by Maria Rudolph
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Read James 3:1–12
I grew up in Germany, with today being St Nicholas Day. Now, it is my children’s turn to clean their shoes on the eve of 6 December and place them neatly outside their bedroom door. When they awake, they will find small goodies in their shoes - lollies, nuts and gifts. St Nicholas Day is a joyful event of giving and receiving.
Nicholas was the 4th-century bishop of Myra, located in modern-day Türkiye (Turkey). The stories surrounding his generous giving and godly conduct have somehow taken on a life of their own and curiously culminated in the modern-day creation of Santa Claus. While this is a far cry from the original person of Bishop Nicholas, it serves as yet another reminder of God, the giver of all things. St Nicholas is credited with this quote - ‘The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic God’s giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.’
How blessed we are with godly quotes from him and many other faithful Christians throughout the ages. How blessed we are with Scripture verses full of wisdom said and recorded by the people of old. Yet an observation and warning from St James in his epistle is true for all of them and us - ‘Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be’ (James 3:10). Even well-quoted people do not always use their tongues appropriately.
We already focus on giving gifts and sharing kind actions during this Advent season. But let us also focus on our tongues. Martin Luther instructs us in his Small Catechism on the eighth commandment:
Do not give false testimony. What does this mean? We should honour and love God and so we should not tell lies about other people, give their secrets away, talk about them behind their back, or damage their reputation in any way. Instead, we should speak up for them, say only good things about them, and explain their actions in the kindest way.
It takes effort to use our tongues appropriately, but with a focus on the giver of every good and perfect gift, we are on the right track. Let us all challenge ourselves to take note of our tongue and pray daily that we may use it solely for blessing.
Holy Spirit, living water, we need your help and guidance. We do not want to be a spring from which fresh and saltwater flow simultaneously. But we trip up and fail. Fill us with your living water so our cup overflows into our lives and the people around us from the spring of life inside us. Store the fruit of your Spirit in our hearts abundantly, so our mouth speaks of what our hearts are full of. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Maria is overjoyed to be a candidate for ordination as a pastor of the LCANZ while serving the St Johns Perth congregation and supporting the ministry of her pastor husband, Michael, at Concordia Duncraig congregation in Western Australia. They are parents to three children who are busy with primary and secondary schooling. Maria also serves the church as a member of the Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations.
Pruning season
by Kathy Matuschka
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He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit (John 15:2).
Read John 15:1–16
Yesterday, we finished our reflection imagining ourselves as fig trees in need of digging and fertilising so that we might bear more fruit. You don’t mind if we continue that train of thought, do you? (Ouch!)
Today, we zoom in to consider one plant in a vineyard. Jesus describes himself as the vine, and those who follow him as its branches. (Paul does something similar in Romans 11:17, when he refers to us Gentiles as wild olive branches grafted into a cultivated olive tree through Jesus Christ.)
The verse above has been very important at different times of my life. I first encountered its power as a young adult, when I wondered why serving God was not bringing me greater joy and satisfaction. I thought I was following Jesus, but I continued to struggle with depression, shame and self-doubt. What was going on?
One day, as I was reading this passage, I noticed that God cuts off branches that bear no fruit (I remembered that bit), but there was more! The branches that bear fruit are pruned so that they can bear more fruit. With the help of God’s Spirit, I saw I was being lovingly pruned so that I could bear more fruit. It still didn’t feel great, but what a comfort it was to know my loving Lord cared enough about me to personally intervene in ways that would enable me to become more fruitful!
This passage continually comforts me when pruning time comes around. I’m learning that pruning time is a time to be still. It’s not time to concern myself with how fruitful I am or where this is leading, but to rest in God’s wise and loving care.
Dear Jesus, thank you for coming to live with us and doing all the work so we can be connected to you forever. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for empowering us to grow in fruitfulness. Amen.
Kathy is learning to give up her struggle to make sense of God and God’s world, and instead rest in the mystery of love that holds her each day.
This isn’t smelling great!
by Kathy Matuschka
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He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it’ (Luke 13:8).
Read Luke 13:6–9
So far this week, a vineyard has featured in every Bible reading. The vineyard has had a versatile role, covering the thriller (bad vineyard tenants), romance (Song of Solomon) and historical (return of the exiles from captivity) genres. Today, the vineyard plays a supporting role, with a fig tree taking centre stage in a parable.
The fig tree is planted in a vineyard. While it offers shade for the workers, it fails to produce fruit for the owner, who instructs his worker to cut it down. The worker begs for one more chance: he will dig around it and apply fertiliser. Then, if it still doesn’t fruit, they’ll cut it down.
The story’s context is that Jesus has just been teaching about the end times. Reflecting on recent tragedies, he assures his listeners that the people who died were not worse sinners than anyone else. Jesus challenges them to remember that death comes to everyone, and so they should repent (learn to see things God’s way) while they still can.
Like the vineyard worker, God is patient and merciful, but there is a hard deadline for them – and for us. The deadline is our common humanity: we all die.
Life and death are unpredictable. Death often comes suddenly. The drama of the fig tree is left in suspense: Will the tree bear fruit, or is it in its final year?
As Christians, we live with this suspense. We are not always confident about our fruitfulness. Sometimes God digs around our base, which leads us to feel wobbly and uncertain. Sometimes God allows something in our lives that doesn’t smell like it would be good for us (like fertiliser)!
Jesus urges us to repent. As individuals and communities, God’s Spirit calls us to see things in a way we haven’t before. So that we can produce fruit that we never imagined we could.
Dear God, thank you for your patience and mercy. Thank you for what you are doing in my heart right now. Please help me to bear good fruit. Amen.
Kathy is learning to give up her struggle to make sense of God and God’s world, and instead rest in the mystery of love that holds her each day.
Settled
by Kathy Matuschka
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I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, says the Lord your God (Amos 9:15).
Read Amos 9:13–15
Some of my ancestors settled in South Australia’s Barossa Valley – which is known for vineyards and winemaking – after they emigrated from what is now Germany. Unfortunately, the place they chose to settle, Hoffnungsthal (Valley of Hope), flooded, and so they moved elsewhere and started again. Generations later, my parents moved into the Barossa, so I grew up back where our families began their time in Australia.
The vineyards in today’s texts are described as fruitful, just as in the readings we heard yesterday and the day before. After all, a vineyard’s purpose is to produce grapes.
Today’s vineyards are so productive that the reapers are said to overtake the sowers – obviously an exaggeration intended to highlight the vineyards’ fruitfulness and the delight this brings.
But ultimately, there is something more wondrous than the vineyard’s productivity: its location. This vineyard is back home, in Israel! It fulfils Yahweh’s promise through the prophet Amos that although the Hebrew people will be taken into exile in a foreign land, they will later return. Both the people and their vineyards will be planted in their own land again.
Settled.
I grew up in a time of rich harvest for my denomination. As the daughter of Lutheran teachers, I witnessed the growth of Lutheran schools and the effort it took to achieve this growth! I viewed the mission harvest God gave us as normal because I had never known anything different. I felt settled.
Things have changed in more recent decades, and I have felt unsettled; I’m not sure where we are as a church now, and what the future might hold. My questions are being answered in the increasing number of stories of congregation members turning up to share God’s love in practical ways with new generations. Have you noticed it, too?
Loving Creator, because your dear Son Jesus rose from death, I am settled in you – forever. Through the power of your Spirit, I praise and thank you – forever. Amen.
Kathy is learning to give up her struggle to make sense of God and God’s world, and instead rest in the mystery of love that holds her each day.