Spiritual Freedom

Dear Friend,

I once heard F-E-A-R defined in this way: False Evidence Appearing Real. Overtones of this unsettling force – fear – come through in our readings this weekend as we celebrate Sts. Peter and Paul. What comes through as well is the current of fear’s counterforce, spiritual freedom, a work of the Spirit to which these saints give witness in such remarkable ways.

Peter’s release from captivity in the Acts of the Apostles presents a complete reversal of the above definition, as real evidence of his freedom appears to him as very much false and unbelievable. He “thought he was seeing a vision” or that the whole thing was a dream. He soon finds himself in a new place – internally and externally – that is, in the power of the Holy Spirit moving in his life, in the same way it had moved him to make his confession of faith, which we hear in the Gospel.

We hear Saint Paul’s words in the second reading as he speaks of his own experience of freedom in the image of a “libation” being “poured out.” The image points us to a surrender to God’s guidance that becomes a flow of energy, an offering of a gift, an outpouring of life-giving water, we might say, borrowing from John’s Gospel. In this sense, Paul in his imprisonment is embodying or giving testimony to the power of Jesus Christ which he has been writing about in various ways throughout his letters. Like Peter, Paul is becoming the Good News, spiritually free.

These days of our own call to follow Jesus Christ, can pull us into fear. Disruptive national events and the tragedy of war and violence have a rightful place in prayer and even in our emotional lives. Peter and Paul ground us, even as they call us beyond fear into lives of spiritual freedom.

Gratefully,

Father Dan