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The Fruit of the Holy Spirit | LUMC | Galatian 5:16-26 | June 13, 2021 by Rev Grace Kanake We Have Been on an Exciting Journey R

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The Fruit of the Holy Spirit | LUMC | Galatian 5:16-26 | June 13, 2021 by Rev Grace Kanake We Have Been on an Exciting Journey R Rev Grace Kanake, Sermon The Fruit of the Holy Spirit | LUMC | Galatian 5:16-26 | June 13, 2021 By Rev Grace Kanake We have been on an exciting journey reviewing our relationship with the Holy Spirit, our helper and counselor. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit shortly before his ascension to God. The Holy Spirit continues to accompany us in our spiritual life. On May 23rd, the day of Pentecost, we celebrated the Holy Spirit’s 2021 birthday. We continue to enjoy the feeling of being infilled and being accompanied; it wears away loneliness. Today’s reading reminds us that the human spirit or desires of the flesh can override the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit and leave us on our own. Last week St Paul reminded us that these gifts are awarded following our devotion and commitment to God. Today, we continue to listen to St Paul analyzing the fruit born by those who possess the Holy Spirit. We know St Paul is speaking from experience when he narrates the human sinful nature that is the polar opposite of Christian ethical living. Let us not confuse the Fruit of Spirit with human made virtues that Aristotle, a Greek philosopher theorized can be acquired through practice. Our goal today is to understand the fruit of Spirit and use the fruit for mission. Paul is the founder of the church in Galatia, a city in Turkey, sometime between 49 and 55 AD. This church faced a cultural crisis and requested St Paul to help solve the crisis that was provoked by the Jews who comprised a majority in the church. There was a group of Jewish Christian believers (Judaizers) who strongly believed and taught that non-Jewish, or gentiles in the Galatian church, should be converted to Judaism first through the circumcision ritual—a mark of God’s people according to the Abrahamic covenant. This cultural argument was very forceful, and some early gentile Christians felt that they had no option but to become a Jew first and then a Christian. This controversy was creating friction and dividing the church where the Judaizers were a majority. The Jews, recognizing themselves as the chosen race, and it was through them that God promised to save the world. It was very easy for them to declare that God sent Jesus to save the world through their cultural practice. Jesus clearly taught that repentance of sins was the means to salvation, but the ancient Jews believed that being a Jew was a direct ticket to eternity. St Paul dealt with cultural misunderstandings in many other settings until the Jerusalem ecumenical council (Acts 15) was convened to establish the criterion for world evangelism. The ecumenical council resolved that gentiles must be taught repentance, but not be forced to accept the Jewish cultural and religious practices. St Paul was opposed to the works of the Mosaic law, and emphasized that living under the Holy Spirit of God was foremost, not the law that promoted circumcision and other strict rituals. Though our topic today is on the fruits of the spirit, let us pause and reflect on how our society can block Christian faith practice. I sense the Holy Spirit has been asking churches to open doors for inclusion and peaceful living. However, it appears that some people are trying to gather themselves into tribal settings, and if Christians fall victim to this practice, some congregations may be affected just like the Galatian church. In modern times our secular social values system is often expressed through political party manifestos. We can visualize Christ saying, more often than not, that human-made cultural norms block evangelism and deter faith growth. Thus, Jesus’ teaching is counter-cultural, and Christians should live above these secular ethics and morals. 1 Rev Grace Kanake, Sermon Most of us who grew up on farms, understand the process of fruit-bearing, especially fruit plants like the apple tree that takes time to mature and bear fruits. A fruit plant requires good care from seeding to maturity. The care required includes weeding, fertilizing, watering, and sometimes the use of organic chemicals to kill insects. When all conditions are met, there is still time for maturing. The same process takes place in maturing in the faith. Our Christian sanctification process began at Baptism, and our faith continues to grow according to doctrinal teachings. For example, the Methodists will nurture a child through Sunday School religious training, and confirm a child into membership at 12 to 15 years of age. When adult baptism takes place, the candidate is immediately confirmed into membership. To grow to spiritual maturity, one must commit time for Bible study, fellowship, a life of prayer and regular worship attendance. The only difference between us and animals or plants is the fact that God knows our hearts, our ability to perceive and understand issues. God can decide to pour the Holy spirit before baptism, after baptism, or after a long process of teaching and learning. St Paul emphasizes that spiritual gifts are accompanied by the spiritual fruit. In Galatians, St Paul names 9 fruit of the spirit: (1) love; (2) Joy; (3) Peace; (4) Patience (5) Kindness; (6) Goodness; (7) Faithfulness; (8) Gentleness; (9) Self-control. Whereas the Protestants believe that these are the 9 fruit of the Spirit, the Catholic Church teaches that the fruit of the Holy Spirit are 12: (1) Charity; (2) Joy; (3) Peace; (4) Patience; (5) Benignity (kindness); (6) Goodness; (7) Longanimity (forbearance); (8) Mildness (gentleness); (9) Faith; (10) Modesty; (11) Continency (self-control); and (12) Chastity. The Roman Catholic Church bases its belief system on the old Latin Bible manuscript, the Vulgate, whereas the Protestant belief is based on the ancient Bible manuscript, the Septuagint. The Catholic Vulgate adds modesty, generosity, and chastity, three fruit not recognized as such in Protestant doctrine. I concur with modern thinkers that the slight difference does not matter because St Paul’s original intention in enumerating the fruit was not to number them, but to contrast the good fruit with the bad fruits, or fruits of the flesh. We need to acknowledge and recognize that God can give us more than 9 or 12 fruit of the Holy Spirit to impact our Christian personalities. The Holy Spirit gives gifts and fruit depending on an individual’s faith and commitment to being fully sanctified and ready to follow Christ daily into the mission field to save souls. When we humbly release ourselves and refuse to control our lives and let God control our daily life routines, then God will shape, mold, and form us into Christ’s image by the revitalizing of our thought process. We know that God through the Holy Spirit gives the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit to lead us into right thoughts and help us make the right decisions. When we are ready and willing to enjoy any of the fruit, we must allow the Holy Spirit to log them in our thought process. And, we must pay attention as God rejuvenates the fruit in our minds to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. As we grow in faith, special qualities (gifts) start to bear fruit that reform our altitudes. The fruit of Spirit in us become signs that confirm the Holy Spirit is actively helping us daily to practice faith. We can briefly consider the fruit of Spirit starting with love, the unselfish and unconditional devotion to God, neighbor, and self. The term love in Greek is defined in three ways: the intimate love; the love between children and parents; and the general love or agape between people and God and other people. Today’s reading refers to agape love. This love can be extended to everyone with no conditions attached. St Paul devotes chapter thirteen in 2 Rev Grace Kanake, Sermon the first letter to the Corinthian Church to love—a special fruit of the Spirit. He describes Spirit-given love as being patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, or proud. This love does not dishonor others or self-seek inward benefits. This love is not easily angered nor keeps a record of wrongs. This Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. This love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. No person can possess this love unless it is given by and preserved by the Holy Spirit. No one can maintain this love without God’s Spirit. Unfortunately, the lack of this love some time leads to premeditated murders and road-rage that we read in the papers and hear on the TV news. Lack of this love leads to pride, jealousy, and the rest of the evils Paul describes in the today’s passage. The next fruit is Joy (deeper than mere happiness) that comes from knowing God through Christ, and following God in the power of the Holy Spirit. I am sure you know what people do to seek happiness, holding wealth or property expecting these to bring joy—deeper happiness. There was a rich person in the Bible who had the same mind-set. There are others who think fame will bring happiness, and still others who seek all sorts of things to be joyful. The self-seeking joy that humans craft is unfortunately short-lived. We rarely maintain such joy for the long haul. It is only God’s given Joy, a true happiness through the Holy Spirit, that lasts. Another fruit is Peace: we all want peace with God, with our neighbors, and with ourselves. The Holy Spirit gives us inner peace that releases us from worrying about issues we encounter in life.
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