will and stop worrying about my own.  (And please provide the same for my son as he begins to embark on his own in this world of distraction).

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Blame No More

How many times have I cursed Adam and Eve.  How could they be so stupid and selfish to ruin it for the rest of us?  I like to think I would have been better.  I would have resisted the temptation.  If I were in the Garden of Eden with all of the goodness around me, where everything was easy and happy, I would never have been so stupid and so ungrateful.  I would have been satisfied with what I had.  I like to think that…  But I probably prove daily that I too would have fallen, indeed I do fall.

Today, I re-read the story we all know so well,  and what struck me is Adam and Eve’s response to God and God’s response to Adam and Eve:

When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. The LORD God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” The LORD God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.”

Genesis 3:8-13

Wow!  Not only do they disobey God, but then they blame others for it.  Adam blames Eve and Eve blames the snake.  They almost sound like 5 year olds.  “It wasn’t my fault.”  “She made me do it.”  Our shame often makes us blame others for our actions.  Society seems to encourage us to ignore individual responsibility.  We fill the courts with lawsuits blaming someone else for things that “happen” to us.  It’s the gun manufacturer’s fault, the bartender’s fault, the drug manufacturer’s fault.  Social media, video games, movies and TV all cause us to do things we know are wrong.  Its hard to correct our behavior when we refuse to accept that we make the choices that lead to evil.  There are plenty of snakes out there, plenty of temptations, but we make choices.  And as much as I want to blame Adam and Eve for all of the misfortunes in the world, or blame politicians or media or others, I make choices everyday.  I cannot hide from my actions.

I do not want to be like Adam and Eve blaming others. When we blame others, it is easy to become victims and feel helpless.   I cannot control others, but I can control my choices.  I need to open my eyes to my choices.  I need to take responsibility, and seek God’s forgiveness, for my actions.

We often focus on the man and the woman in the story, Adam and Eve.  But the best part of the story is God. God knows His children have sinned, have disobeyed Him, have not trusted His goodness, but He does not turn His back on them.  He searches for them.  He calls for them.  Just as He calls us back to Him.  We think of this as the greatest sin, the original one, the one that started it all.  But look at what God does.  Adam and Eve have turned from Him, but God doesn’t give up on them, or us.  He comes down to earth to meet Adam and Eve.  He meets us where we are.   They are hiding in the darkness of the trees and God calls for them. God calls us out of the darkness.  He questions them about what they have done.  He helps us recognize our sin because He wants us to do better.  God does all of this for Adam and Eve, and He does the same for us.  We chose to know evil, and God keeps calling us back to know good.

Lord,

You show me again and again how great you are.  Your plans for us are good.  You know better than us what we need and what we don’t.  Forgive me for the times I have turned away, for the times I have thought I have known better, for the times I have blamed others.  I want to know good.  I want to know you.  I don’t need anything other than you and your plan for me.