Lectio Divina

by Fr Jean Celestine Ngoma

Give me peace and joy in my heart as I want to meditate upon your word, Lord.

Give me peace.

My Lord, let the Word of life come to me.

Let me feel your presence at this moment of communication between my five senses and you.

Send your Holy Spirit to enlighten me and open my mind and heart to everything You want to tell me today.

Send your Paraclet…

 

1. Lectio (Read)

 

While Jesus was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”  And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples.  And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,  he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.

(St. Matthew 9:19-26, ESVUK)

 

Pause

 

I choose to rejoice and meditate on the visit of Jesus in the house of Jairus and the subsequent hope and joy that Jesus brings to their hearts and minds.  This saving deed of Christ has undoubtedly marked the family of Jairus. They certainly have remembered it for a long period.

The words of the just man in the Holy Scriptures echo in my mind as we celebrate Remembrance Sunday: "I will remember the deeds of the Lord;  yes, I will remember your wonders of old." (Psalm 77:11)

My refrain would be: Lest I forget!

 

 

2. Meditatio (Rejoice and Reflect)

 

I receive the text as a gift, and I let it come to me.

I then contemplate the commotion that death creates in the family of Jairus as well as the Gift of the resurrection that Jesus brings into their household.

 

Lest they forget!

 

The parents were not expecting to outlive their preteen daughter, and they now found themselves in a life-altering experience. As for the girl herself, dying very young at the age of 12 means no posterity and shattered dreams!

I imagine how the siblings of the deceased child experience the loss of their sister. The unmeasurable pain of the mother, her dreams about her daughter's future were suddenly terminated.  

What about the aftermath of this family’s loss? How would the family survive after the death of a loved one?

What about the generational trauma and grief that the siblings had to experience?

The noise in the text describes an expression of grief, but also the state of confusion that the family, friends, and neighbours find themselves in after the death of the preteenage girl. The “noise”  also means my inner roaring, my doubts, my stubbornness, and everything that disturbs my mind as a Christian.

No wonder why Jesus advised the crowd to vacate the venue so that he may bring peace and joy to the family of Jairus. Jesus brings hope, spiritual sanity, and order into my life.

 

Lest I forget!

 

Pause

 

I also admired  Jairus' deep faith in Jesus in the face of death, and how death did not amend his Christian identity. Death does not alter my faith in God!

 

Lest I forget!

 

I meditate upon the noise and buzz around me caused by social media.

The world is being bombarded with different disturbing news. Social media such as YouTube and Instagram create buzz and other forms of excitement.

I think about how my mind is loaded with too many things at work because I am obliged to be multitasking. All those distractions in my life such as phones, iPads, and television make me focus on petty things rather than things that are ontologically good for me.

I ask Jesus for the grace to reduce those distractions in my life so that I may be saner, happier and enjoy a stressful life grounded in the spiritual gifts that God has freely bestowed upon me: obedience, humility, endurance, and patience.

 

Lest I forget!

 

 

3. Oratorio (Ask and Respond)

 

I understand from the text that humility and faith are the appropriate attitudes before God.

Kneeling is an expression of my humility and fear of God. When I stand and walk I join in the march of all the saints who seek the Lord in their daily life.

Dear Lord, are you asking me to watch my posture and not stand in the company of people with commotion, and buzzes coming from the Evil one?

 

Pause

 

Jairus' social position and influence did not prevent him from kneeling before the Lord.

What are the “noises” that prevent me kneeling before God, bearing fruits of patience,  joy, wisdom, and understanding in my life?

I note that in this Gospel passage Jairus’ faith, understanding, and endurance do not do the healing per se, but God does.

What can I do at my level to continue to have the graced-filled life, the fruit of my baptism?

What can I do at my level to reduce the influence of social media in my life?

 

Pause

 

Thinking about the trauma and grief that Jairus’ family had to go through, makes me remember those who died to bring peace to their country.   

 

Lest we forget!

 

As we remember those who have died in the great wars, I thought about the sufferings they went through during combat and the post-generational traumas that the families of those heroes have experienced and are still somehow experiencing today.  Jairus' family and posterity would have inherited the same trans-generational trauma if Jesus did not heal their preteen daughter.

 

Lest they forget!

 

Let me not forget their martyrdom and let me not forget that you were the source of their courage, endurance, and success while fighting just wars:

The “Recessional” by Rudyard Kipling echoes in my mind.

I prayerful read the opening verse:

 

God of our fathers, known of old,

Lord of our far-flung battle-line,

Beneath whose awful Hand we hold

Dominion over palm and pine—

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget— lest we forget!    Lest we forget!

 

 

4. Contemplatio (Yield and pray)

 

I contemplate and pray to Jesus to walk into my house as he did with Jarius, taking the first initiative in the healing process, removing my confusion, and bringing order into my life and in my family.

 

Silence

 

I pray not only for my children but also for all my posterity.

Take away from me the news that brings tumult, sadness, unfaithfulness to your word, and turbulence in my soul this week, O Lord.

 

Silence 

 

I thank God for rescuing me by reading the words of the just man in Psalm 22:

All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not keep himself alive.

Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

that he has done it.

 

Lest we forget!

 

If possible exit this meditation reading: Psalm 22