Category Archives: Lectio Divina

After the interlude of parables concerning the kingdom of God, Mark pitches us back into the action as suddenly as the storm which he now narrates.

It’s evening, a busy day of preaching and teaching has come to an end for the Master and his disciples and the crowds who have hung on his every word and deed.  But the evening of the day is not yet a time for rest.  On the contrary, Mark shows us that a different sort of encounter, and revelation, and realisation, all unlooked for, is about to unfold.

The subject of the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven as it is sometimes called in Scripture, is one of the most perplexing terms and realities that the Gospels throw at us, and yet nothing could be more central to Christ’s preaching and work – it is the banner headline…

The parable of the sower and Christ’s explanation, which we considered in last week’s lectio divina, is broken up by comments which Christ makes about his own style of teaching, and how his teaching is to be received and passed on. Now, the Teacher is instructing us on how we should carry on his work, and what is the groundwork necessary for our preaching and teaching.

As we have noted before, Christ is the master of the teaching story form which is the parable, and his parables have rightly become unforgettable. And this is exactly as it should be – the parable aims to stick in our memory, to be hard to dislodge. If it were an annoying…

We are invited to consider in these verses the things that unite us and those that divide us. It’s interesting that Mark sets this question in two contexts – on the one hand that of Jesus’ family and relations, and on the other the ongoing and often acrimonious dispute with the scribes.

Much happens in the course of these few verses to give us food for lectio over the coming week. In a sense, that is precisely the effect of Sacred Scripture on us, and perhaps even the intention, unwittingly, of the author – rather than read in order to get to the end…

Once again, Mark demonstrates his keen eye for humanity brought low. Jesus not only heals – he has the capacity to draw men and women from the fringes, where they have driven, and place them back in their rightful place within their own community. Not for the first time, Jesus works…

Jesus, in today’s lectio passage, challenges our reception and interpretation of regulations. We might very well recall a maxim used by St Gregory the Great in this, and quoted by the Cistercian fathers: Observance without rigidity, and compassion without relaxation. If regulations are found to be unyielding, monolithic and impersonal they will…

One of the defining elements of the gospel narratives is Jesus’ relationship with his disciples – and it begins in the various ‘calls’ which he issues. The call of Levi – whom we know more commonly as Matthew, the tax collector – is no different. It has all of Mark’s breathless brevity…

For most of us paralysis is not an experience with which we can readily identify. Perhaps we have occasions – or it is the service we render – when we have to care for someone who lives with a paralysis which is bodily, which inhibits, which is partial or almost complete…