The Fruit of the Spirit – We continue our walk through the New Testament and, currently, through the writings of the apostle Paul, with a reading from Galatians 5.  Today is also another celebration of Communion as we’ve been considering the theme of gathering around the table as Paul wrote about table gatherings. Carol first shares a story about her parents early in their relationship, highlighting what people did and did not do in those days to show that they were Christians.  Those kinds of things have changed through the generations, but there are always boxes to check and rules to follow to show that people are Christians.  Jesus, however, taught that love is the basis for one’s faith.  When he healed on the Sabbath, he was confronted for breaking one of the rules.  Paul wrote that even gentiles were enveloped by God’s love, but gentiles who entered the faith in Galatia were challenged by those who wanted them to abide by the rules.  Paul’s letter to the Galatians was very emotional, expressing anger against those who applied the rules rather than realizing that God’s love calls believers to freedom from checklists to prove themselves worthy.  It is God’s grace for us to accept. 

(NOTE:  Emphasizing the importance of the Word, the video begins with the scripture reading, but if you want, you can scroll back to the beginning of the service in the video – the entire service is available. NOTE: The video skips a piece from when the choir begins to come forward for communion to a bit farther into the serving of communion to the congregation.  NOTE: For technical reasons, there is a bit of chatter in the audio, especially noticeable in the organ music.)