Fruit of the Spirit

By Nicole Reinhart

At the Seminary we are gifted with a wide variety of classes from studies in scripture, to explorations in inner development and cultivation of religious life. These experiences invite us into the work of being remade in the image of the true human being and the original priest, Jesus Christ.

The day-to-day discipline of this re-shaping is the focus of our "Shepherding" or "Spiritual Formation" classes.  This past fall semester the "Knowing Christ” students began working with the practice of putting on the life of Christ through the nine-fold "Fruit of the Spirit" which is "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-mastery" (Galatians 5:22). One can ask, "How would my behavior change if I woke up in the morning and put on Christ's kindness?" With his loving gaze upon us, we can reflect back upon the ways we have fallen short of this striving, and courageously set our intentions anew for the next day. As we walk with our intentions, we can find moments to receive his quiet, even in the midst of difficulty, and in the quiet, behave differently in a way that reflects him a little more, and our untransformed selves a little less. In this way we begin to perceive the vast expanse between the small kindness we have in our own hearts, and the all-encompassing kindness Christ bears in his heart, and allow this tension to become our teacher. We begin to grow in our desire to nourish the seed within ourselves that breaks forth from the dark and blossoms in the light of his sacrificial love.

In his letters, the apostle Paul offers several of these lists of capacities that arise through life in Christ. In doing so he continues the long tradition of the Hebrew sages of naming God not with a single word, but by his nature, "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin" (Exodus 34: 6-7). Through Christ's nearness, we may begin to not only receive the gifts of God's nature from him, but also begin to offer them to our brothers and sisters, through life in him.

When Paul describes the harvest of a life with God, he stays in the singular. Why does he say fruit and not fruits? Perhaps it may be that he is speaking of a singular ripening of a fruit that contains within it the many-sided but whole nature of God which cannot be divided into separate fruits. When we truly live in Christ's love, we wish to do good. We can only want to meet others with his gentleness. When we strive for kindness, we must master our own meanness. When we cultivate faithfulness, we must develop patience for his timing in our lives. We cannot discover his joy without discovering his peace with darkness. To follow him, we must be willing to be completely remade in all places of ourselves.

Quiet Heart

I did not want to go
I did not want to sit before you
My green gal anger
In the wrinkles near your eyes

But I saw her there
--Tomorrow companion--
Beckoning
Through you, her shining face
Pouring all love and compassion
Across the bow of color in the darkening sky
And the green shoots in the melting ice
And the flock of hidden sparrows in the un-leafed hedgerow
Rejoicing, “Here you are!”

So I went
Because of the promise I made
To be surprised by his words in your mouth
Or the gentle kindness in your eyes that belongs to him
Or maybe even
The quiet heart
He held out to us from the Cross
Once
--And for all--

I did not speak
But I sat before you
Listening
And from the stillness
My own wrapped in bitter ache heart
Cried out its always refrain
“Make them know what they have done!”

I placed it on the table
Gently
Just this once
--A silent offering--
In the space amidst yesterday’s wounds

And there before me
Etched within the softness
Of the hard cage of my ribs
I saw two sisters walking
Heads tilted in
Bonded by one broken heart
And him behind us
Whispering

Our Author: Nicole Reinhart

Nicole is a student in the “Knowing Christ” hybrid program.  In her nursing work in a large hospital, she is gifted the great opportunity to bring the light of Christ into some of the darkest moments of human lives.  She lives in Maine with her family, where they are active in the Maine affiliate of the Boston area congregation.