Loading...
In Derby parlance, we are rounding the turn and heading into the home stretch for this Lenten season. Easter Sunday is just 2 weeks away and this is the final, and longest, blog for this series. Thank you to Rev. Elizabeth, Joe John, and the good parishioners of St. James for this opportunity to share these reflections on the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
This week we look at the fruits of gentleness and self-control and how the saints of Lent Madness demonstrated these in their lives.
Gentleness—Synonyms for gentleness include humility or meekness. None of these traits are valued in our modern culture, which says we should be assertive, aggressively pursue what we deserve and put ourselves first. However, persons guided by the Holy Spirit are quick to listen and slow to speak. He or she chooses to put the desire for wisdom and understanding ahead of the desire to be heard. They choose to serve more than be served, are humble enough to be taught by God and accept God’s ability to direct the events of life. They have a heart of forgiveness and grace.
Melangell – The daughter of a sixth-century Irish monarch, she refused marriage, fled Ireland to Wales and pursued a life of prayer and solitude. Melangell founded an abbey and small religious community focused around prayer and works of mercy, providing sanctuary to all creatures in need.
https://www.lentmadness.org/2021/02/hermione-vs-melangell/
Self-Control—Persons with self-control have mastered their love of and desire for pleasure. They realize that a lack of self-control creates turmoil in their lives and have the ability to keep themselves under control in all kinds of circumstances. They choose to keep their mind on God while avoiding the temptation of their desires.
Camillus de Lellis – Camillus was a soldier in 16th century Italy with a well-deserved reputation for being a scoundrel, gambler and all-around troublemaker. Eventually he turned his life around though he did occasionally still gamble and carouse! Camillus was ordained a priest and gathered a group of lay and ordained men to tend to the needs of the poor and destitute who were sick, wounded, suffering, and dying.
https://www.lentmadness.org/2021/02/camillus-de-lellis-vs-matthias/
Evagrius the Solitary—A deacon in the early church, Evagrius fled Constantinople following a scandalous affair and subsequently suffered a mental and physical breakdown. He became a semi-hermit in Egypt and was rigorous and relentless in his thought and practice. His bodily regimen was so harsh that he died just 16 years after arriving at the monastery.
https://www.lentmadness.org/2021/03/evagrius-the-solitary-vs-euphrosyne/
As we wrap up this study of the saints of Lent Madness and the evidence of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their lives, I challenge you to periodically reflect on how your life is a reflection of the working of the Holy Spirit.
Remember that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is rooted in the love that Jesus commanded—to love God with all our heart, our mind, our soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. If you are committed to this love of God and neighbor, your life, like the saints of Lent Madness, will reflect the fruit of the Spirit.
One final thought...the following is an excerpt from a sermon by Rev. Dave Johnson from Christ Episcopal Church in Valdosta, Georgia. His sermon has been a valuable resource for this blog series, and he provides an ideal perspective on how Jesus personified the fruits of the Holy Spirit in his ministry.
“When the world hated Jesus, he still loved in return. To a world full of despair and misery Jesus brought joy. When Jesus the Prince of Peace offered peace, the world responded with violence. When Jesus was patient, the world demanded more and more, faster and faster. The more kindly Jesus treated people, the more meanly the world responded. When Jesus was generous the world still took everything away from him. When Jesus was faithful the world was fickle—shouting “Hosanna to the highest” on Palm Sunday and only five days later shouting, ‘Crucify him!’ When Jesus gently spoke to the outcast, gently healed the sick, gently preached words of life to those who were dead inside, the world responded by killing him in the most ungentle way imaginable. To a world completely out of control, Jesus still expressed self-control, never defending himself when falsely accused, never striking back when struck on his face again and again.
And on the cross Jesus died for a world guided by its own disastrous desires, a world that in time will indeed know that tree by its fruit of everlasting life.”
http://christchurchvaldosta.org/sermon-the-fruit-of-the-spirit-june-30-2019/
May you and those close to you have a blessed Easter season!
