Journeying to Grace

Our recent celebration of Pentecost is certainly joyful, and we welcome the Holy Spirit to renew us, guide us, and carry us. Just before Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon His disciples, He said to them (as He says to us), ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ (John 20:21) In these two short but impactful lines, Jesus offers His divine peace to encourage and strengthen His disciples and all His faithful for the life-giving task ahead of bringing others to know the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Pentecost begins the extraordinary and continuous mission of the Body of Christ to share the love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and joy of the Father.

With immense love and grateful hearts, we, as members of the Body of Christ, respond to the Lord’s call by doing our best to contribute our unique gifts of spirit to this mission. But what if we don’t know exactly where to start? What if, despite our best efforts in faith, we get stuck or encounter an unexpected obstacle? Blessed to have the Holy Spirit stirring in us, we also have the Fruit of the Spirit – nine attributes/traits/virtues of devotion that we can prayerfully call upon, grow from, and live in. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.’ (Gal 5:22-23)

These abundant elements of the spirit have been carefully and intentionally placed in our hearts, and when we are mindful of them, they will lead us in faith, trust, and mission. They will appear in how we treat one another, in how we respond to challenges, and in how we discern our path. Some we may know well; some may seem to overlap; some may be farther away at times. Yet when we prayerfully seek them to work in us so that we may better live our mission in Christ, we will better know, live, and share this Fruit of the Spirit.

Renewed by the call of Pentecost and as we faithfully step forward to share the mission of Christ, let us pray that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control work in and through us. May they guide, strengthen, and inspire us so that we, and those we encounter, are transformed by the wisdom, grace, and truth of the Holy Spirit.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. (Gal 5:25)