Introduction	Calm	Receiving	Answer	Result	Where does this lead?

to table of contents

In this course that now comes to an end, we have introduced the basic elements of meditation and demonstrated the possibilities contained in Christian meditation.  Again and again we have followed various streams that flow from the spring of biblical meditation.  Now, as we come to the end, we will once again look more deeply into that spring itself.  Just as every meditation moves from the external to the internal, from the surface to the depths, so also does the whole structure of this exercises.  For Christians everything that we have practised and experienced receives its "water" from this source.  Daily biblical meditation causes us to become "like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither" (Ps. 1:3).

We cannot repeat every element again.  We have gone through them sufficiently.  In this chapter I want to present an overall summary of the different possibilities that can be drawn from biblical meditation.  Naturally all of these options do not apply to any one text.  Over time you will acquire a sense of how to approach one text or another.  Here again you need to know your own gifts and capabilities.  Once you begin to apply more possibilities to a text you experience how inexhaustibly rich a brief passage of Scripture can be.

Always remember the three basic elements of biblical meditation.  Such an ordered sequence is helpful:
 

• 1. Be still - open yourself to the depths.
• 2. Let the Word enter you like a living seed.
• 3. Let the answer grow in you.
You can alter these steps in different ways.

We have explored various forms of silence.  You need only to refer to set of exercises: in first set of exercises; in second set of exercises; in eighth set of exercises; in twelfth set of exercises; in thirteenth set of exercises)

•  a. Experience what the text describes by "living with" as if it were actually present.  Consider how different a traffic accident is understood when we have experienced it ourselves as compared to one we know about only by reading the newspaper!  So by living within the world of the Bible we can overcome to a considerable degree the distance in time that separates us from that world.

• b. In biblical texts we encounter many symbols - things, actions, conditions, particularities, etc. which graphically point beyond themselves.  Each symbol offers an entry point into the meditation of the text - let it work on you long enough, and wait until something begins to resonate within (cf. second set of exercises, exercise two ff).  Some examples are: "light", "bread", "life", "blindness", "it was night".  It is not just the Gospel of John that employs such a symbolic way of thinking and describing, it was the way Jesus himself spoke using parables... .

 
• c. In addition to the expressions and material that are visual and symbolic there are often non visual, abstract words used for spiritual realities in the text.  Here is where metaphor-meditation can build a bridge to genuine understanding and personal formation (Cf. Metaphor-meditation).  Here too different possibilities present themselves.  You can select a word independent of the text and look for a visual image to express it (e.g. "faith" for me is like"... or "the kingdom of God for me is like"...) or  you can seek other texts which make that (e.g. faith) more visible and look for metaphors that are used. (Cf. fourth set of exercises, material).

 
• d. Around the person of Jesus you find people of various kinds.  Meditate on these people and what they express symbolically (Cf. seventh set of exercises) so that you can identify with them (Cf. second set of exercises)... . .

• e. God speaks to us through the Word.  Jesus is the Word of the Father.  The goal of these images is the Word.


You can take a text and go through it in segments.  Try to find the hidden "truths" in each segment (Cf. the fifth set of exercises) and formulate them into brief statements (the shorter the better!).  Here it is especially important not to depart from meditation and fall back into analysing the text.  Simply ponder the text until what is hidden reveals itself.  When that happens you experience how mystery begins to shine through!
 

• Look at Jesus.  How were the realities of these texts expressed in his life?
 
• through his deeds?...
• through his suffering?...
• through his words?...
• How did he respond to all that?


At this point you may discover that the brief statement you formulated was not dealt with by Jesus.  Then you need to alter it (the critical aspect of this step)...

 
• Look at your own life.  What do these truths mean to you?  Here there is a reciprocal action: the more you translate what you have learned into action, embody in action, the fuller the stream of new learnings will flow...
 
• Look at those entrusted to you (Cf. the eleventh set of exercises) and turn your concern for them into prayer.  It is precisely with this action that you will not only gain unexpected new insights into the text but often you will also get a completely new understanding of the people for whom you are praying.


It is not only the individual items in each text that may be symbolic, but also its overall thrust. In every biblical meditation we are dealing with the encounter of God with human beings from a particular point of view.  You should meditate on this particular concern.

• Where does it fit into Jesus life?...
• into your own life (perhaps hidden)?...
• io the life of the person for whom you are praying?...

Christian meditation ought not lead to the disappearance of one's personality but should lead to an encounter of that personality with God through Jesus Christ.  In this personal encounter you will grow more and more into authentic personhood.  This encounter takes place through dialogue.  Every biblical meditation should grow into an intimate discourse between God and yourself, i.e. into prayer where all questions and concerns are discussed with God friend to friend far beyond conversations we have with others.

In such a dialogue you can experience that God is not silent but answers and asks.  Often something quite different takes place than what you had desired.
In this situation it becomes clear that you cannot "fantasize" such a
meditation for here a genuine encounter takes place that either opens you up or closes you down.  The word expects you to respond.?

A personal encounter, an answer to a word, not always has to be in words.  In various forms of meditation we have practised the silent, loving contemplating of Jesus Christ in order to let his image grow in us.  If it is possible in meditation to identify with something (e.g. a tree in the fourth set of exercises.) and become one with it so that we to some extent become that object ourselves, then what rich possibilities open up for us in becoming one with Christ, with the One who in his death gave us his body and blood to "eat" and to "drink" so that we might become members of his body!

Let me attempt to make this clear through an example from Scripture.  A single text can offer us many different possibilities.

The stilling of the storm  Mt. 8:23-27
 

“Then Jesus got into the boat and the disciples followed.  Without warning, a violent storm broke over the lake, and the boat began to take on water.  But Jesus was sleeping, so they shook him awake, exclaiming, ‘Save us!  We are lost!’  Jesus replied, ‘Why are you afraid?  You have so little faith?’  Then Jesus stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  The others, dumbfounded, said, ‘Who is this, whom even the winds and sea obey?’”
• Begin with silence.  Before entering the meditation of the text take a few minutes to relax and loosen up.

• Experience this story by living it.

 
• Locate the symbols that appear in this text and meditate on them (for example: boat, storm, waves, sleep)...
• Select a metaphor that is a visual expression of someone with little faith. Such a person is like... - and meditate on that...
• Identify your self with the disciples.  You yourself are in the boat...
• Seek the wisdom, the truths of the text and formulate them somewhat like this:
• "If you follow Jesus you can expect storms"...
• "Jesus is silent and appears to be sleeping when we cannot see a way out"...
• "If you trust God like Jesus did you can sleep in the midst of the storm"...
• "Jesus let himself be awakened"...
• "Jesus had the power to still the sea"...etc.
Meditate by looking at Jesus...
at yourself... .
by praying... . .

The main thrust of this passage could be "Jesus is my Lord in all storms"...
Meditate on this truth and let it become prayer... .
 
• a. What results as prayer in these different possibilities for meditation can, if you desire, be formulated into brief statements under the title, "Prayers in the storms of life."  Then later when you find yourself in the storms of life your prayers can come from your own meditation material which perhaps will be far more decisive than any outside consolation.  You may want to keep a small book at hand with prayers that have grown out of your meditation on various biblical texts.  I have had good experience with that myself.

 
• b. The silent contemplation of Jesus might proceed in two ways:

 
• You can look at Jesus as he sleeps in the midst of the storm.  Look at this scene until it forms in you, until his peace begins to sink into you.  (Many are helped by following the rhythm of their breathing and saying the words "Your peace - my peace" until through the means of breathing these words become joined with the breathing and hence to the inner self... )
• You also can look at the Lord beyond the wind and the waves until you sense something of his sovereign power being conveyed to you.  "I have given you power over . .  . .".
Meditation needs not only inner power but also spiritual power.  A young girl attending a recent course came to the evening meal and said, "I sat still the whole day and yet I am so tired that I don't have the energy to butter my bread!"  We each must decide for ourselves how much strength we have available each day for meditation and not go beyond that.  Nothing is forcing you.  Always remember the saying that in meditation less is more.  "It is not more knowledge that satisfies the soul but the inner contemplation and savoring of things!"  Many people are happy to remain with the same text for many days while others find a new text each day to be fruitful especially if the meditation of the previous day had reached a special depth.

Each person must find their own way.  The feeling that you must "meet a quota" is deadly for any genuine meditation.

In this course we set out to share exercises and personal experiences.  Many times it is good in beginning a new journey first to trust a direction that helps you find your own way and then to follow it. That is the purpose of Christian meditation and the goal of our exercises.

 The end of this course should by no means suggest the end of regularly scheduled meditation.  But how might it continue?  This question is always asked me at the end of every course.  That prompted me to record in Spiritual Practices for the Everyday  (which grew out of similar courses) just how the experiment came to demonstrate meditation possibilities first of all for Gospel texts in order to provide help in the meditation on many texts.
 

cf. Karin Johne, Geistlicher Übungsweg für den Alltag,  Graz 1989 (Second edition) (Language: German and English) (You will find this meditations in http://www.internetseelsorge.de/)

cf. Karin Johne,  Meditationen zum Matthäusevangelium Freiburg i. Br. 1991 (Language: German) (You will find this meditations in http://www.internetseelsorge.de/)

cf. Karin Johne, Meditationen zum Lukasevangelium  ( Language: German) (You will find this meditations in http://www.internetseelsorge.de/lukas/index.html)

If you want to answer or to add something hear are the Mail-Adresses:

Ruth and Loren Halvorson: lhalvors@luthersem.edu (Language: English)
Katholische Glaubensinformation: k.g.i@t-online.de (Language: German)