Pastor MiriamMarch 26, 2021
Well, here we are. This is the end of the journey. It’s time to wrap it up. This is the final 2021 Lenten devotion. To all who prepared something, to all who followed along, please know that you are APPRECIATED!! When Barbara Anderson assigned me the last slot, her hope was that I would say something to wrap up our Lenten theme of “Fruitful Living.”
But how does one suitably wrap up this wonderful, varied, touching collection of devotions from the congregation? And, besides, the very thought of wrapping up our fruitful living journey made me think about the opposite of that!
I thought about 12 wrapped-up boxed packages, which, for a few years in my childhood, arrived once a month. It was the “Fruit of the Month” gift my dad would receive from Harry and David. Every month a box would arrive with a different fruit. The boxes never disappointed. Each kind of fruit was delicious, beautifully presented, carefully wrapped and just delightful! Etched in my memory are occasions of opening those boxes with my family. We couldn’t wait to see what was covered in the thick waxy green paper, tucked in special little cut-out holes, with wrapping to keep them safe.
Obviously, we could not wait to unwrap it, UNLESS it was December! We did not rush to open that fruit. We knew it was going to be pears. These were not just any pears; they were perfectly shaped, beautiful to look at, never too crunchy or too sour, and never without taste. But that’s not why we hesitated to unwrap the fruit at Christmas; we hesitated because they were wrapped in shiny gold foil paper.
OK, let’s get to my assignment. I’m supposed to wrap it up. BUT, I’m not gonna do it! I’m just NOT gonna do it!! I’m not gonna wrap it up because I don’t want to wrap “it” up. I don’t want to wrap up, cover up, stuff tight inside, safe from danger, box it all back up, or deprive it of its purpose. NO! INSTEAD, I want all of us to UNWRAP the fruit of the spirit inside us!!
What good would it have been to open the box of fruit every month, look at it, take a whiff of its sweet aroma, then wrap the fruits back up and put the box away? We would have missed crunching into the shiny red apples or smacking our lips on the tangy huge oranges, or testing our arm strength to split a coconut, and so forth! And even in December, we did NOT keep the pears wrapped up, but we savored every smooth, tasty slice of every pear.
AND SO IT IS WITH OUR LENTEN THEME! The joy is not in keeping our spiritual fruits all wrapped up, but in inviting the Spirit to bless us when we cultivate these fruits to flower in us.
I don’t think I have to spell it out for you. All the other writers have given us insight through their wisdom and stories.
But I will say this: I believe to every single one of us God has given the potential to live fruitful lives. I believe that God knows that we can be loving, good, kind, patient, faithful, gentle, joyous, and peaceful. We can grow in self-control, as you heard on Sunday. And I would like to add one more fruit: gratefulness. I am grateful for this season and for what we have learned. Jesus said he came to bring life—life abundant! Paul has shown us how our lives can grow in abundance, and the Spirit can show us how we can help others live abundantly, too.
-Pastor Miriam
I’ll leave you with the Acker family mealtime prayer:
Dear Lord, every day, make us kind and always pray. Make us loving, make us strong, loving right and hating wrong. Bless this [fruit] that we eat. Help it make us kind and sweet. Amen.
