Hello,
And welcome to Method.
This is the twelfth 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 4.
He came again to Cana of Galilee,
Where he had made the water into wine.
And there was a royal official whose son was sick,
Ekapurnam.
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee,
He went to him and was imploring him to come down and heal his son,
For he was at the point of death.
So Jesus said to him,
Unless you people see signs and wonders,
You simply will not believe.
The royal official said to him,
Sir,
Come down before my child dies.
Jesus said to him,
Go,
Your son lives.
The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.
He was now going down.
His slaves met him saying that his son was living.
So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better.
Then they said to him,
Yesterday,
The seventh hour,
The fever left him.
So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him,
Your son lives.
And he immediately believed,
And his whole household.
This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when he had come out of Judea into Galilee.
Now I invite you to close your eyes and place your feet firmly on the floor beneath you.
Rest your hands lightly in your lap and take a few deep breaths.
Imagine yourself walking through a rugged countryside with rocky hills and mountains.
It's very warm and the sun is in the center of the sky.
It's about midday.
What do you see?
The heat is beating down on you and you begin to sweat.
The air is thick and heavy,
Weighing down on your clothes.
You're a wealthy nobleman or noblewoman in the first century.
You're dressed in the vibrant robes of white or crimson or even purple.
A delicate linen sash around your waist and a soft wool covering around your neck.
You have silver rings on a few of your fingers emblazoned with precious jewels so that people know who you are.
You're a royal officer to Herod Antipas.
What do you feel?
You know the stakes are high.
If you got caught all the way out here in the wild seeking the rabbi they called Messiah,
You could be killed.
But you're desperate.
Your family member is really sick and they're not getting any better.
You heard about this teacher that can perform healings and miracles and it was the only thing left you could do so you seek him out.
You make your way into the town looking desperately around in alleys and in the market even though you're unsure of what he even looks like.
You ask multiple people but no one knows where the teacher is.
What do you hear?
You search for a while and start to feel the dread sink in.
You'll never find this man.
You find a place to sit down and rest your legs and look out on the people walking in the street.
Then he appears out of the crowd walking with a group of men and women following close behind.
There seems to be a lightness about him.
It has to be the rabbi.
You run up to meet him and plead with him telling him about your loved one on the verge of death.
He stares at you for a moment and says,
Unless you people are dazzled by a miracle you refuse to believe.
But you don't want a sign or a wonder.
You just want them to live.
Tell him this.
His stare softens.
Go.
They are alive.
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Until next time.
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