Lectio Divina

 by Fr Jean Celestin Ngoma

 

As I decide to read and meditate upon your word and yield in Your presence, I ask you to bless my body and mind so that lifted beyond my constrained vision, I may turn this inward meditation upwards into a thanksgiving prayer and outwards in bringing the good news to my fellow humans.

 

 

 

1. Lectio (Read)

 

I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.  God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.  And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

(Philippians 1:3-11, ESVUK)

 

Pause

 

As I consider and meditate upon this passage, the phrase that speaks to me is, "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ..." It nudged me to meditate on God's justice and righteousness.

My refrain is:

“Restore my soul and lead me in paths of righteousness.”

 

2. Meditatio (Rejoice and Reflect)

 

While trying to understand the meaning of this passage in my life, I remember one of my lecturers' saying that one of the most important words in the Bible is Righteousness. If you miss that, you will overlook what God is doing in the world and what your responsibilities and commitments as a Christian in our world today should be.

I first meditate upon the concept of God’s justice which is a specific expression of God’s righteousness. God’s justice goes beyond human standards, expectations, customs, and established protocols.

Human justice means rendering to people what they ought to receive. Do we always render people according to their merit or what they ought to receive in our world today?  The primitive and cruel lex talionis [law of retaliation] of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, is it still somehow being used, but in more rational and hidden ways?

Human and modern concepts of justice focus only on lawful and judicial activities as well as on the concept of fairness.  While God’s justice is rooted in the character of God.  God judges according to His heart!

Saint Paul is asking the members of the Church of Phillipi to do likewise, to go inwardly to be able to enact the gift of righteousness they have received from God.  The heart of a righteous person is recognized by his outward actions: love, honesty, kindness, humility, etc. The good deeds of righteousness display the nature and essence of his heart.

I rejoice in the truth that the fruits of my righteousness are not produced in my own power, Christ produces those fruits in me.  An amazing grace!

 

Restore my soul and lead me in paths of righteousness.

 

3. Oratorio (Ask and Respond)

 

I am called to enact this seed of righteousness of God in my daily life, to become like God, to be like God in what I do, and what I say.

 

Pause

 

I ask for the gift of Joy:

Give me joy Lord: the song "Give me joy in my heart" echoes in my mind.

Give me this joyful obedience to your will that will boost my confidence, rooted in deep trust and reliance on your promises.

Give me that joyful obedience so that upon your return I may be found blameless and spotless before you.

 

Pause

 

Why is it sometimes difficult for me to enact God’s righteousness and reproduce its inner fruits in my daily life?

How can I determine the level of my love for other fellow humans?

How are God’s judgments executed?

Justice and righteousness emanate from the nature and character of God.

How do I abide in those divine characteristics?  

Why do those two concepts catch my attention and why is it connected to my life?

 

Pause

 

The Way of the Cross: The way of the cross determines how I enact God’s righteousness in me. It is the framework for a life dedicated to justice and the service of the Kingdom of God.

I deeply thought about my prayers and petitions while doing the Way of the Cross with a group of pilgrims in Jerusalem in the year 2011.  I also remember the day when I was allowed to preside over a daily Eucharistic communion at the Golgotha chapel at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the venue where my saviour Jesus was crucified.

It was at that moment that I sealed my commitment to abide in God’s character of justice and righteousness.  From that day on, I embraced His sacrificial life model as a pillar for my spiritual life as a Christian and as a human as well.

 

Option for the poor and zero attachment to financial and worldly achievements:  

 

The prophecy of Isaiah echoes in my mind here:

"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." (Isaiah 1:17)

I meditate upon Jesus' attitudes vis a vis financial and worldly ambitions during his ministry on earth: He was not attached to worldly achievements, ambition, and success at all!

The prophecy of Micah (6:8) echoes in my mind, I read and paraphrase it:

He has told me... what is good;

and what does the Lord require of me

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with my God? 

Who restores my soul and leads me in paths of righteousness…

 

Silence

 

I end my Oratio writing down a prayer to read out silently:

Lord, let the fruit of the Spirit grow and manifest upward, outward, and inward within me as I shape my life in Christ, Your Son.

May my thoughts continue to believe in your promises for me.  May they worship your greatness in me and increase in me the sense of belonging to the body of Christ, your Church.

Bless my positive emotions and smiles, that they may light a spark of love and compassion in others.

Bless my actions where I dedicate time to you to pray, do ministries within the Church, and help people in my neighbourhood.

May my tongue always utter words which please your divine majesty.

 

Restore my soul and lead me in paths of righteousness.

 

 

Exit meditation using Psalm 23