ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 18, 2022
Guest Writer: Rev. Mariah Newell
Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Thoughts: Last week I heard two similar statements, in two different settings, that had me reflecting on this Scripture from Galatians. On a Regional ‘catch up’ Zoom, Rev. Virzola Law said “Joy is an act of resistance.” Then, a few days later, I was listening to my current audiobook “The Lightmaker’s Manifesto: How to Work for Change Without Losing Your Joy” by Karen Walrond. An activist she was interviewing, Asha Dornfest stated, “being kind is an act of resistance.” Two different settings. Two different people. Two different fruits of the Spirit. Both, however, were described as an “act of resistance.” I have reflected on what Asha said next. She stated, “My being kind is a mindful statement saying that I reject intentional manipulation by powerful people who are attempting to turn me into some puppet in their little ‘us versus them’ war—a war I don’t even believe in.” I found these “resistance” statements compelling. I thought about replacing every fruit of the Spirit in this statement Asha made. “My being joyful is a mindful statement…” or “My being loving, good, faithful, gentle, peaceful, controlled is a mindful statement…” I found it challenging. I find these qualities, these fruits of the Spirit, in everyday life are often seen as ‘soft’ or a ‘weak position’ to take. However, we don’t view the Spirit as weak. What would change if we held these qualities of the Spirit of God as resistance… resistance to the mentality of “this is just how things are now?” That we, as the people of God, in the face of division simply said, “No. I will love my neighbor. I will be joyful with my neighbor. I will be at peace with my neighbor, I will be patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and controlled with my neighbor.” I don’t believe this is simple. I don’t believe this is done without the consideration of safety. However, I do believe when we say that we trust the Spirit, that we also must trust how She* chooses to move.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, nurture these gifts, Your fruit of resistance, in our hearts. Bring opportunities into our lives where we can practice choosing to see “them” as our neighbor. Instill us with good sense, healthy boundaries, and self compassion on this journey. Guide us. Love us. Help us resist. We pray this in the name of the one who is our model of resistance, Jesus Christ. Amen.
*If you are confused why I used “She” here for God, I want to explain briefly because I know it can be jarring. The Hebrew word for “Spirit,” “breath,” and “wind” is a feminine gendered word. That means, every time in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) that we see the “Spirit of God” or “Breath of God” the pronoun used would be She. So, when I speak of the Spirit, I often use She for God (though I know God is beyond gender) to celebrate all the wonderful ways in which we can view and think about God.
