Imaginative Prayer: Abundance

What would happen if we changed our perspective, from one dominated by scarcity and competition, to a worldview based on abundance and cooperation? What if we viewed everything we had as enough? This passage is from the Gospel of John, chapter six.

Transcript

Hello,

And welcome to another episode of the 13th episode of our third season,

Vision.

We've spoken about contemplation before,

And this part may be confusing.

Like many words in the English language,

A word like contemplation can mean different things depending on its context.

Contemplation can mean the inner state of union with the divine,

A type of samadhi or final stage in the process of purgation,

Illumination,

And union,

As per the desert fathers like Evagrius Ponticus.

But there's a different usage for the term contemplation in the Jesuit tradition.

Imaginative prayer,

Also known as Ignatian contemplation,

Is the name given to prayer which helps us enter more fully into the passage of scripture we're reading,

By using our ability to form pictures or inner impressions in our minds.

We live in a rational,

Left-brain world,

Where information and analysis is the highest priority.

But as human beings,

Our soul is still captivated by experience.

Jesus called on people's imagination all the time.

He was constantly telling stories and painting word pictures.

He asked people to imagine the kingdom of God as a mustard seed,

As yeast,

As a treasure hidden in a field,

As a lost coin.

Through imaginative prayer,

We step into a gospel story and imagine ourselves to be there in that scene.

Rather than reading the Bible abstractly,

We enter the story to more deeply experience and encounter Jesus in the scene.

In doing so,

We remain true to the biblical reading,

But more actively experience it.

We might be a disciple in the boat with Jesus,

One of the crowd at the feeding of the 5,

000,

Or the woman at the well asked by Jesus to draw up water for him.

It's important that as you hear the story,

You try and feel what it's like to actually be inside that story.

Listen.

Taste.

Smell.

Feel.

And watch what happens.

What can you see around you?

What are everyone's facial expressions?

What are you feeling?

This passage is from the Gospel of John,

Chapter 6.

After this,

Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee,

Also called the Sea of Tiberias.

A large crowd kept following him because they saw the signs he was doing for the sick.

Jesus went up the mountain and sat there with his disciples.

Now the Passover,

The festival of the Jews,

Was near.

When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him,

Jesus said to Philip,

Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?

He said this to test him,

For he himself knew what he was going to do.

Philip answered him,

Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.

One of his disciples,

Andrew,

Simon Peter's brother,

Said to him,

There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.

But what are they among so many people?

Jesus said,

Make the people sit down.

Now there was a great deal of grass in the place,

So they sat down,

About five thousand in all.

Then Jesus took the loaves,

And when he had given thanks,

He distributed them to those who were seated.

So also the fish,

As much as they wanted.

When they were satisfied,

He told his disciples,

Gather up the fragments left over,

So that nothing may be lost.

So they gathered them up,

And from the fragments of the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten,

They filled twelve baskets.

When the people saw the sign that he had done,

They began to say,

This is indeed the prophet who has come into the world.

When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king,

He withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Now I invite you to close your eyes and place your feet firmly on the floor beneath you.

Place your hands lightly in your lap and take a few deep breaths.

Imagine you're walking up a steep hill slope in a desert area.

The air is dry and dusty,

And as you follow the crowd of others,

The sand being kicked up in front of you begins to cover your clothes.

The hem of your robes and your shoes are still wet from crossing the shallow area of the river a few miles back.

There's still a smell of fresh water coming up from the lake below,

Giving the light breeze that blows against your garments an earthy smell.

What does it smell like?

The shrubs in the area have been chewed down to the root from the grazing of the animals,

But up in the distance,

It looks like there's an enormous area of green grass.

The rabbi went up to the mountain,

Again with his disciples.

He seems to do that a lot,

Especially when facing large crowds,

But the size of this crowd was the biggest yet.

What does it sound like?

You're walking with people of all types,

Many poor,

Some rich,

Some from the neighboring towns and Cana,

And some have come from Jerusalem and even farther.

The voices of people grow louder,

Murmuring to each other about the things the rabbi has been doing,

Things you can't really wrap your head around.

Some people seem to just want to watch a show,

To see him do a parlor trick and be on their way.

Others have an ailment or desire they want to be fulfilled.

Some people don't really know why they're following,

Except that there's just something about him that's compelling.

What do you want?

You feel the crowd start to slow their pace.

You want to see what's happening,

So you turn your body to the side and move forward a bit.

Shuffling between people,

You squeeze your way to the front of the crowd,

Where you spot the rabbi.

He must have known the crowd was going to follow him,

Because he and disciples started down toward the grassy area where everyone was standing.

What do you see?

Jesus is talking to a man you met earlier,

Named Philip,

But you can't seem to make out what they're saying.

Your stomach starts to rumble.

You've been walking with the group all day and haven't eaten very much.

Philip seemed to look confused at Jesus and motioned at the small change purse that looked almost empty.

All of a sudden,

A young boy pushes his way past you and approaches Philip and Jesus.

Out of his pack,

He takes five cheap loaves of bread and a couple of dried fish.

Philip looks hesitant as he stares at the food and then out at the enormous crowd.

Jesus whispered something back to the disciples and they nod and move forward toward you with the others.

They start to call out for everyone to sit down in the green pasture.

You slowly bend down to take the weight off your feet.

Leaning back on your palms,

You let the lush blades of grass run between your fingers.

You lean your head back and your eyes close in the brightness of the afternoon sun.

It makes you think of that old song of David,

God is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

What do you feel?

As you look down at the standard range of overeating,

It turns out to be a using groom.

The Portions of fish being passed around from person to person.

It seems as if every time one person breaks their portion of bread in half and give it to another,

Somehow it only gets bigger.

The scarcity of food becoming ever more abundant.

A little girl to your left breaks her piece of bread and,

Smiling,

Hands it to you.

You hesitate,

But slowly take the bread from her hand,

Bringing it to your mouth,

And chew it.

What does it taste like?

After a while,

Everyone had eaten until they were full and the leftovers had been re-collected.

Over in the shade by Jesus were twelve baskets full of bread.

Never mind the Thank you for participating in this episode of Methods.

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Until next time.

Reviews

Thank you for a chance to sit with Jesus and the apostles witnessing this glorious miracle🙏🏻

wonderful and inspiring as usual! I really enjoy this series. Please make more, namaste