A sermon preached by the Reverend Canon Dr. David Anderson, at St. Jude’s Church, Oakville on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, Feria. Title: ‘Walking by the Spirit.’ Texts: Galatians 5:16-25; Psalm 1; Luke 11:42-46.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our readings today draw a remarkably clear contrast between two ways of living. Psalm 1 speaks of the righteous person who delights in the law of the Lord and is like a tree planted by streams of water. Saint Paul speaks of life according to the Spirit in contrast to life according to the flesh. And in the Gospel, Jesus sharply rebukes the Pharisees and lawyers because their outward religious practices have become detached from the deeper demands of God's kingdom.
The common thread running through all three readings is that God is concerned not simply with what we do, but with who we are becoming.
Jesus is not condemning the Pharisees because they tithe. In fact, he says they should continue to do so. Their problem is that they have become meticulous about small religious obligations while neglecting the weightier matters of justice and the love of God. They are counting mint leaves while overlooking their neighbours.
It is an enduring temptation. We often prefer measurable acts of religion because they are easier to manage. We can count attendance at worship. We can count our charitable donations. We can count our prayers. What is much harder to measure is whether we are growing in compassion, humility, mercy, and love.
That is precisely why Saint Paul's words to the Galatians are so important. Paul does not give his readers a longer list of rules. Instead, he points them toward a transformed life. "Walk by the Spirit," he says.
Notice that image: walk by the Spirit. A walk is not a single dramatic event. What is it? A walk is a succession of small steps. Day by day, choice by choice, habit by habit, we are formed into certain kinds of people. The question is not whether we are being formed. The question is how we are being formed and by whom.
Paul contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. The works of the flesh are activities we produce. The fruit of the Spirit is something that grows within us when we remain connected to God.
A priest once visited an orchard and noticed that one tree was covered with beautiful apples. Another tree nearby had branches on which apples had been tied with string. From a distance they looked similar, but up close the difference was obvious. One tree was producing fruit because it was alive and healthy. The other merely had fruit attached to it.
Sometimes Christians are tempted to live by tying virtues onto our lives. We try to look patient, look joyful, look generous, look faithful. Yet the fruit of the Spirit is not something we fasten onto ourselves from the outside. It grows from within. It is the result of a life rooted in Christ and nourished by the Holy Spirit. God is not simply decorating our lives; he is transforming them from the inside out.
That image brings us back to Psalm 1. The blessed person is like a tree planted by streams of water. The secret is not the tree's strength. The secret is its location. Its roots are drawing life from a constant source.
The same is true for Christians. We live in a culture that often encourages self-reliance. We tell ourselves that if we simply try harder, work harder, or become more disciplined, we can become the people God wants us to be. Yet scripture teaches a different lesson. The Christian life begins not with our own strength but with God's grace. We bear good fruit because we are rooted in Christ.
And that helps us understand the seriousness of Jesus' warning in today's Gospel. The problem with the Pharisees and lawyers was not that they lacked religion. They had plenty of religion. The problem was that they had become disconnected from the very heart of God's purposes. They had become more concerned with appearances than with transformation.
It is possible to be outwardly religious and inwardly barren. It is possible to know the rules and yet fail to love. It is possible to perform acts of devotion while neglecting justice, mercy, and compassion.
Jesus calls us to something deeper. He calls us not merely to religious observance but to spiritual transformation. He calls us not merely to do religious things but to become Christ-like people.
Before we leave these readings behind, it may be worth asking ourselves a simple question: what fruit is most evident in my life these days?
It is easy to focus on the visible aspects of our faith. We come to church. We say our prayers. We support the work of the parish. All of those things matter. But Paul invites us to look deeper.
Am I becoming more patient with the people around me? More generous in my assumptions about others? More gentle in my speech? More joyful in the midst of difficulties? More peaceful when circumstances are uncertain?
Those questions can be uncomfortable because they move us from what we do to who we are becoming. Yet they are the questions today's readings place before us.
Perhaps there is one particular fruit of the Spirit that God is inviting each of us to cultivate this week. Perhaps it is patience with a difficult family member. Perhaps it is gentleness in a tense conversation. Perhaps it is self-control in a habit that has begun to master us. Whatever it may be, the invitation is not to try harder on our own, but to remain more deeply rooted in Christ and more open to the Spirit's transforming work.
The good news is that God does not leave us to accomplish this task on our own. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is at work within God's people. The Spirit continues to soften hard hearts, heal old wounds, correct our course, and produce fruit in our lives.
None of us bears this fruit perfectly. Yet if we remain rooted in Christ and open to the Spirit's work, growth will come. Perhaps slowly. Perhaps quietly. But surely.
Like the tree planted beside living waters, we will be sustained by a source of life beyond ourselves. And as the Spirit continues his work within us, our lives will begin to reflect more and more the character of Christ himself.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
