Nurturing Spiritual Fruitfulness -- Lectionary Reflection for Lent (3)
Isaiah 55:1-9
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9
Nurturing Spiritual Fruitfulness
There are a variety of ways in which we can envision nurturing or nourishing spiritual fruitfulness. We could take the route of parents providing good nourishing food for their children or that of the gardener who tends the trees so that they bear fruit. Whatever the images we choose, the point is that the life of faith is expected to lead to spiritual maturity. We’re expected to bear fruit.
The call to covenant, which is a dominant theme in the biblical story, starts with God’s initiative. God reaches out to humanity and seeks to build a relationship, but for the covenant to bear fruit, we must respond. God reaches out in love, but in making the covenant, God sets out certain expectations for us. The question is, while God will be faithful, will we be faithful to that covenant as well? There is recognition in the biblical story that this relationship needs to be nurtured and nourished by the Spirit. …
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9
Nurturing Spiritual Fruitfulness
There are a variety of ways in which we can envision nurturing or nourishing spiritual fruitfulness. We could take the route of parents providing good nourishing food for their children or that of the gardener who tends the trees so that they bear fruit. Whatever the images we choose, the point is that the life of faith is expected to lead to spiritual maturity. We’re expected to bear fruit.
The call to covenant, which is a dominant theme in the biblical story, starts with God’s initiative. God reaches out to humanity and seeks to build a relationship, but for the covenant to bear fruit, we must respond. God reaches out in love, but in making the covenant, God sets out certain expectations for us. The question is, while God will be faithful, will we be faithful to that covenant as well? There is recognition in the biblical story that this relationship needs to be nurtured and nourished by the Spirit. …