Sermon Synopses - 2009

Sermons at Trinity are usually ex tempore, that is done without notes...Please enjoy our "Sermon Synopses" or short summaries of sermons preached at Trinity

Link to Sermons Synopses for additional summaries available from this year.

Sermon for Sunday, May 17, 2009
Easter 6
John 15:9-17

“You did not choose me, but I chose you.  And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” – John 15:16

Everyone has been placed here on this earth for a reason.  And all of us here at Trinity Parish this morning are here for a reason: we are here because God has chosen us, and he has appointed us to go and bear fruit, “fruit that will last.”  But what is that fruit, what does it mean that God has chosen us, and how does it all play out in our daily living?

Story:  The cat who didn’t want to catch mice.  Rex the cat was brought into his Wisconsin farm home in order to help the owners rid the house of mice.  But Rex was not the least bit interested in mice!  He had forgotten who he was; he had lost touch with his “catness.”  The family brought in a second cat, hoping that this cat would not only catch mice, but might also help Rex claim his catness.  Felix was an expert mouser, and soon, to the family’s delight, the easy-going Rex started taking note of Felix’s mousing.  Rex paid attention to what Felix paid attention to.  He watched how Felix stalked, how he waited, how he listened, how he watched, how he crouched, how he pounced.  Soon, Rex, too, was catching the mice.  Rex had discovered his “catness,” and the home was soon rid of mice.

Each of us here today has been “appointed to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”  Perhaps we have lost touch with who we are in God’s eyes, the purpose for which God has created us.  Just as the family brought in Felix to help Rex rediscover his true self, so God has sent Jesus to help us to discover our true selves.  Watch Jesus just as Rex watched Felix’s stalking, waiting, listening, etc..  We pay attention to Jesus in the study of scripture, in the sacraments, in prayer and in service to others. 

As we are faithful in learning Jesus Christ, so will we claim our true selves and discover the unique way that God has chosen each of us, and appointed us to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.

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