With the recognition of our high school graduates, the commissioning of our Appalachia Service Project Team and the start of outdoor worship services, we’re reminded this morning that summer is finally upon us! I have a niece from Los Angeles that moved here last fall to attend college at St. Catherine’s and when I saw her on Mother’s Day weekend just before she returned to California for the summer she asked, “Does it ever stay above freezing here for more than a few days at time?” I assured her she was going to be missing three of the nicest months anywhere in the country! And we do try to make the most of our three nice months don’t we? What would be your perfect summer day? A day in the garden? On the golf course? In a boat fishing? A picnic on the beach? Biking through a park?

In an article The Third Place Way, Chris Mooney describes his perfect summer day in Amherst, Massachusetts. He’d be standing in the middle of a labyrinth of eight-foot sunflowers at Annie’s Gardening and Gifts. Annie’s is a roadside nursery spread over two and a half acres of farmland with a potpourri of plants and landscaping supplies and novelty gifts. Annie’s sells everything from Celtic crosses to Mexican pottery stoves to rusty antiques. A large sign in front of the garden reads “Annie’s Employee Fitness Center”; and one New England winter, the store blazoned the words “Light Comes” from the roof using Christmas lights. After Christmas the message was changed to read, “Light Bill Came”.

Annie’s has become something of an east coast hangout for gardeners like the television Cheers was for beer guzzlers. It’s actually drawn scholarly attention. In its efforts to go beyond the profit motive, and draw in “regulars” rather than mere customers, Annie’s serves as a prime example of a so-called “third place,” according to University of West Florida sociologist Ray Oldenburg. Oldenburg is known for his lengthily titled book, The Great Good Place: Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community. Oldenburg coined the term, “third place” to describe informal public gathering places that enrich our lives, the idea being that our first place is our home, our second is work, and our third is a community hangout where conversation and social engagement thrive.

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he saw church as an important “Third Place” in people’s lives; a community where social support and spiritual accountability provide herbicides to thwart the weeds of sin and fertilizer to cultivate the fruits of the spirit. Whether a grade schooler sorting out identity or a high school graduate flexing wings of independence or a middle ager pulled in multiple directions or a senior wrestling with end of life insecurities, allowing ourselves to be led by the persuasion of God’s Spirit rather than by the temptation’s of our own desires keeps us growing in positive directions says the Apostle Paul.

The first of these fruits of the spirit is love, in this case, the Greek word agape which means unconquerable and unconditional goodwill. Agape love is as much a will of the mind as a feeling of the heart. It’s an intentional effort to seek nothing but the best, even for those who seek the worst for us.

The second fruit of the spirit is joy which is far more than happiness. Happiness is an emotion dependent on personal perceptions and feelings. Joy is an independent state of mind rooted in an assurance of wellbeing in our relationship with God.

The third fruit of the spirit is peace. The word “peace” comes from the Greek word eirene, the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew word shalom, which expresses the idea of wholeness, completeness, or tranquility in the soul that is unaffected by the outward circumstances or pressures.

The fourth fruit of the spirit is patience which in some translations is “longsuffering” or “endurance.” In this fast-paced world in which we live, imagine what it would be like to approach obstacles and frustrations with the steady persistence of a God who transcends history.

The fifth fruit of the spirit is kindness. Kindness does not necessarily mean nice. One can be kind and not nice. Nice is defined as being agreeable and pleasant. In contrast, kindness is acting for the good of people regardless of what they do.

The sixth fruit of the spirit is generosity, a willingness to give lavishly for the care of neighbor and ourselves.

The seventh fruit of the spirit is faithfulness from the Greek word for fidelity and trustworthiness. Such a quality is not only needed in our personal relationship with God, but it is also needed in our personal relationships with family, friends, coworkers and any other relationship we seek to sustain.

The eighth fruit of the spirit is gentleness. The connotation of this word is not weakness, but strength exhibited with balance, respectfulness and tranquility.

The ninth and final fruit of the spirit is self-control. The word is egkrateia, which Plato used to describe self-mastery. It is used to describe an athlete’s discipline of body and an emperor’s commitment to the governed over personal interest. Bible commentator William Barclay comments, Self-control “is a virtue which makes [people] so masters of themselves that they are fit to be the servant of others.

Over the course of the summer we hope to watch those little sunflower seeds sprout and grow as we ponder a variety of ways to cultivate the fruits of the spirit in our own lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (5:22). Cultivating fruit is not solely a human endeavor. Farmers can plow, fertilize and tend – but whether a crop succeeds in producing fruit is still the result of the divine gift of life. Likewise, it is God’s gift that we are invited to receive. In so doing may fruits mature in our lives!