Today I am continuing to work through the Gospel of John using lectio divina prayer meditation (using the New International Version today). I welcome you to do this practice with me; I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
First Reading: Just read. Don’t make any judgements or try to figure thins out. Just read.
The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ( John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
Second Reading: Meditate on what the text says
Third Reading: Pray for how the text calls us to action
Contemplate: Set a timer for 5-7 minutes. Silently love God and His creation.
My Meditation:
The beginning of this continues to tell about Jesus coming down to earth with glory, truth, and grace. Something you don’t hear all too often from a Christian talking about the Bible: I don’t get the sentence “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.” We received grace in place of grace that was already given? Even the next sentence, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” doesn’t feel like it clarifies it. Did we have grace through the law? Where was the grace already given if we needed Christ? (Theologians out there with more insight: I’d love to hear your thoughts. It might be a translation problem.) But we get to see that Jesus is coming to show us the true spirit of our God.
In calling me to action: I’m being reminded to follow Jesus and the Gospels. If only my wife knew who I was, the only way you could know anything about me would be to hear from her. This week has been harder to meditate and overall focus on anything, let alone this truth. I’ll admit, this week’s reading was not as fulfilling to me as some of the others. This week it felt what my seminarian friends would call “dry.” Maybe it’s just where I’m at this week.
End
Thank you for reading and meditating with me! I hope you enjoyed this post and will keep reading through the Bible with me. Let me know of your own meditation thoughts and calls to action in the comments below! At the end of this first chapter, I will be writing a few non-meditation posts after that. If you have any questions or topics you would like me to cover, please share in the comments below. Last but not least, this blog is supported by my patrons on Patreon. If you want to support me in my writing, please support me there. Have a great two weeks; happy Father’s Day to all the papas out there!
Peace.
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