02-25-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 25, 2025
…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This Sunday, we conclude our time with the Fruit of the Spirit, with the underlying message of getting serious about the harvest. It is one thing to speak of the fruit growing and ripening within us. That is beautiful imagery, but that list is not intended to remain within us. Every single one of those has external implications, assuming we actually plan to harvest and share. Recently, I had a very lengthy conversation with two guys who wanted to orthosplain what Jesus was really about. Orthosplain is explaining from the place of orthodoxy, or someone’s perceived understanding of what orthodox Christianity is. What people don’t seem to understand who attempt to orthosplain something is that I sort of understand this stuff. More importantly, I understand that orthodox Christianity changes about as often as Taylor Swift changes outfits during a concert, and the church has been arguing about orthodoxy since the day after Jesus’ return to God. But here is my point—everything about these guys’ understanding of Christianity was internal. The whole purpose of Christianity for them was about having Jesus and his forgiveness, love, joy, and peace in their hearts. And you got Jesus and his stuff by just praying the magical prayer that they willingly offered to me. I do not question the sincerity of those two guys, but at the end of the day, the Fruit of the Spirit begins to rot on the vine inside us if it is never harvested and shared. There is no question that we need to allow such things to take root and grow within us, but that was never the expected lifecycle of these amazing gifts.

As you continue to bless me, O Mothering God, I pray for the capacity to allow those blessings to grow within me and to be shared through me. I both want to be blessed and need to be blessed by your grace and goodness. However, once I am blessed, my response should be to bless others. Please continue to guide me in sharing what grows within me. Amen.