Episode 240 The Fruit of the Spirit (Acts 2:1-4 & Galatians 5:16-26)

On this last week of the narrative lectionary season, we read Acts 2:1-4 and Galatians 5:16-26. We appreciate the way that Paul draws out and builds upon imagery and tradition from the Hebrew Bible at this moment of new community formation -- the winds, the fire, the role of language, all on the Jewish holiday that marks the giving of Torah at Sinai. We continue to wrestle a bit with the balance in community life between having explicit shared norms and having a shared horizon that each person moves toward through their own individual discernment. And we hear the imperative, from both Hebrew Bible and New Testament, to lift our eyes from our own interests to something much bigger and greater.