This past Tuesday, we read the Gospel of Jesus being called out by his mother and brothers:(Mark 3:31-35):
The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.
The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.
With Lectio Divina, we learn to sit with the Word. We learn to ask the questions that well up in us. For instance, we might be surprised that Jesus had brothers? And sisters, maybe? Why is he so short with his mother? What are his priorities; doesn't his own mother come first?
So, we sit with our questions. That is pretty much part of the Meditatio step. We are asking God to sit with us and to listen to our questions. We trust that God will attend to our questions, confusion, puzzlement.
Sitting with the Word will gently open us to God's perspective. God's Word is alive and is always trying to communicate with us.
You might note something gently stirring inside of you, some insights that slowly come to the surface of all your questions. It could go like this:
You remember that we have journeyed with Mark's Gospel for a couple of weeks now. Mark tells us about Jesus' first appearances and his impact on people. He calls them, he missions them, empowers them, lets them know that they are now called "apostles". These apostles show us a remarkable ability: They are able to listen, They are sensitized, if you will, to Jesus' call. They are ready to respond immediately.
For me, in my lectio, a song by Sister Genevieve Glen, OSB, came up that I love very much, How Blest the Listening Heart:
"How blest the listening heart attuned to hear the silent voice..."
This is the beginning of the first verse. I am picturing the apostles as being those people, attuned to God's voice. How else would they have been able to respond so readily? Being attuned.
Further along in the song, in the third verse, it says,
"How blest the spirit stirred with gospel zeal
to build the vision seen and heard in prayer
into the living household of the Word
in Jesus Christ whose love is our desire."
Household of the Word. Is this the family Jesus is talking about? Jesus is creating a new understanding of relationships, of community. His family consists of those
- who let themselves be impacted by him
- who are attuned to his Word
- who are willing be part of the household of the Word
- who do the will of God
So, we sit with our questions. That is pretty much part of the Meditatio step. We are asking God to sit with us and to listen to our questions. We trust that God will attend to our questions, confusion, puzzlement.
Sitting with the Word will gently open us to God's perspective. God's Word is alive and is always trying to communicate with us.
You might note something gently stirring inside of you, some insights that slowly come to the surface of all your questions. It could go like this:
You remember that we have journeyed with Mark's Gospel for a couple of weeks now. Mark tells us about Jesus' first appearances and his impact on people. He calls them, he missions them, empowers them, lets them know that they are now called "apostles". These apostles show us a remarkable ability: They are able to listen, They are sensitized, if you will, to Jesus' call. They are ready to respond immediately.
For me, in my lectio, a song by Sister Genevieve Glen, OSB, came up that I love very much, How Blest the Listening Heart:
"How blest the listening heart attuned to hear the silent voice..."
This is the beginning of the first verse. I am picturing the apostles as being those people, attuned to God's voice. How else would they have been able to respond so readily? Being attuned.
Further along in the song, in the third verse, it says,
"How blest the spirit stirred with gospel zeal
to build the vision seen and heard in prayer
into the living household of the Word
in Jesus Christ whose love is our desire."
Household of the Word. Is this the family Jesus is talking about? Jesus is creating a new understanding of relationships, of community. His family consists of those
- who let themselves be impacted by him
- who are attuned to his Word
- who are willing be part of the household of the Word
- who do the will of God
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