On Sunday afternoon I had the privilege of sitting in the back of the sanctuary (like any good Lutheran) and watching and listening to the Hands of Joy Sign Language Choir.  Anna Marie is in the choir, and she was the one who helped to bring their choir to provide a worship experience for us that afternoon.
The theme of the worship concert was the fruits of the Spirit.  We find the fruits of the Spirit in the letter to the Galatians and they are as follows: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (you can find a similar list in Colossians 3:12-13).  The choir director Gail asked us to listen to the songs and see if we could match the songs to one or more of the fruits of the Spirit, so it was fun to listen to the music, watch the choir sign, and think about how each song had a link to each of the ‘fruits’.
It was nice to listen to and really meditate on the fruits of the Spirit.  I think we all know in general what the fruits of the Spirit are, yet I don’t think we think about them necessarily as often as we could or in context in what the letter is trying to convey.  Just before we get the fruits we are encouraged to live by the Spirit and to avoid the desires of the flesh.  The reason for that is that the author says is that they are opposed to each other.  Here is what is opposite of the fruits of the Spirit (coming from the Common English Bible translation): The actions that are produced by selfish motives are obvious, since they include sexual immorality, moral corruption, doing whatever feels good, idolatry, drug use and casting spells, hate, fighting, obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry, jealousy, drunkenness, partying, and other things like that.
So, we are not only to try our best to follow the fruits, but we are also called to avoid the things of the flesh.  That’s not to say that we won’t do those fleshy things, but it is a good reminder to have them both in mind to know that part of doing the fruits of the Spirit ALSO means avoiding those things of the flesh.  It is also a reminder and a call to be loving and forgiving of one another because we know that we do and will fall on either side of these lines at different times in our lives, even daily.  In fact, Galatians continues by telling us that very thing: that we should restore people who are doing wrong, and we are supposed to do it with a spirit of gentleness and that we should all carry one another’s burdens.
These are powerful words and I pray that you see them as words of hope and reconciliation and not as a word of judgement.  They are meant to help us in our spiritual walk and in our mutual growth, so that we may be healthier as individuals and as communities of faith.
I was certainly uplifted and encouraged by the music, the signing, and by all those who came and were also positively influenced by the work of the Spirit through this wonderful choir.  We thank Hands of Joy, their director Gail, and Annan Marie for a blessed worship experience.
Easter Blessings,
Pastor Brian