Often, we limit our celebration of Pentecost to one day. Yet Pentecost is a reminder, a celebration that the Holy Spirit is with us now and always. Each and every day our lives, our worlds, our actions are shaped by the possibilities of the Holy Spirit, possibilities which show us that love and light will always have the last word.
June 8, 2025
“Fruits of the Spirit”
Acts 2: 1-4
Galatians 5: 16-26
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
Acts 2: 1-4
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Galatians 5: 16-26
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Fruits of the Spirit Acts 2; Gal 5
Again, the words from Galatians 5…
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
This is a very special Sunday in the life of the Church. It is Pentecost Sunday, the day in which we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit given to us as the Body of Christ here in this world. Unfortunately, we, as the Church, oftentimes limit our celebration of Pentecost to one day. Yet Pentecost is a reminder, a celebration that the Holy Spirit is with us now and always. On this day, as the Church, as people of faith, as disciples of Christ, we remember, we celebrate the fact that each and every day, our lives, our words, our actions are shaped by the possibilities of the Holy Spirit, possibilities which show us time and time again that love and light will overcome, possibilities which show us the promises of new life in our midst, possibilities which show the world with all its hurt and hate, with all its separation and division, on Pentecost and every day of our lives, we celebrate and remember that this world does not have the last word.
Which is why in addition to our usual Pentecost text from Acts 2, I added the text from Galatians. This may be a familiar text to us or at least part of it may be familiar to us, the part which names the fruits of the Spirit. Paul tells the community of faith that the fruits of the Spirit are attitudes, they are perspectives, they are ways of living which help us as people of faith reflect who God is.
To put it in context, before this text, Paul is talking with the community of faith about what it means to be Christ followers. Someone at some point had told this group, which is made up of Gentiles, people who not have been included in the religious institutional establishment at that time, someone at some point had told this community of faith that for them to be fully recognized followers of Christ, they were required to do certain things according to the Law. That’s Big L law meaning human religious law. Paul counters this argument by saying not only was that not true, he goes one step farther. Paul says that because of God’s grace they are already a part of God’s family. They have already been embraced as Beloved Children of God. In fact, they are heirs to God’s Kingdom because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Paul follows this up with this next part about the fruits of the Spirit. Paul points out to the community of faith that there are the ways of the world and there are the ways of God’s Beloved Community. And they are not the same. Paul reminds the group that the ways of the world are based on greed, power and might, ways which run counterculture to God’s Beloved community. Then Paul goes on to say that the world will fully recognize them as followers of Jesus Christ by their words and actions. The world will see them living out the values which reflect the Beloved Community in their midst, and it will know that they are named and claimed as God’s Beloveds. In other words, they will be known by the fruits that they bear, the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Then in brilliant fashion, Paul narrows his argument down to one point, the main point, the only needed point. And if we remember nothing else from this sermon please hear and remember this. In his final argument, Paul does away with the religious jargon. He does away with the membership requirements. In his final argument, Paul eliminates all that stuff we humans like to add when we are determining who is in and who is out. Paul tells this community of faith all those years ago, and he is telling us again today, that we as people of faith are thinking about discipleship all wrong. It is not just limited to a set of behaviors. It is not just limited to a set of beliefs. It is not just the words we say. It is not just the motions we go through. It is not just about our relationship with God. Paul says our discipleship, our being followers of Jesus Christ, at its core is about our identity. It is about who we are and whose we are. It is about being a child of God, named and claimed, and loved more than we can ever imagine. Our discipleship, our being followers of Jesus Christ is about being so transformed by the Good News of the Gospel that we can do nothing else but bear the fruits of the Spirit.
Simply put, Paul tells this group of disciples, past, present and future, that as people of faith, it is not about us. It is about our God. It is about who we know our God to be. It is about how we have experienced God in our lives. It is about how our God is at work in this world, bringing about healing and wholeness. Paul tells the disciples, past, present and future, it is not about us. It is about our God, our God who is knitting us back together in community. Our God who is a God of justice, mercy and grace. Our God who has opened our eyes, opened our minds, opened our very beings to the life transforming gift of the Gospel message at work in this world. It is about our God who will always always, always have the last word.
Or let me say it this way… as followers of Christ, we show love because God first loved us. We share joy because we know a joy deep in our hearts. We strive for peace because we know that war and hate is not what God intended when God created the world and called it good. We offer patience because let’s face it… God has been patient with us. We show kindness because we realize that we are connected to one another. We give generously because God has shown us grace upon grace. We are faithful because God has been and is faithful to us, keeping the promises made to us, promises of hope and new life. We are gentle in our dealings with one another and with ourselves because God has been merciful to us time and time again. We practice self-control because we know there is more to the story than what we assumed at first glance. After all, that is what God did for us.
You see, as people of faith, on this day, we don’t just celebrate the birth of the Church. No, we celebrate that our God is still at work in this world, bringing healing and wholeness to all of God’s people. We don’t just celebrate the gift of God’s Spirit. No, we celebrate that we are called to be the people of God, people of love, people of grace, people of mercy, people of justice for a time such as this. We don’t just celebrate as the community of God today. No, we celebrate that where there is breath, there is life. And without a doubt, we know that we have been revived when we leave this place.
Because here and now, the Spirit of God is here, moving in and among us, calling us to be the Body of Christ for all of God’s people. The Spirit of God is here, filling us, transforming us, renewing us, challenging us, empowering us to live lives which reflect the very character of God.
Church, we are not just celebrating some event which happened some two thousand years ago. No, as people of faith, as followers of Jesus Christ, as disciples of Christ, today and all days, we are celebrating our call given to us by our God who loves us more than we can imagine. We are celebrating today and all days that we live by the Spirit, that we are guided by the Spirit, that we are called to reflect the fruits of the Spirit in all we do and say. Church here and now, today and all days, as people of faith, as followers of Jesus, as disciples of Christ, today and all day, we are celebrating…we celebrate our call to let the world know, to let the people know, to let everyone know us by our love. May it be so. Amen.
See also: Theology Tuesday for Sunday, June 8, 2025 – Fruits of the Spirit Acts 2; Gal 5.
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