18.08 | The Vibes of the Spirit
Acts 15:22-41
‘So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.’
Acts 15:30-31
“The question is,” Father Nicolas said to me, “does it feel like freedom?”
We were sitting in the library at the Community of the Resurrection, a Benedictine monastery in Mirfield, Yorkshire. I went to visit Father Nicolas every month or so, to talk through my journey of apprenticeship to Jesus, with Father Nicolas skilfully helping me to discern the lead of the Spirit in my life, habitually breaking the ‘no talking after Compline’1 rule with a shared evening glass of whisky and stories from his native Zimbabwe.
On this occasion, I’d brought a big question: I was thinking of proposing to Lydia. We’d only been dating for around five months, and so engagement seemed hasty. And yet, with imminently changing circumstances for both of us, we had practical reasons to ask this question, alongside a growing conviction in both of our souls towards an answer.
“Because,” he went on, “marriage doesn’t look like more freedom. It looks like less. Likewise, becoming a monk doesn’t look like more freedom. And yet, when the Spirit is leading to a decision, it has the feel of the greater freedom.”
Nicolas’ question was typically unexpected, deeply decisive, and changed how I’ve sought the lead of the Spirit ever since. It was the kind of question that made my heart swell in hope, daring to imagine that the world of God may be wider and more joyful and more beautiful than I’d ever anticipated. As often happened, I couldn’t help but smile—breaking through my effort to appear wise and sincere, with a childlike, bubbling excitement that the heart of the Father may be simply this good.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, Paul writes elsewhere, there is freedom.2 The lead of the Spirit is always unto greater freedom. Freedom is His vibe.
Today, Paul, Barnabas, Barsabbas and Silas carry the outcome of the Council of Jerusalem back to the waiting church in Antioch. If you remember, the question they are answering was whether circumcision was necessary for non-Jewish (Gentile) Christian men.
The answer was no.
And so they take the letter to this new, young church.
And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.
How do we read this?
We might chuckle at the likely relief of escaping a painful procedure. That probably was a factor!
And yet, there is more here too. For the lead of the Spirit leads into the freedom of the Spirit, and the decisions of the Spirit bring the fruit of the Spirit. We see joy in this new, young church, as they experience the liberating goodness of the Father. They haven’t received a letter of burdensome religious duties; they’re received a letter that tells them of complete acceptance before a Father of love, and that His desire, through the presence and lead of His Spirit, will now always and endlessly be unto their freedom.
No wonder they had great joy.
Two brief things to name.
Firstly, we need to anticipate the lead of the Spirit in the pathways of freedom. Have you been in a Christian meeting when the outcomes felt cold, heavy, and religious? Have you received advice from a friend that felt like burden and duty and limitation? Such feelings can betray not the presence of God upon a decision, but the limited, rule-making, control-obsessed schemes of humans. The decisions that follow His lead feel like freedom, and feel like joy. They should lead into more of life, not less of it. Use this tool in your discernment. It has served me well.
And secondly, we mustn’t assume that what feels like freedom will always lead into comfort. Neither monastic vows nor marriage vows lead into utopian bliss. The Spirit leads into wildernesses and persecution and testings and challenge3 as well as leading into life in all fullness.4 Outer circumstances do not dictate the quality of the inner life.5 And yet, when He leads, even when you feel the weight of the cost, the journey, through suffering and glory, is always unto the greater measure of freedom.
For freedom is His vibe.
Reflect:
Is there a decision I am making right now?
Ask this question: What feels like the greater freedom?
What do you notice?
Pray:
Spirit of the Living God,
Lead me.
Lead me in my decisions
And in my work.
Lead me in my family
And in my friendship.
Lead me in my prayers
And in my play.
Lead me.
And, Spirit of freedom,
When I lose sight of you,
And become encumbered by the weighty expectations of religiosity and rules,
Would you awaken my soul again,
Expanding my vision,
To see the wide open life of God before me.
Let my soul breathe
The sweet air of freedom,
And,
With great courage,
Through fire and through beauty
Know the growing inner joy
Of one discovering in every season,
And every place,
The expansive goodness of the Father.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Old Testament:
For those also reading the Old Testament this year, your additional readings are here:
Lamentations 1-2 | Psalm 101
Monastic orders tend to have a rhythm of prayer through the day, with Compline being the final time of gathered prayer before bed.
2 Corinthians 3:17
For example, have a look at Luke 4:1 or Acts 20:22-23
John 10:10
e.g. 2 Corinthians 4:16