Fae's Forward Day by Day readings
Friday, May 1 St. Philip and St. James
The fruit of righteousness is sown in peaces (James 3:17-18)
During these next three months we're going to be considering the fruit of the spirit, according to St. Paul's metaphor. St. James--whichever of the Jameses he was--starts us off on our exploration with a key note: peace. The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace, the kingdom we seek is a peaceable kingdom, the wisdom that is from about--and what is that but the Holy Spirit, or perhaps the whole of the Blessed Trinity?--that Holy Wisdom is peaceable and gentle.
We don't learn about God or the things of God by much reading or anxious study, but by peaceful, often repeated reflections; by peaceful consideration of, in this case, what the Bible tells us about these things--letting drop whatever isn't useful, coming back over and over to the fruit that still has juice and sweetness for us. And not, incidentally, getting trapped inside a metaphor. The fruit is the one single fruit the Holy Spirit sows in us. It is many fruits--love, joy, peace, and many more. It is the fruit we take from our readings and meditation, the fruit we sow ourselves. We can slip from one meaning to another or drop the whole metaphor without being fussy. The keynote is peace--what James calls in another place, the perfect law of liberty.
Friday, May 1 St. Philip and St. James
The fruit of righteousness is sown in peaces (James 3:17-18)
During these next three months we're going to be considering the fruit of the spirit, according to St. Paul's metaphor. St. James--whichever of the Jameses he was--starts us off on our exploration with a key note: peace. The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace, the kingdom we seek is a peaceable kingdom, the wisdom that is from about--and what is that but the Holy Spirit, or perhaps the whole of the Blessed Trinity?--that Holy Wisdom is peaceable and gentle.
We don't learn about God or the things of God by much reading or anxious study, but by peaceful, often repeated reflections; by peaceful consideration of, in this case, what the Bible tells us about these things--letting drop whatever isn't useful, coming back over and over to the fruit that still has juice and sweetness for us. And not, incidentally, getting trapped inside a metaphor. The fruit is the one single fruit the Holy Spirit sows in us. It is many fruits--love, joy, peace, and many more. It is the fruit we take from our readings and meditation, the fruit we sow ourselves. We can slip from one meaning to another or drop the whole metaphor without being fussy. The keynote is peace--what James calls in another place, the perfect law of liberty.
THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH JOY.
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