May 26, 2013

We will continue our thoughts on "Fruits of the Spirit."  The New Testament lesson (John 16:12-15) talks about the "Spirit of Truth that dwells in believers.  There is a sense in which "Truth" is not something we learn from experience or are taught by teachers; Jesus says, the world does not know it.  We must be open to it.  The disciples and early Christian converts had to wait for it.
 
The passages for Sunday associate the fundamental principle of "Wisdom," which is at the heart of the Wisdom Literature in the Hebrew Bible (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon), with the "Holy Spirit" of the New Testament.  The Holy Spirit is God’s indwelling "Spirit of Truth," ever present and ready to both inspire and guide us.
 
Inner Truth has much to do with a Divinely inspired inner sense of love, the reaching out of the heart in a spiritual embrace of others.  Love is the "Fruit of the Spirit" we will celebrate this Sunday.