Text: Acts 16:11-15
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
When I was in my teens I took an interest in gardening. You know, the usual things: tomatoes, carrots, string beans. My dad had a book that I remember going through. I came to the section on grafting. Grafting. I never heard of that. You could cut a branch from one kind of apple tree and graft it, attach it, to another. By itself of course, that branch could do nothing. But grafted to that new tree it would live and grow nice red apples, a whole new variety.
Today in our Gospel lesson our Lord Jesus uses the same kind of picture to teach us about our relationship with him. I am the vine. You are the branches, he says. What is Jesus teaching us? Only by our faith connection to Him do we have life, life with God. For when we are a branch on that vine, then his love, his forgiveness, his will, his strength flow into our hearts. Then naturally something happens. Like that branch laden with grapes, we bear fruit in our lives.
This short section from the book of Acts tells us about one such branch. Her name was Lydia. I am excited to tell you about her. For here I hope you can see yourself.
One more Branch attached to the Vine
I. Grafted in by the Holy Spirit
II. Bearing fruit for the Lord
It seems the Lydia was a prosperous business woman. Luke tells us she was dealer in purple cloth. Back then, people prized cloth dyed purple. It was very expensive to make and buy. So it seems Lydia was doing better than most. Yet she had what everyone has who is born into this world. She had a God-shaped hole in her heart. Of course, people try to fill that hole with all kinds of things, with pleasure, with fun, with power, success or just lots of stuff. Some even invent their own gods. But nothing really fits in that place where the one true God belongs. Something inside of us tells us that when we’re wandering someplace without Him. After all, He made us for Himself.
And Lydia wasn’t a Jew. She came from a place called Thyatira in what we now call Turkey. So she grew up not knowing the Lord. But somewhere along the way, she got to know some Jewish people. She listened to them talk about their book, God’s Word, what we now call the Old Testament. She listened to them talk about their hope for a Messiah, a King and Savior from God. Lydia became a worshipper of God. In Phillipi, she would gather with the Jewish women out by the river. But she still didn’t know his Son, her Savior. None of them did.
It’s amazing how God works. Have you ever done this? Think back in your life to all the things God had to arrange, the people he had come your way in order to make you one more branch on the Vine. Think of Lydia and how she came to hear the gospel of Jesus.
The apostle Paul was across the Aegean sea in a place called Troas. He had no intention of coming to Philippi or anyplace in Macedonia. But Paul went to sleep one night and the Lord gave him a vision. In it he saw a Macedonian man begging him to come and help them. With that, they got up the next morning and got ready to go to Macedonia up in northern Greece. They must have had a following wind. For they sailed straight for Samothrace an island and then on to Neaopolis. But Paul didn’t stop there. Like he often did, he went on to one of the main cities, a city named Philippi.
Normally when Paul came to a town, he and the others would go first to the Jewish synagogue. But Philippi did not have enough Jews to have a synagogue. Instead he learned that a group of Jewish women met by the river for worship and prayer. So when the Sabbath came they went there to tell them the good news of Jesus Christ. He would take them through the Old Testament and show them that Jesus was the One God had promised. Jesus was the One who they were waiting for. In so many words he told them. He is the Son of God who was crucified for your sins according to the Scriptures. Then he rose from his grave to show us that we are justified through faith in Him. God looks at us ‘just as if’ we never sinned. And now through him, we have hope, the sure hope of life with God.
So Lydia listened and decided for Jesus. Right? Like a branch she picked herself up and attached herself to the Vine. Right? Wrong. Listen. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. (14b) Did you hear that? The Lord opened her heart. The Lord brought her to faith. It’s the same with you and me. One more Branch attached to the Vine, grafted in by the Holy Spirit. And nothing has changed. For how did the Spirit graft us in? Just as it happened here long ago with Lydia. The Sprit grafted us to Christ by the preaching of the gospel and the sacrament of Holy Baptism.
Think about it. Jesus said: Go and make disciples of all nations, But not just by teaching. Also by baptizing. For what is baptism? It’s not just a ceremony. It’s not just an opportunity to confess your faith in Jesus. God’s Word tells us so much more. It’s a washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.(Titus 3:5) In baptism we are grafted into the Vine. We are united with Jesus in his death for us and his life assuring resurrection. We are born again as children of God.
And notice who was baptized here. Not just Lydia but also the members of her household. What’s that tell us? You know some churches will not baptize children. They say, the Bible gives us no example, no command. But aren’t children often members of a household? Aren’t children included in all nations? So when we baptize a little one, we celebrate one more branch attached to the Vine. One more child brought to Christ, just like Lydia.
And what do we see in Lydia? What do we see in this branch grafted into the vine? She’s a branch that bears fruit for the Lord.
You see, there’s something that happens in the heart of every believer touched by God’s love in Christ. Martin Luther spoke about it this way: Faith is a living and active thing. It cannot help but do good works. Jesus pictures it this way. He will bear much fruit. We will bear much fruit. Not because we have to but because we want to. It’s the very nature of faith in Jesus.
Look at Lydia. Luke writes: 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” She offered these missionaries a place to stay while they shared the gospel in Philippi. It was like she was saying. This is important. Jesus is important. Let me support you in this mission And if you know the apostle Paul from his letters, you know he didn’t want to be a burden on anyone. But what are we told? She persuaded us. Lydia was not about to take no for an answer. She was bearing fruit for the Lord.
But that fruit doesn’t all look the same. It comes from the same heart, a heart that wants to serve Jesus, but the fruit is different. It is like going to the produce department in the store. What do you see? All kinds. One person steps up to help with Easter for kids. Another asks to visit a shut-in. One says I’ll do the church calendar. Still another gives his time to do the church finances. One takes charge of keeping the bulding and grounds in good repair while another asks the pastor. Can you teach me to share my faith? Or Can I call someone to encourage him?
But don’t get the wrong idea. This fruit is not just about the church. Think of Lydia again. The fruit of her faith had to show itself in other places in her life. For instance, by the way she did her business, by the way she treated her customers. Think about that. Isn’t it a blessing when you deal with a business person that doesn’t just tell you I am a Christian but acts like one. He is honest and fair. That too is fruit for the Lord.
Do you see where I’m going with this? What is it you do? Are you a parent, a friend, a neighbor, a worker? Are you taking care of someone? Are you a teacher or a student? What is it you do? If you are a branch on this life-giving Vine, it’s going to show. It is showing. Like Lydia, there is fruit for the Lord. There is fruit because of the Lord.
How can there not be? He lived for me and died for me. Because of Him, I am forgiven. I am loved. I have a peace this world can not give. Because of Him every promise of God is my own. And I have hope. A hope that will not disappoint me. A hope that will make me forget every sorrow in this life. How then can I not leave this place wanting to serve and honor him.
So think about it. It’s pretty good to be a branch attached to this Vine. Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Now go, tell someone. Love someone. Help someone. Bear some fruit. Amen.