Lectio Divina

by Fr Jean Celestine Ngoma

 

Dear Lord, as we begin this time of Lectio Divina
in your Holy Scriptures,
we open our hearts to listen to you.

We know that even a child can hear your voice.

We pray with the little boy Samuel,
“Speak Lord, for your servants are listening”
(1 Samuel 3:9, 10). - “Soulshepherding" -

 

1. Lectio (Read)

 

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, ^“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.  Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’  But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.  The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.  Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.  Therefore, go to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’  Then those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad.  So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.  And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  For many are called, but few are chosen.” 

(St. Matthew 22:1-14, ESVUK)

 

Silence

 

I listen carefully for any words or phrases that seem to jump out.

I feel nudged to meditate upon Jesus’ word the “unworthy”. 

I choose the refrain:

Like an unworthy wedding guest, I turn towards You!

 

2. Meditatio (Rejoice and Reflect)

 

I imagine Jesus addressing the chief priests and the elders of the people and talking about the Christian final hope, which is full participation in the everlasting, joyful, abundant life promised to those who believe in God. The end for us will be the final manifestation of God’s love.

This text includes a warning associated with this final banquet of the Lord. I have to prepare myself every day to avoid being on the side of those who are not going to see Jesus face to face.

 

Like an unworthy wedding guest, I turn towards You!

 

I imagine the feast where everybody is invited to the banquet: the first guests and the unworthy ones are all invited. The chief priests and the elders also made their way to the party. Everybody is happy! Then Jesus is having a direct conversation with the chief priests and the elders of the people.  

 

I further dramatize a conversation between the priests and me on Christian morality. I say:

I remind you, dear priests and elders of the people, that the objective moral laws given by God to Moses were meant to inform people's choices and teach them how to conduct themselves justly before God. What God requires from you is to go the extra mile… this Christian leap of humility, compassion, and mercy, which is still lacking in your spiritual life.  

Woe to you: You are stuck in a loop that you cannot get out of for the moment. As Jesus told you once: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.” (cf. Matthew 23:23a).  

 

God’s Frowning Providence:  Everything depends on God’s providential grace. He shows displeasure and anger when we sin, but everything happens because he loves us all.

 

I too sometimes act like an unworthy wedding guest, but I turn towards You now Lord!

 

I imagine again the chief priests and the elders questioning me on why the King, the banquet’s host, is welcoming both the bad and the good. (Verse 9)

I creatively drafted what would appear as my reply to that question, I wrote:

You chief priests and elders still have your group’s version of morality and orthodoxy, as if there is one right way for everyone, all the time and I respect that.

You still think in a dualistic way…this “ level of consciousness where everything is filtered and judged through binary perception– good/bad, right/wrong, win/lose” (Contemplative outreach).

I agree with you that the need for purity of heart is a requirement to be able to see God face to face. But you have forgotten the divine nuance and wisdom when it comes to dealing with your fellow humans.

Both bad and good are indeed welcome in the Kingdom of God because everything is grace and depends on God’s divine tempo. The criterium remains the same for both the good and the bad: faith in the gratuitous love of God!

 

Like an unworthy wedding guest, I turn towards You!

 

 

3. Oratorio (Ask and Respond)

What does it mean to live out the values of the kingdom of God here and now while reading this text?

What is the image of God that taps into my reality?

 

Pause

 

The “good and the bad” are welcomed to my banquet, in my life, and my Christian community. Putting Christ in the centre: The spirit of service should prevail, the gift of self, of pardon, of reconciliation, and gratuitous love!

The hymn of William Cowper echoes in my mind, I read and make it mine:

 

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He treasures up his bright designs
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purpose will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
the bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain:
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

 

 

4. Contemplatio (Yield and pray)

 

As I now yield in you, trusting your faithfulness, I pray Lord, to give me a heart that transforms rather than the one that competes.

 

Pause

 

I begin this week, O Lord, like an unworthy servant attending to your banquet; I turn towards You and rejoice in you.

 

Like an unworthy wedding guest, I turn towards You!

 

Let me turn my thoughts to You, and ask You to teach me the secret to always trust in Your will and stand in Your promises in any bad situation I find myself in.

 

In humility, simplicity, and stillness I follow you, Lord.

 

The song Like a Sun Flower echoes in my mind. I sing quietly in my heart:

 

Like a sunflower that follows every moment of the sun,

So I turn towards You, to follow You my God.

In simplicity, charity, I follow…