A Methodist Way of Life

Meditatio (Reflect)

Having read the passage reflectively it is suggested that we should read for the second time the same passage focusing further on the points we become aware of during the first reading. Perhaps just re-read a few verses in order to reflect carefully on where God has nudged me.

Through such reflection concentrate on what God is saying. Try not to analyse the passage. It’s easy to slip into “study mode” and think about interesting points rather than listening to what God might be saying. It helps to ask God to make His focus clear.

Thanks again to Fred Buechner again he suggests, “The problem is when not focusing on anything in particular, the mind skitters around mindlessly among whatever thoughts happen to present themselves. To think is to direct the mind in a more or less systematic way along a specific sequence of thoughts toward a specific end. To meditate is to open the mind to a single thought until it fills the mind so completely that there is no room left for anything else.”

“If you compare the mind to a balloon, meditation as a religious technique is the process of inflating it with a single thought to the point where the balloon finally bursts and there is no longer even the thinnest skin between what is inside it and what is outside it. The thinker and the thought become one in much the same way that if you concentrate long enough on watching a fire burn, after a while the distinction between you as the one that is watching and the fire as the one that is being watched disappears, and you yourself burst into flames.”

Taking yesterday’s reading from Jeremiah 31 one phrase that stands out for me is where God says “I took them by the hand”. As I read that phrase I seem to find that I too am included in the word ‘them’ to the extent the I find God saying to me “I take you by the hand and reflect all the ways that is true in my life.

Prayer 

Hold my hand, God, lead the way, Help me be your follower every day. Show me the your way, Keep me safe as we travels together. Help me trust in you. Lead the way, God, hold my hand. Amen