Misfits and the True Vine

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In the children's movie “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, as Rudolf wanders across the frozen wasteland of the North Pole trying to find his niche in life, he stumbles onto the Island of Misfit Toys. There, he encounters such characters as Charlie-in-the-box, the Spotted Elephant, a bird-fish, a train with square wheels, and a toy gun that shoots grape jelly. All these toys have been gathered up by King Moonracer because they have been cast off as misfits, as those who do not fit in or have a place among the ranks of normal toys. Until Rudolf shows up on their island, these toys are condemned to spend their days in the sad company of one another, unloved and unwanted by the boys and girls of the world.

Much like those odd and sad toys, you are misfits. Sure, you may look and feel normal on the outside, but inside, you are strange, weird, unacceptable. You do not fit in with the “normal” people, whoever they are. Like shoving a square peg in a round hole, you may struggle and struggle to fit in, but you will always be a misfit. And so you will be stuck on your own misfit island, until someone comes to rescue you.

Today, you hear Jesus say, “I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser.” Jesus is indeed the true vine, from whom all life flows. But that implies that there is a false vine. And indeed there is – Satan. He masquerades as a good vine. He can put out some nice-looking leaves, and occasionally even some pretty fruit. But looks can be deceiving.

Satan is a hollow, rotted-out vine with no life in him at all. He tries to graft you onto him, to make you think you have been tied into the source of life. But his is a whole vineyard held together with duct tape and bubble gum, if you will. Struggle against him, and the tape will give way. Let the wind blow against you, and the branch will fall off and die. To those who manage to stay grafted into him, he pumps out from his core nothing but disease, death, and destruction. There is no good in him at all, and those who are bound to him are condemned already.

All this is evident by the fruit his vines produce. Sure, some of his branches may produce something that looks nice. But it is as good as an apple tree producing oranges. The fruit of his vine is a lie, and brings only death and destruction in the end. The good works of those who remain in him are self-serving and false-hearted, born out of no love for the neighbor. They can save no one, and ultimately must fail. Those limbs misfittedly grafted onto him will all finally fall off, wither, and die, and be cast into the fire.

But our Lord Christ says, “I am the true vine.” The Father, the vinedresser, has taken you from the heap of misfits, of branches left to languish, and has trimmed you up and make you a graft that fits the vine. He has grafted you into the true vine, and you fit perfectly. For each of you, there is a place prepared on the true vine, that you may be grafted in and grow into Him.

Now, the strange thing, in comparison, about this true vine, is that He has been burned up in the fire. Christ our Lord was subjected to the fire of the Father's wrath as He hung upon the accursed cross, bearing the sins of you and of all mankind. In His death, He was consumed by the holy fire of the Law and was burned up as the offering for sin once for all. He was burned up in the fire, but then He was raised again, clean and pure and holy. He has taken up His life again, so that you may be grafted into Him. And, being grafted into Him, you have life in His name, life abundant and full and free. And because He was burned for you, you shall never be burned.

For you are perfectly grafted into the true vine, and being attached to Him, you receive His life. He pumps into you the life which He laid down for you, and took up again, that He might give to you all that is His to give, namely, forgiveness, life, and salvation. He has driven out of you all of the sin, guilt, shame, and death that were your former core, and He pumps into you His life-blood, fills you with His Holy Spirit, and courses through you with life and healing and forgiveness for all your sins.

Therefore, because you are so wonderfully and perfectly grafted into Him who is the true vine, you produce fruit that is good. He has made you clean and holy, and so you are, as you abide in Him and in His Word. And because you are clean, you produce good fruit, holy fruit, God-pleasing and neighbor-serving fruit. Abiding in the true vine, His life courses through you as you love one another as Christ has first loved you and gave His life for you. In this you show love and you show that you abide in Him, that you spread His love.

Even among those who are already clean, the vinedresser comes and prunes, that you may produce more good fruit. As the stain of sin that is continually creeping about your members crops up and burns the good leaves, the Father comes and roots it out and prunes away that which harms and kills. His cutting hurts. You will experience suffering, even death, as he cuts away the sin that presses upon you and creeps out of you. But you are being made clean by the vinedresser. You are being purified in faith by the Author and Perfector of your faith. And because He prunes you, because He cleans and purifies you, you become stronger, more resilient, and you bear more and better fruit. Already you are clean, and by daily contrition and repentance you are plunged into the waters and made clean again and again. The life-blood of our Lord Christ flowing into your mouth and through your veins drives out the old evil foe and makes you clean and pure and holy, and strengthens you to everlasting life, to bear good fruit in Him.

In this your Father in heaven is glorified, in that you bear much fruit. And in bearing fruit, you show yourselves approved as disciples of Christ Jesus. Abide in Christ, and Him in you, and you will continue to bear much good fruit. You will be pruned by the Father, so that your fruit may be more and better. You will be purified so that your love for your brethren is deeper and stronger and more expressive in word and deed.

Having been grafted perfectly into Christ, you abide in Him, and you bear His fruit, and in this your Father is glorified. You bear fruit by loving your brother, by serving Him with the gifts that God has given you. This is the fruit which the vinedresser seeks – that you love one another as our Lord Christ has loved you and given Himself to you. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:10-11).

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!