+JMJ
A Contemplation From the Gospel of Luke
Sometimes I sit down to mediate and I don’t have anything in particular that I am focusing on. These times always seem to be especially fruitful, because it allows me to do away with my own agenda and really listen to what the Lord wants to say to me.
It is like being Mary from the gospel of Luke, sitting at the feet of the Lord and just listening to Him.
“Not it came to pass as they went, that He entered into a certain town: and a certain woman named Martha, received Him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, who sitting also at the Lord’s feet, heard His word.”
-Luke 12:38-39
No questions, no problems, to worries, no troubles, no choices. Just simply basking in and absorbing His wisdom.
So, here are a few lessons He showed me in a contemplation from the Gospel of Luke.
Raising The Widow’s Son
And it came to pass afterwards, that He went into a city that is called Naim; and here went with Him His disciples, and a great multitude.
And when He came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow: and a great multitude of the city was with her.
Whom when the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, He said to her, “Weep not.”
And He came near and touched the bier. And they that carried it, stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to thee, Arise.”
And he that was dead, sat up, and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother. And there came a fear on them all: and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet is risen up among us: and, God hath visited His people.
-Luke 7:11-16
My Contemplation
I see the widow in her home. Her son has passed and lays, quiet and still, in his bed. I can feel her heartache, her anguish, her despair. I can feel her heart cry to the Lord, “Have pity on me, Lord.” Those are the words I feel emanating from the depths of her soul.
I see Jesus walking with His disciples towards the city. He feels her anguish before He sees her. As her heart cry’s out, He is stopped immediately in His tracks. His Heart is pierced by the deepest sorrow of hers. It immediately ignites the flames of His Sacred Heart, making His love and mercy burn forth like a hot furnace.
I see a few men arrive at the house to remove the body. The poor widow is sobbing, but does not stop them from moving her son on a litter and draping it with a blanket to be carried out of the city.
I watch as they carry the litter out of a small side gate. The widow follows in utter anguish, barely able to walk from sorrow, but supported by some women from the city.
One of the men carrying the litter stumbles, rocking the litter, and causing the arm of the deceased man to fall out from under the blanket. His mother in severe misery falls to her knees, grabs the exposed hand of her son, and kisses it. It is cold and Jesus can feel the longing of her heart for the life giving warmth to return to it. Jesus places His hand over His heart as the compassion wells up inside Him. His heart thudding so vigorously, that if it was not Jesus, the Lord, it would have broken His ribs.
The man carrying the litter pulls it from her grasp, and hurriedly tucks it back under the blanket. He readjusted his grip on the litter ready to keep moving forward.
The words echoed in Jesus’ mind as the woman cries out in prayer, “Have pity on me, Lord. Why?” Jesus cannot refuse her cries anymore. His love is too great to continue to let her despair that much. He steps in front of the litter, stopping them from walking any further.
“Weep not,” He says to her, but she cannot stop the tears from streaming down her face. His heart beats with an outpouring of love which now seems to reverberate through the air around them. The men carrying the litter shift uneasily. From uncertainty? From fatigue? It is hard to tell.
Jesus walks around to the other end of the litter, placing His hands on the head of the deceased man. “Young man, I say to thee, Arise,” He commands.
Jesus gently pulls the blanket back and the man blinks his eyes open almost sleepily as he adjusts to the bright light outside. He sits up, causing the men carrying him to jump. One of them drops the side he was carrying, but Jesus reaches out and gently guides the raised man to the ground, directly into his mother’s lap.
She is shocked, but it doesn’t take long for her tears of sorrow to turn into tears of joy. She grabs ahold of her son, squeezing him into a tight hug, while rocking him back and forth, like when he was a child.
Jesus squats down to their level. She reaches out and takes the hand of Jesus, sobbing and praising the Lord. She kisses it thanking Him with gratitude and devotion.
He helps them both to their feet, and embraces the raised man, who is crying too. Jesus sends them home, and watches them walk back into the city filled with joy.
His Wisdom
As I made my way through the contemplation a few things stood out to me.
Prayer Is Powerful
What is your first response to suffering? Prayer or Despair?
I have gotten better over the years about turning to prayer first when I am faced with any sort of difficulty. But I know all to well how easy it is to fall into despair and self-pity. It takes a great deal of awareness, attention, and discipline to remain mindful in our problems. It is much easier to wallow in misery.
But I can see by the anguished prayers of the widow in this scripture, that my prayers are heard. They are felt by the Lord and He always answers them.
Make some extra time to pray this week.
He Truly Wants to Help
He knows the widow’s desires and needs before He even sees her. Do you trust the Lord to take care of your needs?
He has blessed us with free will. It is part of the dignity that comes with being made in His image. It is at gift that has put us in charge of our own actions and also be responsible for them. He gave us the freedom to choose Him or choose, selfishly, ourselves.
But this free will does not just leave us hanging with our choices all by ourselves. It gives us the opportunity to ask God for His help. His help in making these choices. His help in performing said choices. But also for His help when we have chosen poorly.
Just know that He waits for us. He longs to be asked for help. He desires so much to pour His love over each one of us as we place all our trust in Him.
Make a list of your needs and look for ways that the Lord is, in fact, providing for them that you didn’t notice before.
Suffering Draws Us Closer to Him
Do you let your suffering go to “waste?”
The widow was suffering deeply at the loss of her son. Enough to bring agony to her very soul. But even in her suffering she prayed and drew close to the Lord.
Our Lord suffered immensely in His passion and death. Beaten, bloodied, bruised, and broken He carried physical suffering and spiritual suffering.
The Lord does not let any suffering go to “waste.” He always brings about the good in all things, but I can say that I so often forget to offer it up to Him. I forget to unite my imperfect suffering to His perfect suffering.
When I mediate on the cross, the Passion, and death of the Lord, I can see that He has suffered more than I ever will. This strengthens me, knowing that there will be nothing I will face that He has not faced. There is no suffering He will not come into and provide His aid.
Be deliberate in offering your suffering to the Lord, if not for something specific, then for the good of His Kingdom in general.
Gratitude
The widow thanked the Lord abundantly and immediately. Do we do the same?
It is easy to take the blessings of the Lord and forget to say, “Thank you.” It is definitely a bad habit that I have. I see that I owe the Lord, at the very least, my gratitude for all that He does for me.
Ask the Lord to open your eyes to His blessings, whatever they might be, and have the awareness to say, “Thank you,” immediately and sincerely.
Sin Causes Spiritual “Death”
The son in this contemplation is cold and lifeless. His body without breath, without energy, and without a heartbeat.
We know the soul cannot actually die, but it can loose its vitality. It can loose its radiance and clarity. This happens when we sin. Each sin, and in particular mortal sin, breaks us away from the grace of God. The life giving grace of God, which is necessary to truly be alive. Cutting ourselves off from the sustenance of the Lord, slowly kills our souls. It slowly starves and grows colder and colder.
But with a little “soul food” we are full of life, spirit, strength, joy, and vitality.
Take some time to feed your soul this week: Confession, Receiving Eucharist, Eucharistic Adoration, and Scripture Meditation are good choices to bring the souls back to life!
The Voice of God is Life-Giving
As the voice of Jesus raised this man from the dead, so His voice in the scriptures raises us from the pits of despair.
When I look back over my life, I’m not sure how I got by before I really started reading the Bible. Not well I can say. I was full of bitterness, resentment, despair, depression, and pride. I am not saying I am not still afflicted by these things now, but I find that I am much more aware of my feelings and actions now, because the Lord gently shows me.
It does not matter what issue I am having, the Lord has never failed to provide the answer to me through scripture. He answers in other ways too, (signs, actions of others, blessings, sufferings etc…) but it is truly amazing to me that a book written so long ago, has the answers to everything in my life today.
It is His voice in the scriptures that I find answers, consolations, lessons, explanations, solutions, clarity, and love.
Take some time and sit with the daily gospel. Really listen to what He has to say to you!
I have learned the longer I practice scripture meditation how much wisdom is found in the Word. It is so rich in answers, direction, and instruction.
I really hope that my sharing of His instruction to me is helpful to you. I strongly encourage you to take some time and sit silently with a passage from scripture. Beg the Lord to speak through it. Be patient, quiet, and listen for His voice. Then, when He speaks, bask in that wisdom. Absorb it and go forth and live it!
Did you find this helpful? What wisdom has the Lord revealed to you this week? Leave me a comment and let me know!
New to Contemplative Prayer? Check out my post to learn more!