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Morning Devotion for the Season of Epiphany

February 3, 2023

Invitatory

I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.

Reading - Galatians 5:16-24

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: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, 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 Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Meditation - Winnie Smith

Whenever Paul starts listing off sins or bad behavior, I get a little nervous. He always seems to provide more examples of bad than good, and there are times when I just want to say, “Come on, Paul! Go a little easier on us! We’re human and we can’t help it!” Today’s list isn’t much different. Of course, his so-called “desires of the flesh” can largely be agreed upon as actions we should try not to take or feelings we should try to let go of, and the “fruit of the Spirit” is right actions and good behavior.

The problem is that these lists reduce the meaning of Paul’s words to too plainly assert that flesh is bad and spirit is good. Too often they become proof texts for people that want to legislate others’ behavior. “Paul says drunkenness is a work of the flesh, so you should abstain from drinking alcohol. Period!” “Sorcery is evil, therefore reading Harry Potter is evil!” This is simply untrue. Or, at least, it’s a severe oversimplification of Paul’s meaning and intent behind his words, and it diminishes the lesson he is trying to teach into a simple list of good and bad. The very listing of these behaviors sets us up to judge ourselves and others, and that is wrong.

What I think Paul is actually asking of us is simply to focus more on God than on ourselves. Fruit of the Spirit is action that helps us better see and recognize God in the world around us, and in turn, helps us to serve others and care for others more than ourselves. Works of the flesh, as the phrase describes, focus on us. These actions seek our own satisfaction and enjoyment above all else. Stated simply, by distinguishing between these two categories, Paul is calling us to turn outward to God and others rather than to see the world revolving around us.

Paul’s letter to the Galatians in its fullness focuses on God’s revelation to humanity through the giving of God’s son Jesus Christ. People tend to be so focused on the law, on the rights and wrongs as told to them, on judging their and others’ behavior, but that when Jesus came, he replaced the law. Suddenly, his example was of the utmost importance and significance, far more than rules for society written by imperfect people. Today’s portion of the letter is an articulation of that idea: the works of the flesh - the minute details we have determined to govern our world - are meaningless when compared to the fruit of the Spirit, the example and rules laid out in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

     hallowed be thy Name,

     thy kingdom come,

     thy will be done,

         on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

     as we forgive those

         who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

     but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

     and the power, and the glory,

     for ever and ever. Amen.