gets all of the fruit of the Spirit. We are all called to bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. We all bear all the fruit! This is the essence of living a fruit-filled life. We are all fruitful; we all bear all the fruit, each in its season.
When Paul describes the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, he always speaks in the plural, “gifts.” In Galatians 5:22-23, when Paul speaks of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, he speaks in the singular. There are a variety of gifts of the Spirit, but only one fruit. The fruit may be variously described and experienced, yet it remains a singular fruit. The various characteristics of this one fruitful Spirit are listed and will be considered, but in this consideration we need to keep in mind that the fruit is one, the fruitful life is one, as we are all one in the Spirit.
The fruit also fall into three categories, based upon our relationships: those that relate to God (love, joy, peace), those that relate to others (patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness) and those that relate to us personally (gentleness, self-control.) The fruitful life is a life integrating ourselves with God and with others. Just as God consists of a Trinity, however we choose to describe it: Father-Son-Holy Spirit; Creator-Redeemer-Sustainer; The One who Forms us, Frees us, and Fills us; the Source of all Being, the Eternal Word, the Life-giving Spirit, so we are in a trinity in our relationships: God, others, self. The fruit of the Spirit are all inter-related and may overlap, with nuances in their meaning. The fruitful life depends upon harmony and balance in these relationships. The fruit of the Spirit is not just something we bear, as a tree or a vine bears fruit, it is something we are; as we bear the fruit, we become the fruit. This is the essence of a fruitful life: bearing the fruit to become the fruit.
We all have issues. The hard truth is that we are all works in progress, as Paul writes, “No one is perfect, no not one... All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”(Rom 3:10, 23) As Hebrews says, we have a “sin that sticks closely to us” (Heb 12:1). Your issue may not be anger; maybe it is sarcasm or selfishness. Jesus tells a parable (Matt 12:43-45 and Luke 11:24-26) of an evil spirit cast out, wandering around, and returning again with seven other evil spirits because its place was left empty. Focusing on the fruit of the Spirit can be a way for us not only to cast off the evil we don’t want to do, but also to fill our spirit with the goodness of God so the evil cannot return. Focus on the positive helps eliminate the negative!
A Call to Reflection
Recall a time when someone was angry with you. How did you feel? How did you respond to their anger?
What is your “issue”? What personality fault or character flaw most vexes you?
How can focusing on the positive can help eliminate the negative?
A Call to Conversation
When was the last time you were really angry? What provoked you then? What were the consequences? How did you recover?
What was your childhood like? Do you remember getting into fights or arguments? What usually provoked you? How did you outgrow them?
What are some of your favorite scripture passages? How have they helped you in your daily situations?
A Call to Action
Take a fifteen to twenty minute walk. While walking, take long slow deep breaths. Breathing in to slowly fill your lungs. Hold that breath. Then exhale slowly and completely. Feel both the fullness and the emptiness of each breath. While walking and breathing, recite to yourself these nine fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. Ask yourself if this physical and spiritual exercise of walking, breathing and reciting, has had any affect on your body: Are you more relaxed? Has your heartbeat slowed? Might this devotional exercise be a good way to take a break during your day?
A Call to Prayer
My dearest Lord, be thou a bright flame before me, be thou a guiding star above me, be thou a smooth path beneath me, be thou a kindly shepherd behind me, this day and for ever more. Amen. – St. Columba
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