Brief synopsis of the readings: In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles we see a change. Saul (Paul), a Pharisee who persecuted the followers of Jesus, had an encounter with the risen Jesus and became a follower. But everyone knew who he was and was suspicious. One of them, Barnabas, spoke in defense of Saul. John’s Gospel speaks of Jesus describing himself in terms of vines and branches and the relationship between the two. The branch cannot produce fruit unless attached to the vine and a branch that does not produce will be thrown away. But the branch that does come from the vine will produce great fruit. “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

Last week we got to hear about sheep and shepherds; this week we get vines and branches. Just once I’d love to read about Jesus saying: “I am the platform and you are the content providers” or “I am the dispatching software and you are the Uber drivers.” I guess that’s what happens when we read documents from nearly 2,000 years ago and 2,000 years from now nobody will be fluent in content providers and Uber drivers. And in fairness it’s not a horrible stretch to understand vines and branches because we may not be vine dressers but we do see vines all around us.

Whenever we trim bushes, trees, plants, etc. we do it to make the remaining branches more efficient. The plant sends nutrients in all directions and makes no distinction between branches that produce and those that don’t. Now I don’t garden and my ignorance will likely be exposed but trimming is necessary to produce the best fruit.

Both our readings were written in times of both crisis and opportunity (how’s that for a future homily topic?). Both books describe events during the life of Jesus, before and after his Resurrection but both were written decades later. That doesn’t mean these events didn’t happen, only that they were influenced by events when they were written.

And both book were written when the future of what we now call Christianity was far from certain. We were a small group surrounded by others who saw us with suspicion and/or contempt. Additionally the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in the year 70 and there was the distinct possibility that this would end Judaism as we know it. Given that, nobody could be sure if there would be any fruit from either faith; neither those who followed Jesus nor those who didn’t could afford to waste energy on branches that fed vines that did not produce fruit.

In the middle of that we find our friend Saul/Paul. Unlike what you may have heard he didn’t change his name from Saul to Paul at his conversion; we’re not entirely sure why his name changed, only that Saul is Hebrew and Paul is Greek. In any case just before our first reading Paul made a dramatic change, both in his own life and the life of the church. He was on the road to Damascus to persecute more of Jesus’ followers when he encountered a bright light that blinded him and he heard the voice of Jesus commanding him to become a disciple. When he arrived in Damascus he was baptized.

But Paul had a problem: was this a true conversion or just a ruse so Paul could spy on Jesus’ disciples? Clearly that’s what the apostles feared and their trust in Paul came only gradually and after the testimony of Barnabas and others. But he indeed became a branch that bore much fruit.

I think this Gospel is often read with a touch of harshness that concentrates on the branches that are thrown out and burned. But it’s also true that this Gospel doubles down on the branches that do produce fruit. They will produce more fruit for the vine than if there had been no trimming.

Nobody at the time would have imagined that Paul was a branch that wasn’t pruned. They experienced a Paul that took the nutrients from the vine and used those fruits to destroy us, the other branches. But that only comes from looking at Paul through human eyes. God’s eyes had better dreams for Paul, just as he does for us. With his conversion on the road to Damascus Paul’s energy didn’t change, only his direction. We know a great deal about Paul because he was a prolific writer and we have letters he wrote to communities all over the area. We know much about places like Corinth, Thessalonica and Galacia because of Paul.

And because of this we know more about ourselves. History teaches us many lessons; we continue to learn that we are often lousy at picking which branches will bear fruit and which ones won’t. I went to high school with a guy who was, simply put, an idiot. He once offered a ride home to someone on a day when school closed early because of a snowstorm. His car got stuck and asked his rider to help push the care our of snowbank. But when he did, the guy drove off without him. Calling him unpopular understates the situation. He’s now an attorney who represents people who can no longer work and are applying for disability. I would have pegged him to be a divorce lawyer with a bloody set of knives. But now he helps those seeking justice. Go figure.

In the early days of our church it was hard to figure out who was a true branch and who wasn’t. It still is. We live in an age where white supremacists burn crosses to have us believe they worship Jesus Christ. An age where other religious extremists fly planes into buildings, kill innocent people and believe they are doing God’s will. An age where surplus funds are used to build higher fences instead of longer tables. An age where some use the term “tough love” to excuse a lack of mercy.

The call to find Paul among the Pharisees requires us to stop looking with our eyes and start listening with our hearts. Is this person someone of kindness and compassion? Is this someone who cares about the widow, orphan and stranger? Or is this a person who demands obedience, gives reasons why God’s love belongs only to “us and those like us”?

Let us always seek fruit from branches we previously overlooked.