Instant Fruit

"Sample the culture and cuisine of 11 different countries, in our World Showcase." This was an advert for Disneyworld, Florida – but it may well have been used by any supermarket. Round-the-clock availability of any fruit, from anywhere, in any season.

So you can buy your strawberries at Christmas, instead of waiting for the delight of the summer. Doesn't this not only invade Christmas with something that doesn't belong there, but also spoil the summer-experience? I seem to remember the enjoying the first strawberry of the year enormously, but am not sure if my children ever will.

The convenience of having fruit we like, instant and ready-to-hand may meet our consumerist demands. But increasingly we are being told that it is unhealthy because it is out step with our natural rhythms.

This seems something of a metaphor for modern human life. When do our plans and goals and aims and objectives take account of the seasons God may bring to us? The fruits of the Christian life are not readily available at any moment, but are yielded, 'in season' according to the first Psalm. To what extent to do we consume ourselves and others, by expecting the fruit of the Spirit for our convenience?

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