A guided meditation with John 20:11-18, using imaginative contemplation. 23 minutes. This is the re-release of a meditation first published in 2022. This passage has meant so much to me and helped me, in a crisis of faith, to see that what feels like The End may in fact be a beginning, an invitation to something much bigger. Here are some thoughts I shared in 2022: “In today’s meditation, based on John 20:11-18, Mary isn’t ready to see that she is in transition....

A 16-minute audio guided meditation in John’s Gospel, John 20:1-10, using Imaginative Contemplation. Christ is risen. Alleluia! In this meditation we are reminded that the resurrection of Jesus broke over his friends and disciples slowly, amidst confusion and stress. As I reviewed this meditation for editing, I was surprised at how vivid the experience at the empty tomb was for me, and found a beautiful new light in my heart. Enter this story for yourself...

A 19-minute audio guided meditation in John’s Gospel, John 19:13-42, using Lectio Divina. I am struck by two key invitations as we meditate on the suffering of Jesus in Holy Week. The first invitation is to see how fully and completely Jesus offered himself in love. And the second invitation is to attend to pain, to difficult emotions and circumstances. Our public and private lives give us more than enough pain to come to terms with and it is often easiest to ignore or...

A 17-minute audio guided meditation in John’s Gospel, John 19:1-9, using Lectio Divina. In this Holy Week meditation on John’s Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look’ at Jesus as he endures these grim moments of his arrest, ‘trial’, and conviction to crucifixion. Notice the way he remains present and attentive even while circumstances become frayed and harried around him. Just for these few minutes, I invite you to leave your dogma, your creed, your...

A 22-minute audio guided meditation on John’s Gospel, John 18:33-40 using Lectio Divina. James Tissot . Jesus Before Pilate, Second Interview (Jésus devant Pilate. Deuxième entretien), 1886-1894 In this meditation on John’s Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look’ at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth. Here is the text for todays...

A 22-minute meditation with John 18:12-27, using breath work and Lectio Divina. A meditation for Lent as Jesus is arrested and interviewed by Annas. 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 newsletter “The Contemplative Window” or join our Facebook group here You can support...

A 16-minute guided audio meditation with John 8:31-36, using breath work and Lectio Divina. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying ‘You will be made free’?” John 8:33 Jesus invites his followers into an interior freedom. We could devote our entire lives to the exploration of this invitation. You might find it useful to reflect on these questions: * Where and when do I feel lack of freedom around my choices or my reactions? * When and...

A 22-minute audio guided meditation in John’s Gospel, John 8:12-20, using Lectio Divina. My invitation to you, always, is to engage with scripture through your creative, non-rational self. Rational engagement with scripture is equally important – we usually call it bible study – and I hope there is a dose of it in your rhythms. But my invitation is to help you engage with this sacred text through the non-thinking parts of yourself. With your intuition, your soul, your inner...

A 23-minute audio meditation with John 8:1-11, using Imaginative Contemplation. In this meditation on John’s Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look’ at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth. Just for these few minutes, I invite you to leave your dogma, your creed, your thoughts, and your rational mind aside, and become present to your deeper...

A 16-minute meditation with John 7:37-39, using Lectio Divina and Imaginative Contemplation. In chapers 7 and 8 of the book of John, politics are whirling and public opinion around Jesus is intensifying. In these choppy political seas – with which we are all familiar in our own way – Jesus speaks these words: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”’...

A 19 minute audio meditation with John 7, verses 14-18 and 25-31, using Lectio Divina and breath work. In John 7, the public opinion of the Rabbi Jesus is becoming fraught, with many following, many criticising and others wanting him out of the way. In todays text Jesus has made his way to Jerusalem for the festival of booths, but has come quietly, on his own, without an entourage or public entrance. In the middle of the festival he stands up and speaks and many are moved by...

A guided audio meditation with John 6:52-60, 66-69, using Lectio Divina. “Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I...

A meditation with John 6:30-35, 38-39, using breath work and Lectio Divina. This passage is so beautiful. I know that bread has taken many different forms in different times and places, but I can’t help but see a loaf of sourdough rising in the oven – expanding, filling, bubbling, opening. There is so much language in these verses about giving life. Manna. Nourishment. Food. Satiation of hunger and thirst. Being raised up. They said to him “Sir, give us this...

A meditation with John 6: 24-29, using Lectio Divina. In this text, the crowd realises that Jesus has gone to the other side of the lake, and decide to follow. It got me thinking about “Elvis has left the building”… or rather “Jesus has left the building.” “When the crowd saw that Jesus had gone…” (John 6:24) What are the signs for you that Jesus has left a place? That the pillar of smoke is moving on? Have you had this experience in your own way? And how did you respond? When...

An imaginative contemplation with John 6:16-21. In this meditation on John’s Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look’ at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth. Just for these few minutes, I invite you to leave your dogma, your creed, your thoughts, and your rational mind aside, and become present to your deeper self, your true self or essential...

Image: Christ in the Wilderness by Elsie Anna Wood A meditation on John 6:15, using Lectio Divina and Imaginative Contemplation. Today we meditate on one verse: “When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” I very nearly skipped this in my travels through John’s gospel, but was drawn in when I realised that this crowd wasn’t taking him by force in order to arrest him, but in order...

A meditation in John’s Gospel, chapter 6, verses 1-13, using Lectio Divina and Imaginative Contemplation. In this meditation on John’s Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look’ at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth. Just for these few minutes, I invite you to leave your dogma, your creed, your thoughts, and your rational mind aside, and become...

A meditation with John 5:19-22, 24 using Lectio Divina. After the man is healed at the pool of Bethesda, and some take issue with Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus goes on to describe the relationship between himself and the Father. I invite you to listen with the ears of your heart, staying in your deep-self centre as you remain open for layers of meaning to come out of this text for you today. Blessings. Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative...

A meditation with John 5:9-19 with The Message translation, using Lectio Divina. Following on from the healing at the pool of Bethesda, this meditation takes us into the busy temple courtyard, where Jesus bumps into the man who has been made well. Just for these few minutes, I invite you to leave your dogma, your creed, your thoughts, and your rational mind aside, and become present to your deeper self, your true self or essential self. I invite you to a way of unknowing, a...

A meditation with imaginative contemplation in John’s Gospel, chapter 5, verses 2-8. In imaginative contemplation, we try to make the scene come alive in our minds eye. Some people can conjure very vivid images, sounds and smells in their minds, others experience more of an emotional impression. There is no right or wrong way to do this, the purpose of imaginative contemplation is to allow the gospel encounter to become your own in some way, to allow the text to bring the Word in a...

A meditation in John’s Gospel, chapter 4, verses 23-26, using Lectio Divina. Today we return to Jesus and the Samaritan woman, engaged in conversation beside the well. They’ve come upon one fundamental difference between Jewish and Samaritan religious practice: “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say the place where people must worship is Jerusalem.” Jesus seems to want to move away from this line of debate altogether. In this meditation on John’s Gospel, I invite...

A meditation in John’s Gospel, chapter 1, verses 1-5, with imaginative contemplation. The story of the woman at the well is one that most listeners will be very familiar with. Sometimes over-familiarity breeds disconnection: we stop seeing the things we look at every day. Here I’m asking you to really imagine that you are actually in the scene. Is this well in a small clearing or in a big open place? Is the ground flat or steep? Where and how is Jesus sitting by this well – are...

A contemplative meditation based on John 3:33-36, with breathwork. This meditation was recorded on a very warm September afternoon – the window was open, so the birdsong and passing planes are part of the soundscape. Perhaps you can imagine God’s kindness towards both you and the little birds as you listen. The shape of this meditation was modelled on Anthony De Mello’s Sadhana: A Way to God (Chapter 6, God in My Breath). Blessings as you pray. Contemplative at...

An 8-minute meditation with John 1:16 In this simple meditation we sit with the verse “From his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace.” May deep breaths and deep peace be yours, whatever else may be for you today. 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 newsletter...