Christ Memorial was a church plant of Salem Lutheran in Affton in 1948. Our history is God “sowing seeds” and “bearing fruit.” What will he grow in the next 75 years? Martin Luther once said, “Even if I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would still plant my apple tree today.” We continue to plant seeds for coming generations of gospel multiplication. More people loved in Christ, more people sent into the world.
Invocation
Make the sign of the cross, and say,
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation Prayer
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5) O Lord, I am lowly and humble. You alone are my inheritance. Amen.
Word: John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Meditation
Miraculous Fruit by Jo Saleska Lange
My son Theo adores watermelon. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that the kid would probably down an entire watermelon in one sitting if I let him. So, this past spring, I took Theo to the garden store and let him choose a watermelon seedling to plant in our community garden plot.
When I told a fellow community gardener that I was attempting to grow watermelon, he raised his eyebrows. Apparently, they’re tricky. He told me watermelons often need to be hand pollinated to produce fruit, which involves pressing male flowers to female flowers. Oh, and the female flowers are only open for a single morning.
I like gardening and all, but I’m not that dedicated. I pretty much only visit our plot once a week to pluck weeds and harvest the occasional tomato. When I examined my watermelon plant, I couldn’t find any female flowers at all. I fumbled around with the blooms anyway, pressed some together here and there, and accidentally snapped a bunch of vines in the process. A few days later, we left town for summer vacation.
I figured that by the time we got home, the watermelon plant would be nothing more than a tangle of fruitless vines and weeds.
But I was wrong.
We went as a family to visit the garden, and there in and around our little plot sat five fat watermelons. They were huge—each of them twice the size of a store-bought watermelon. We hoisted one into the bottom of our stroller, walked it home, and sliced some for dinner. Inside, the fruit was deep pink and sweet. Both my boys gobbled slice after slice, juice running down their chins and elbows. We feasted on that single watermelon all week and still had enough left over to share with my parents and another family down the street.
I think of God’s mission this way: we use our gifts and resources to plant tiny seedlings, and, despite our often fumbling, imperfect human efforts to care for them, God makes them grow, bringing forth miraculous, gorgeous fruit for us to enjoy and share with others.
Of course, we cannot always see or experience the fruits God grows from our seedlings. Scripture and history reveal that God works across generations, over the span of thousands and thousands of years.
When I returned to our plot, the other four watermelons were gone. They had been taken (another thing my gardener friend warned me about).
Honestly, I don’t mind. I like the notion that other people got to enjoy the watermelon. I picture them slicing it open to celebrate a birthday or new school year. Using it to cool off after a hot day. Sharing it with family members and friends. Theo and I may have planted the seedling, but the fruit did not grow because of our efforts. So, I’m not sure I can say those fruits really belonged to us, anyway.
Heavenly father, thank you for abiding in us, for being our vine, for growing fruit from our feeble human efforts. Help us to be good and humble stewards of your gifts, even when we cannot see your plan come to fruition. Amen.
Prayer for Family
· For my immediate family (parents, spouse, siblings).
· For extended family (cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents)
· For close friends that are as family to me.
· For those who don’t have families, or whose families are broken.
· For forgiveness and reconciliation where there is division in my family.
· For provision where there is need in my family.
· For God to be the foundation, and the cross the center of my family.
· For a generation yet unborn, future members of our family.
Closing Prayer
O Lord and King, your Kingdom comes even without our prayer. But we pray that it would also come among us. We are desperate for your reign and rule, for all we see is rebellion. Come into my heart, my home, my family, my work, my church, my community. Rule with justice and with mercy. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.