Contemplative at Home

A mindful preparation for prayer followed by a gentle reading of Psalm 16, with space to be deeply attentive.

This series of meditations on the Psalms aim to bring peace and perspective for the time of Covid-19.

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.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com.

Dear Friends,

Today I invite you to revisit the Emmaus episode which was published in 2018.

May you continue to be alive to signs of hope and new life, even in these strange days.

Much love,

Lissy

Dear Friends,

As Tina rightly said to me the other day, this time of social distancing, much like Holy Week, is a stripping back, a time of loss, but it is at the same time, a way through to something new, for which we are so hopeful.

In this 20 minute audio meditation, we will be mindful of Jesus at a number of different points throughout Holy Week, closing just after the point of death, where we are present to the sorrow and confusion his friends must have felt.

Though we have the benefit of hindsight, and the assurance of the hope of Easter, we don’t want to rush through the middle of the story. We are so often in the middle of our own narratives, circumstances, and God is present here too.

May you grow in intimacy with the Lord as you meditate on these scenes.

Every blessing as you pray.

Lissy

Dear Friends,

After last week’s episode with Colossians 3:12-17, Tina, who has been offering us Poems for Prayer, sent me a hymn she had written to sing this passage.

I found the words of her hymn so very helpful in my devotion this week that, with her permission, I want to share them with you here. I can’t thank Tina enough for her faith, her love, her creativity and her generosity.

Reading the hymn aloud wasn’t really working so I took the slightly ridiculous decision to sing it. My voice is neither strong nor trained, and I don’t have access to autotuner so I’m feeling a bit silly and vulnerable about this, and it definitely won’t be for everyone!! If you’d rather just read the words here, please do. In whichever way you choose to access these words, may they bless you and draw you more deeply into the Lord’s heart.

God of Comfort and of Daring

– a hymn of Colossians 3:12-17 by Tina Lamb

God of comfort and of daringrest and rouse our anxious hearts.God of giving and of sharingbind and heal our broken parts.Let your word dwell richly in us.Show us how your new world starts.

When we fear the loss of loved ones;when we cling to what we know;when we fail to let our childrenfreely learn to choose and grow;let your Son live deeply in us,so his new life starts to flow.

Clothe us always in compassion,humbleness of heart and mind.Put on love, that lasting fashion,which in harmony will bindall forgivers with forgiven,and the new creation find.

Let each end be a beginning;make us thankful for the past;but reveal new openings springingup like gifts that always last.Even as the old is passingchangeless love will hold us fast.

Every blessing to you, wherever you are, and however you choose to pray. With much love to you and yours in this time.

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.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com.

Hello Friends,

You don’t need me to tell you that being in a confined space, with the same mix of people, day after day amplifies all the dynamics!

I thought that these verses might be particularly helpful this week.

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe your (deepest) self with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything beautifully together…Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. And be thankful.

-Colossians 3:12-17

As these words soak in, may you find new kindness, compassion and patience for those around you.

I hope you are generally finding space to take deep, grounding breaths, and appreciate the new life springing up outside.

I also hope that you’re staying well.

Every blessing dear ones. Lissy

PS: If the dynamics at home are harmful or dangerous, please reach out for help.

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.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com.

Ed: this post has been updated to fix the link to the audio

Dear Friends,

This week’s programming is interrupted (what isn’t!?) and replaced with a meditation for a time of unknowing and unsettling, which is also a time to take off the lid and ask questions, to throw down the taproots for deep waters, to closely inspect our homes, our relationships, our choices, ourselves.

With that in mind I offer you a grounding meditation, to help you find the taproot, to help you remember that you are “a tree planted by streams of living water” (Ps 1:3).

The meditation is based around St Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians “I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, God may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.” (Ephesians 3:16-19)

I imagine that many of you have seen the thoughtful poem “Pandemic” by Lynn Ungar, if not I do strongly commend it to you.

My prayers are with those of you for whom work is intensified in this time. Thank you for your leadership and service. My prayers are also with those of you for whom work is insecure in this time. May we know how to care for each other.

Every blessing as you pray today.

An imaginative contemplation affords us the opportunity to play with the gospel text, to re-imagine the story in a new context, putting ourselves in key roles, with the purpose of helping us to grow in intimacy with Christ.

In this meditation I invite you to stretch the well in Sychar, Samaria to a location familiar to you.

What do you drink most often, and where do you get it from?

Water from the water cooler at work, lemonade from aisle 15, a double latte from your corner coffee shop? For me, it’s peppermint tea from the kettle between my sink and fridge.

What if someone you assume is too ‘important’ to speak to you is sitting outside the shop, or knocks on your door, and asks “I’m so sorry to bother you, but could you refill my water bottle?”

We’ll start the meditation here, stay with the words Jesus spoke, allowing you to listen to your own mind and heart for everything in between.

May the text become yours in some way. Every blessing as you pray.

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.

For more information and show notes please visit www.contemplativeathome.com or find us on Facebook.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com.

Inspired by Nicodemus, today we imagine ourselves seeking out the Lord, in order to bring him our thoughts and our questions.

Today’s meditation is a bit different, and you may prefer to use the text than to use the audio, so I offer a version of the script to you here.

John 3 (NRSV) 1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit”… 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus replies with many words, including these: … 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

If you choose to pray with the written script, I invite you to do so slowly and thoughtfully:

Nicodemus came out to the Lord because he wanted to chew it all over.

He was compelled by Jesus but still trying to wrap his head around who Jesus is, and what his teaching is all about.

Take a few minutes to still your body and your mind.

How am I – just now?

How am I generally in my life just now? What are my responsibilities?

How are my key relationships?

Does anything feel unsettled in my life or in my mind?

Is there one thing that would be particularly helpful to bring to the Lord just now?

See yourself – a bit like Nicodemus – seeking Jesus out when there will be a quiet moment (v1-2)

Nicodemus said “We know that you are a teacher who comes from God” (v2)

Tell Jesus what you know to be true about him just know. Affirm his identity, as you are able, from the bottom of your heart.

Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (v3)

Jesus offers an invitation to step more deeply into understanding of God’s kingdom by being re-born, re-made, made new, growing into a new identity or understanding.

How do you understand this?

Now recall the one thing that you want to bring to the Lord. Tell him about it. Tell him what your questions are (v4)

How does he respond?

Tell him what is on your heart, and leave space to listen for him to reply

What might ‘stepping more deeply into God’s kingdom’ in light of this issue look like?

Tell him how you feel stuck, or unsure – feel free to say, as Nicodemus did – that you still don’t fully understand (v9)

See him looking at you with love

Listen as Jesus says that Gods greatest desire for you is to give you eternal life – a fullness and richness of life which begins here and now – his love for you is so great, he desires wholeness and freedom and abundance of life for you – Jesus is here now as a gift of that love. (v16)

Say anything else you wish to say, or simply bask in his love

When you are ready, take your leave of the Lord.

Meditation written by Lissy Clarke,

In this 20 minute meditation we will travel in our imaginations to first century Jericho, home to families with long-established wealth, status and power. Zaccheus, also very wealthy but wholly living apart from any devout practices also makes his home in this affluent town.

You may wish to re-read the story before you pray:

Luke 19 (NRSV) Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

May the story become yours as you pray.

Please note, a Zacchaeus meditation by pray-as-you-go has heavily influenced the shape and form of todays meditation. Thank you to pray-as-you-go for their amazing leadership in all things audio and Ignatian prayer.

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.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com.

A guided meditation with the transfiguration account in Matthew 17, Mark 9 and Luke 9.

Towards the pinnacle of his ministry, Jesus takes his closest friends up a very high mountain. Jesus seems to be considering his next steps, seeking wisdom about the way forward. He has climbed this peak to chew things over, to listen to God, to listen to his own faith tradition and spiritual heritage.

The question is Jesus’ departure “which he is about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem.” On the mountain top, deep in contemplation, Jesus has a tete-a-tete with Moses – the great figurehead of the deliverance, the exodus, the release from slavery, and Elijah – the prophet who was taken up to heaven rather than dying a natural death, and who was anticipated to come back and prepare the way for a Moses-like Messiah.**

Does he bring Peter, James and John along for their benefit or for his own? Does their company strengthen him, or is he offering them privileged access, to witness his own spiritual process?

Jesus, about to embark on the next significant expression of his calling, hears the same words he heard at his baptism “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

May you enter the story in your imagination, may the story become more vivid to you, and may it become yours in some way, as you humbly discern your own next steps into the Father’s heart of love.

**Thank you Sue Rebus for recently reminding me of all this. Sue and I have been teaching a course together this term called Taste and See. We approach each week with Sue’s insightful teaching followed by a contemplative session in the same text. There are a few places left in the next 6-week session beginning Friday 28 Jan at 9:45am. If you live locally, and are interested in finding out more, please do get in touch.

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.

All music by Pete Hatch. petehatch.com.