Meditation 5/11/20

Porter Taylor

Fruits of the Spirit

As we are forced to deal with the Covid 19 Virus longer and longer, it’s time we turned our attention from the “What” to the “How.” That is, it’s not so much what we face as how we face it. As Jesus said to his disciples “What good would it do to get everything you want and lose the real you?” (The Message Mark 8:26). I mean since we are in this for the long haul, perhaps our attention can shift from “How will we survive this” to “What kind of person do we need to be and are called by God to be?”

As I pondered this, I became aware of how much my own anxiety has captured my attention as well as affected the way I interact with my fellow human beings. This isn’t new. If you remember, when Mary Magdalene first turns from the tomb, she sees a stranger whom she supposes to be the gardener, and she says to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away” (John 20:15). So, when we are very afraid and disoriented, everyone looks like a thief. Our fear so clouds our vision, that we cannot see what lies in front of us. Instead of seeing the Risen Christ, Mary Magdalene sees a potential adversary. Jesus says, “Mary” and her vision clears.

So, it is with us. When we are in the grocery store, do we see the person near us as a Covid 19 carrier or a child of God? Is there a way we can be as wise as a serpent and also as innocent as a dove? When we get so stuck in our own anxiety that the person near us looks dangerous, can we remember our true name and our true calling?

Of course, we need to be safe. Of course, we need to practice social distancing and wear face masks. But our calling is deeper and wider and more important than that.

We are called to move away from what Paul calls the Fruits of the Flesh: strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy (Galatians 5:20). Instead we are to cultivate the Fruits of the Spirit: joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Therefore, maybe the test for this period is not merely survival. Maybe the test is remembering who we are and who we are called to be for our brothers and sisters. Maybe what the world needs is a reminder of what the Blessed Community looks like. Perhaps the Church’s calling is to be that reminder in the daily lives of the faithful. Instead of strife and quarrels and factions, maybe we are called to show patience and kindness and generosity. Because in everyone’s hearts, no one wants to live in a world of verbal civil war. We long to come home but we’ve just lost our way.

Because you can’t give away what you don’t have, let us cultivate those virtues. When we are confronted with situations that beckon us to our dark side, let us resist the Fruits of the flesh and ask God to give us the Fruits of the Spirit so that God might use us to make this world new.

Practice: Which of the Fruits of the Spirit can you embody today?

Prayer: Dear Gracious God, open our hearts so that we might be instruments of your peace.