Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Homily for 12 Oct 2016

12 Oct 2016

When we think about our lives of faith, it’s good to remember that the fruits of the Spirit don’t come all at once.  Instead, as we hear in the psalm, those fruits come “in due season.” 

Saint Paul makes a sharp distinction between the “works of the flesh” and the “fruit of the Spirit.”  And I suppose it can be tempting to say, “Well, I want the fruit of the Spirit—not the works of the flesh.”  And that’s fine; and it’s good.  But, like anything that grows, the fruits come “in due season.”

We wouldn’t look at an apple tree and expect it to be full of juicy apples just like that.  Or, we don’t look at an infant and expect him or her to just be an adult.  Those things take time.  And they’ll happen when they happen.  The fruits—the maturity—will come “in due season.”  And it’s the same with our lives of faith.

We may grow impatient with our “works of the flesh.”  We may want the “fruits of the Spirit” to be here—now.  But our task is simply to be faithful, to walk with Jesus, and to let those fruits of the Spirit come in due time.  And they will.  Don’t get discouraged by sins and mistakes.  Just be patient and faithful, and those fruits of the Spirit will come . . . “in due season.”

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