audio imaginative contemplation

In today's meditaiton we look at Matthew 9:27-30, NIV. 

Two men, who are blind, pursue Jesus, asking for mercy. He asks them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" and then says: "According to your faith, let it be done to you" The two receive their sight.

I'll be honest and say this is a slightly uncomfortable exchange for me. It raises all sorts of questions about unanswered prayers.

Having said that, it also led me to reflect on the tone of our faith, how we can 'believe' or request in prayer with a spirit of control, threat and demand or alternatively with a spirit of surrender, openness and curiosity.

My thoughts are still forming. I will be interested to hear where this meditation takes you. 

BLESSINGS AS ALWAYS

L

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

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All music by Pete Hatch.

In this guided meditation, or imaginative contemplation, you are invited to join Cleopas and Simeon as they walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus, encountering a man on the road who has some remarkable things to say.

The meditation is based closely on Luke 24:13-33.

Cleopas is named in the text, and Simeon is held by the Franciscan tradition as the second person in the story.

It might be that Cleopas was Jesus' uncle, and Simeon may have been his son (a cousin of Jesus). Simeon is thought to have become the second bishop of Jerusalem. Regardless of specific identity, what matters most is that these men had faces, shoes, families, hearts, minds and inclinations. They knew Jesus, they had followed him and had hoped that he would redeem Israel.

May they become real to you in a new way as you encounter them here today.

** If you want to help imagining the landscape surrounding Jerusalem, you might quickly peruse these photos (search of "Jerusalem mountains" on shutterstock).

I used a number of sounds fromfreesound.org to make the ambiance for this meditation.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's weekly newsletter "The Contemplative Window"  or join our Facebook group here  

For more information please visit www.contemplativeathome.com.

All music by Pete Hatch. 

In this guided meditation, we are with Mary at the tomb, in the early hours of the third day. She has come to anoint the body, but is distressed to find the it absent.  

We continue our series on the theme of transition, in-between times, liminal spaces.

Blogger Dinah Overlien (https://dinahoverlien.com) commented: "I’ve always imagined liminal space to be like a trapeze artist who has let go of one swinging bar and is waiting to grab the one that is coming. Without letting go, there is no way to catch what’s coming in. It takes a lot of trust."

In today's meditation, based John 20:11-18, Mary isn't ready to see that she is in transition. She still clings with all she's worth to her bar, to Jesus of Nazareth as she's known him and loved him. Jesus, however, is inviting Mary to let go, ushering her in to a deeper, more profound relationship with God. She's now being offered the same intimacy with the Father that Jesus has had himself. "I'm going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." To step into this, she must let go of Jesus as she knows him.

As you travel to this moment in your imagination, may you encounter the risen Jesus, and may this speak to whatever transition, or liminal space, you find yourself in just now.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's weekly newsletter "The Contemplative Window"  or join our Facebook group here

For more information please visit www.contemplativeathome.com.

All music by Pete Hatch.  

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In this imaginative contemplation based on Luke 4:31-42, we spend a day with Jesus in Capernum. As always, if at any time during this guided meditation you don't feel safe, do come away from it. Wherever prayer takes you over the next 20 minutes, may you be blessed and enriched... Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina. Sign up for Lissy's weekly newsletter "The Contemplative Window" http://eepurl.com/hkbDFP or join our Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1905953786386080/ For more information please visit www.contemplativeathome.com. All music by Pete Hatch. instagram.com/brother.boost