Lectio Divina

by Fr Jean Celestin Ngoma

 

Prayer for stillness

 

Come Holy Spirit,

pray in me, and bless this holy encounter.

Now I ask you to move my prayer inwardly, away from spoken words toward silence.

Let me dwell for a while in the presence of Christ in this silent contemplation

 

1. Lectio (Read)

 

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.”  But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.  Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”  But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.  And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.  Besides, while he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”  Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!”  And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

St Matthew 27:11-23, ESVUK

 

Silence

 

Our Lord Jesus carefully chose the way we should meet Him and put on His mind: The Kenosis (“self-emptying”) is indeed the way for us to follow Him and to remain active members of His Kingdom.  I therefore chose the refrain:  “Let me turn inward to look at myself, Lord” to direct my thoughts in the presence of God.

 

 

2. Meditatio (Rejoice and Reflect)

 

We have entered Holy Week, and the Liturgy takes us through the last days of the Lord Jesus' earthly life.

Many people wanted to meet Jesus during this distressing moment of His life.

Some managed to meet him while he was triumphantly making his way to Jerusalem during Palm Sunday.

We also learn from the Scriptures that the disciples of Jesus, his relatives as well as Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary also met Jesus and maintained that ongoing contact with Him during and after His agony, cultivating true and everlasting friendship with Him. No wonder Jesus called three of his disciples who were with him during this stressful and lonely experience: His friends!

The reading adds two more names to the list of people who wanted to see Jesus before He departed from this world, namely Pilate and his nameless wife.  

Pilate was certain about Jesus’ innocence and found no grounds for imposing the death penalty on Him. In fact, in the Gospel of St Luke, he was even more persistent saying three times to the chief priests and the crowds:  “I find no guilt in this man.”(Luke 23:4) and the promise to release Jesus comes out twice from his mouth. However, Pilate is not a man of his word. There is a gap between his words and his actions. He lowers the bar, cowing to worldliness and political correctness.

 

Pause

 

St Luke adds Herod, another bad politician, to the list of those who loved to see and hear Jesus.

Herod failed to look beyond Jesus' miracles.  He did not take the inward journey to the heart and focused instead on his political gains.  Herod was disappointed because nothing miraculous and spectacular in his yard came up after he met with Jesus.

 

Pause

 

History remembers Pilate as the man who put Jesus to death. His nameless wife, instead, is remembered as the one who met Jesus in her dream. That dream was given by God as a sign of Jesus’ innocence and as a call to become Jesus’ witness.  

I find myself being in a similar position as Pilate’s wife, though I have never met Jesus physically, but I am asked to have His mind, to share in His dream of changing the world and I am invited to become his true witness.

Let me turn inward to look at myself, Lord!

 

 

3. Oratorio (Ask and Pray)

 

Pause

 

Jesus goes out and resolutely decides to take up his cross, the instrument of his torture, the instrument of his death, all the way to Calvary.

I am reminded to join in Jesus on His way to Golgotha and join in His mind?

What do you want me to understand Lord?

To have Jesus’ mind one has to take an inward journey to the heart. This Kenosis, the spiritual formation of my body, mind, and soul, teaches me to lay aside my pride and privilege of being a son of God in Christ and to inwardly allow God to remain God because He still has a lot to do in my heart.

To have Jesus‘ mind means to be humble and merciful.  I need those two divine ingredients of His Kingdom in my ongoing inward spiritual formation and in my pursuit of discovering and cultivating true friendship with Jesus.

Let me turn inward to look at myself now, Lord!

 

Silence

 

 

4. Contemplatio (Yield and Pray)

 

Move my prayer inwardly,  Lord, away from spoken words toward silence

and let me turn inward to look at myself now!

 

Silence

 

The grace to ask for: The Holy Spirit helps me fill the gap between my words and actions during this week.

 

Exit meditation in silence