Lectio Divina

Prayer for stillness

Bless, Lord, this is the moment I want to spend with you.

Keep speaking Your word to me in a language and context that I understand.

Allow me now to experience your presence here and now through my senses.

May this moment be entirely turned towards you.

 

 

1. Lectio (Rejoice and Read)

 

Jesus says, "The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market-place,  and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’  They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’  And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the labourers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius.  Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius.  And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house,  saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’  But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.  Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

St Matthew 20:1-16, ESVUK

 

The two sacred words that in my thoughts stuck after the first reading of this Gospel passage were: God’s mercy and justice.

I said them out silently with joy a couple of times.

 

 

2. Meditatio (Rejoice and Reflect)

 

As I reread the passage, I held fast to the concept of God's mercy and justice. One characterization of God’s mercy is His desire to offer people what they need and not necessarily what they ought to receive.

God gives us what is needed and not always what we want.

 

God's justice is thus by definition that which is needed for me and not always what I want.

 

I was created in his image; He knows my needs and can only give me what corresponds to His idea of mercy and justice.

God's justice differs from human justice.  Human justice is about rendering to people what they ought to receive.  This is exactly what the first group of labourers’ understanding of justice was.  They wanted human justice to be applied to their situation given the fact that they were the first ones to be hired. In modern terms, they wanted the employer to use a proper salary or compassion benchmarking while paying his employees.

 

Pause

 

 

This passage has revealed to me that God’s Kingdom is not about benchmarking or quantity.  It is not a matter of performance or comparison.  It is not a penal code or an employment contract that has been revealed to us, but the Gospel: the Good News of a God who cares about everybody. God examines our hearts and deals with everyone according to his or her situation with love and mercy.

 

Pause

 

I creatively imagine the workers of the morning hour trying to negotiate and agree with the owner of the farm to secure a deal.  They were acting as traders using comparisons and speculations to try to convince the employer.  I imagine them using a few tricks even playing the victims to make the master reconsider the offer so that it can meet their needs.  Among other elements they could use to back up their position, I noted: seniority, merit, hour counts, hiring rank, time spent socializing with the master, study degrees, physical strength, etc.  What was missing in their plea was the leap of faith: believing and trusting the master’s action and its positive outcome in their lives. 

 

Pause

 

I pray :

Dealing with uncertainties in our world today requires a large amount of trust in Your Son Jesus, Lord!

I need that great leap of faith every day to jump from one trouble to another.

But as a beneficiary of your justice and mercy, I know that I deserve the crown that you promise for those who put their trust and hope in you.

The words of the just man in the scriptures echo in my mind here, what shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?

Psalm 116:12

 

 

 

3. Oratorio (Ask and Pray)

 

Analysing the attitude of the workers of the morning hours, I realise how hard it is sometimes not to judge others.

Do I sometimes behave like a Pharisee?

Isn't it how I sometimes position myself before God and others?

Do I consider myself super close to God or "extra-Holy” or more spiritual than others?

All these can trigger contentment, jealousy, and pride within me.

 

Pause

 

I imagine the first workers talking about their fatigue, their achievements, working hours, and so on. They forgot the pain and troubles of other workers: their unwanted idleness, their fear of a future without a job, the anguish and fatigue after waiting under the same sun all day and fearing that they will not bring anything back for their families...

 

• God of mercy,

Allow me this week to meditate and somehow experience the suffering of others so that I may become compassionate like your Son Jesus Christ.

 

• Jesus Christ,

Allow me this week to embark on a soul-enriching experience of your mercy and justice today where I will learn that acceptance and love prevail.

 

• Holy Spirit,

We live in a world where individualism and personal achievements reign supreme.

Allow me this week not to focus on my achievements, my given capabilities, and my talents.

 

 

4. Contemplatio (Yield and Pray)

 

I take this moment of silence to deepen my trust in God’s mercy and justice.

 

Pause

 

If there is a change you want me to make to the way I live, behave or treat my fellow humans, I now yield to your divine providence this week.

 

Silence

 

In your kingdom, there is no retirement, and there is no need to accumulate material things.

You are simply watching me now, and you know all the efforts I make to follow your commands and meet Your Son during Sunday Holy Communion.

You know both the quality and the intensity of my faith, will, and studies. They are not there to make me proud but solely to give glory to You (Ad maiorem Dei gloriam).

 

Pause

 

Let me not begrudge your mercy, justice and generosity during this week.  

 

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