Lectio Divina

by Fr Jean Celestin Ngoma

Dear Lord,

Let me accept the reality of what is now, transform me from within.

Please help me to ponder all that is divinely good, true, and beautiful. 

May now my five senses savour the texture and flavours of your words of life.

Help me release all into your hands!

 

1. Lectio (Read)

 

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.  Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.  Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.  Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”  He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.  Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him,  “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”  Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.  Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.  And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”  So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.  When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

St John 6:1-13, ESVUK

 

Silence

 

I feel nudged to meditate on the last part of verse 12, which reads: “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost”.  I choose a sacred refrain to help me focus on God’s presence during my meditation. My refrain is:
Take my little things Lord and use them for your Glory!

 

2. Meditatio (Reflect and Rejoice)

 

This week’s text takes me to the very heart of Jesus’ mission to save, unite, and free that which was lost as foretold by the prophecy of Isaiah:

 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
 and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.

Isaiah 61:1 

Pause

 

This miracle pinpoints that only the creator can fill the human heart and only the divine intervention can give us hope of a less bleak future.  Jesus gives hope to his followers that they will not be abandoned and will not be left exposed to deceivers and negative influencers of today’s world.  What happened to the leftover bread would happen to us Christians.  He will gather us and recover those who have fallen astray so that nothing will be lost.

Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17 echoes in my mind:  "I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one." (John 17:15)  To those who believe in Jesus and His miracles of life, there is a promise of survival and salvation.  Preserve my soul from loss, ruin, perdition, and contamination coming from the Evil one, the destroyer.

Take my little things Lord and use them for your Glory!

 

Pause

 

Jesus knows my heart and desire. He knows the hunger of those who follow him, and he feels sorry for them.

I stand in awe while meditating on Jesus’ concept of mission. Mission for him is not a personal and private enterprise; it is indeed a communal activity.  During the miracle, Jesus doesn't want to act ‘on his own’, so he ask his apostles to look after the people and join in what he was going to perform for the greater glory of God. 

Philip’s faith was put to the test and he learned from the experience that our saving God can create ex-nihilo (out of nothing).  Jesus acted on this ‘little nothing’ that was later blessed and shared.

Take my little things Lord and use them for your Glory!

 

 

3. Oratorio (Ask)

 

While standing in awe meditating the miraculous action of our Lord, I took this chance to present to him the little things I have and ask him to transform my current “small happenings” into something greater.

Take my little things Lord and use them for your Glory!

 

Pause

 

What do you want me to understand Lord?

How can I be useful to the people in my street and neighbourhood?

Are you talking about my fears?

My fears of failing in what I am trying to achieve?

Let me trust you Lord and let my “leftover fragments” still be useful for your mission.

Let me not wait for what I think would be the right moment to act: let me put my trust in you and do your will now before it is too late.

Take my little things Lord and use them for your Glory!

 

 

4. Contemplatio (Yield and Pray)

 

Lord, You promise to give peace and support to the remnants of Israel, those who fear you and prayerfully listen to your word, give rest to my body and mind now.

 

Silence

 

I feel nudged to pray St. Teresa of Avila’s prayer:

 

Christ has no body now but yours

No hands, no feet on earth but yours

Yours are the eyes through which He looks

Compassionately on this world

Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good

Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world

Yours are the hands

Yours are the feet

Yours are the eyes

You are His body

Christ has no body now on earth but yours

 

Take my little things Lord and use them for your Glory!

 

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