Are You Connected? – August 23, 2026

Jeremiah 17:1-8, John 15:1-11
August 23, 2026

We live a society where “connectivity” has become a very important word!  We are connected 24/7.  And we’re concerned if we’re not!  I don’t know about you, but if I don’t have my cell phone, it feels like one of my arms has fallen off!  And if there’s anything worse than not knowing where your phone is, it’s when you have no signal!  You have the phone, and you can’t do anything with it!  It’s all about being connected!  And then what happens when the battery dies?

Sometimes I sit and wonder, “What did we do before?”  Can we even remember life without our crazy cellphones, and all of our modern connectivity?  Can we remember what it was like when phones were things that were stuck to the wall?  Or they sat on the end table.  And how many of you, when wireless phones came out, still stood right next to the base unit when you were talking – like there was still a wire connecting it?  (Come on, admit it!)

It’s safe to say that we are more connected to each other now than ever before.  We can make contact through text messaging with almost anybody, anywhere in the world.  And we almost take it for granted, don’t we?  I’ve texted people in other states, and even other countries – without thinking about it!

I have a good friend in Virginia who I keep I touch with!  I sent him a message the other day, and I asked him about the weather in his area, because I saw some big storms here.  His message back to me was, “I wouldn’t know because I’m in Switzerland!”  We do that kind of connecting all the time, don’t we?

Now, when I fly out to see my kids in Kansas City, I can text people from the airplane!  I can even send pictures!  You couldn’t do that at first!  But now you can.  So the connection isn’t interrupted by those hours in the air!

Now I know some people have an aversion to all the “devices” in our world.  They say they isolate us.  They say they addict us!  There’s a big court case about that right now!  They say take away the human connection.  And I get that.  There definitely is a down-side to this – especially the social media part of it!  And we do have to be careful in using those things!

But I try to see the good in all this!  I like the way we can connect when we couldn’t before.  There was a time when you needed to contact someone, you had to find a phone and call them.  And then, before answering machines, they had to be there to answer.  Or you had to keep trying!  You couldn’t leave them a message!  My father was a late-comer to answering machines.  And when he finally did, the first message I left him on it was, “Who are you, and what have you done with my real father?”

So we’re talking about connection today.  And we’re asking the question, “Are you connected?”  In John, Jesus said to his disciples, “Abide in me.”  And remember this was his last time with them.  This is when he was preparing them for the time, immediately ahead, when he wouldn’t be with them anymore.  He knew that was about to happen!  And still he was saying “Abide in me!”

The physical connection of that would make sense.  They were in connection with him throughout his ministry.  They followed him around, literally.  They were part of his contingent as he went from place to place speaking to the crowds.  And it makes sense when it sounded like he was simply telling them to stay connected to him – in that way.  But that wasn’t to be the case.  He knew that was going to end, very soon!  And I’m not sure they really knew that!

So we’re now living in that same time they were about to enter, a time when Jesus had been here, but now he isn’t anymore.  And yet his words are still before us.  He still says to us, “Abide in me.”  And we can’t just say that was something he said to them because he was still physically with them, but it doesn’t apply now that he’s gone.  I don’t think he meant it that way for them.  Or for us!

How do we stay connected?  How do we abide in him?  We do say that he abides in us.  And we get that.  He lives in our hearts.  He’s connected with our spirit.  That’s the sense of the old hymn “Abide with me.”  We sang that last week.  And in case you’re wondering, yes that is one of my favorite hymns!

But how do we abide in him.  Well, I was thinking this week, that we can think of our relationship – our connection with Jesus, the way we do our connection with each other.  As I said before, when I don’t have my phone, it feels like one of my arms has fallen off!  But do we feel something similar when we’re not connected with Jesus?  Do we feel like something’s missing?

We know Jesus is always there with us!  That’s a promise!  But when we’re not connected with him, when we’re not “abiding in him,” do we feel an emptiness, or a disconnect.  I think we should!  And I hope you feel that!  When you’ve not been in connection with God, I hope you know it!  I hope you feel like something very important is not there!

And, if you haven’t had that connection, and you don’t feel it, you don’t feel like something’s missing, I hope you do something about it!  Think about what we’ve been saying recently about being in step with the spirit, the upward call of Jesus, and the real practice of faith.  Consider where you are in your relationship with God.  Is it an everyday thing, like we said last week?  If it isn’t, do you indeed feel like something’s missing.  Then think of Jesus’ words.  “Abide in me.”  Think about that connection.  Think of the people you connect with every day.  Is your connection with Jesus like that?

Abiding in him is having that awareness of his presence – even in our busy world.  It’s the small conversations.  It’s the quick “thank you, Jesus.” Or the “Help me, Jesus.”  Those little connections are as important as the big, long ones!  Because they’re part of our ongoing awareness.  They’re a big part of the “Abiding in him.”

But it’s important to remember that Jesus doesn’t end with just that.  He doesn’t just say, “Abide in me.”  He tells us what happens when we do.  He says, “Those who abide in me and I in them will bear much fruit.”  That’s an important part of the imagery he’s giving his disciples.  And he uses the image of a vine.

I like that!  It’s such a rich image!  Jesus didn’t just say any plant – a bush or a tree, like Jeremiah said in our Old Testament reading!  Jesus said a vine.  And if you’ve ever grown vines – or ever tried to get rid of vines – you know that image.  You know that connection.  That life-giving connection between the roots and the leaves of a vine can be many, many feet long.  I’m always amazed how far that connection can go.

I’m glad Jesus said it that way!  And the important part of that image is the fact that the branch of the vine doesn’t have to struggle to produce the fruit – on its own.  It just has to stay connected to the vine!  The life of the vine flows through that connection!

Sometimes we make the Christian life harder than it needs to be.  Sometimes we think we have to constantly work harder at being good Christians.  We have to try harder, to pray harder, to do more, And  accomplish more.  And those things are good.  But Jesus doesn’t say, “Try harder to produce fruit.”  He says, “Abide in me.”  Stay connected!  Let my life flow through you, like a vine!  So the question isn’t “How good a Christian are you?”  The question is, “How connected are you to the vine – to Jesus?”

When we keep that connection, then we bear fruit.  We become the people God calls us to be.  We become more loving.  We become more patient.  We become more gracious and forgiving.  We see people differently.  We see them as people God loves!  We bear the fruit of the spirit, not because we’re trying to do it, but because we’re connected to the vine!

And we can be like the tree Jeremiah described, planted by the stream.  There will be droughts and storms, but we will weather those times because our roots are in the life-giving water.

So, do you know your connection with the vine?  Do you feel your connection?  If you don’t, what do you do?  If  you lose connection with your phone you do something, don’t you?  You move around.  You hold it up in the air.  You go out in the parking lot.  You try to find a better signal!  So, do the same in your spiritual life.   If you don’t feel the connection, stop, pray. listen.  Take a walk and try to see God’s hand in creation.  Talk to God.  Maybe just use the simple words of the boy Samuel in the Temple.  “Speak, Lord, I’m listening.”

And above all, remember the promise!  Jesus is with us – always.  That part is certain!  It’s only a matter of whether or not we are aware and listening.  The cell phone signal is always there, it’s only a matter of whether or not we’re connected to it.

And sometimes that’s not easy!  We humans tend to value our autonomy.  We want to be masters of our own destiny.  It’s hard to seek God’s will rather than our own.  Sometimes we’d rather just “try harder to be good,” than to allow Jesus to live and work through us.  But that’s what he calls us to do.

So the question for today is, “Are you connected?”  Not, “Did you come to church?”  Not “Are you a good person?”  Maybe not even, “Do you believe in Jesus?”  The question is, “Are you connected to him?”  “Are you abiding in him?”

Remember, Jesus doesn’t say, “Try harder to be a branch.”  He said, “I am the vine and you are the branches.  Apart from me you can do nothing.”  “So abide in me, and I will abide in you!”

Prayer

Eternal God, help us to know for certain that we are in connection with you.  Help us to hear your voice, and to know you are speaking to us.  Help us to see your hand in the world around us, and in the people around us.  Help us to know that you are the vine, and we are the branches!  And help us to abide in you.  For we pray in your name, Amen.