September 11, 2012 - Tuesday of the 14 th Week after Trinity

Today's Reading: Galatians 5:16-24

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 29:1-24; Philippians 3:1-21

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:22-24)

In the Name of +Jesus. Amen. 9-11 is a day that will never be forgotten in the pages of history. That day truly showed the world that there are no limits to the evils of sin. As those towers fell people looked on in horror and asked themselves, "How could anyone do such a thing?" Thousands of people flooded into churches looking for a quick answer to the meaning of life and how this could have happened.

We should be as horrified by our own sins as we were by the sins on that day eleven years ago. We are sinners and deserving of death. Yet, Christ comes to us to be the sacrifice that we need to enter into our final rest. It is Christ' s love that He gives to us freely and by no merit of our own. Yes, we should be horrified by our sins and repent, yet also be in remembrance of our baptisms during which Christ poured out on us His Holy Spirit.

The fruits of this Holy Spirit are undeniable, for they are descriptions of Christ Himself. Loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, good, etc. are all adjectives that describe the Triune God and St. Paul urges us to strive for them through our Christian freedom. We have been crucified with Christ and the flesh so that it is no longer us who live but Christ who lives in us. In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.

Almighty, everlasting God, Your Son has assured forgiveness of sins and deliverance from eternal death. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit that our faith in Christ may increase daily and that we may hold fast to the hope that on the Last Day we shall be raised again in glory to eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Collect for the Hope of Eternal Life in Christ)

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