Meditating with Scripture John's Gospel - Softcover

Reading this book will help you stop and think, it will help you sit down and pray and it may even make you laugh and cry. It brings us face to face with Jesus through the sacred reading of John's Gospel. Steve Kersys, Children's Work Adviser, Chelmsford Diocese Reviewed by Michael Campbell OSA, Bishop of Lancaster The fourth gospel since earliest times has always been a rich source of inspiration and reflection for Christians, and its spiritual depths appear inexhaustible. The Evangelist John's incomparable masterpiece continues today to attract scholars and writers on the spiritual life who explain and apply its insights for the benefit of believers in the twenty-first century. This little book by Elena Bosetti takes a number of themes from John's gospel and sets them in the context of lectio divina. In my opinion she does this succinctly and admirably. There are twelve chapters in all, ranging from the call of the first disciples to the Easter scenes with Mary Magdalene in the garden and the disciples in the Upper Room. After setting the scene, the reader is invited to dialogue with the text, and then to respond with a form of colloquy. The author acknowledges her debt to the method of lectio divina as propounded by the founder of the Pauline family, Fr. James Alberione. A central appeal of this volume for me lies in the skilful use of modern Johannine scholarship which pervades its pages. The author is clearly well versed in this scholarship which greatly enhances the spiritual content of her work. Piety and learning walk hand in hand in these pages, an approach which conforms to the best traditions of Catholic theology. I commend Meditating with Scripture to all who wish to engage with the story of Jesus of Nazareth and so find meaning and sustenance for their lives. There is much to ponder here. Review from Chelmsford Diocese Elena Bosetti's book, based on the principles and practice of Lectio Divina, prepares a journey through John's Gospel with familiar echoes from other parts of the scriptures. This book is a prayerful and powerful series of conversations with the written word and with the Living Word. The journey through John's Gospel is grounded in a rich structural and contextual analysis offering insight in the depth of meaning in its original setting with opportunities for reflection upon our lives today. Each of the 12 chapters forms the stage of a journey of discovery. It starts on the banks of the River Jordan and ends on the shores of Lake Galillee. The journey begins with an introduction to Jesus and ends with a commissioning for continuing service with Jesus with a strong reminder that vocation is interwoven with mission. Each chapter is prepared in short accessible sections centred around an unveiling of the text, through to a dialogue with the word and ending with a meditation. Specific conversations include those with the disciples, the woman at the well, Mary, Martha and Lazarus and Nicodemus. This book offers more than questions and answers but meditations on a series of personal encounters with Jesus. It feeds the mind and the soul and offers opportunities for continuing dialogue with the living word. New insights fill each chapter and you may well find yourself taking far longer than you anticipate to finish each section; such are the rich opportunities for reflection and thought. Its structure and style would lend itself to personal reading in daily devotions, to reading through Advent or Lent or to small group study using the dialogue sections as discussion starters. Reading this book will help you stop and think, it will help you sit down and pray and it may even make you laugh and cry. It brings us face to face with Jesus through the sacred reading of John's Gospel. Reviewed by Steve Kersys, Children's Work Adviser, Chelmsford Diocese Lectio divina, reading into the heart of God, an ancient discipline, is embraced by Elena Bosetti to call, as God calls, to listening, to pondering, and to praying without ceasing. Meditating with Scripture: John's Gospel adopts a threefold approach to the words of Scripture so that the Word made flesh may enter our hearts, find a home, and lift the spirit on eagle's wings to the very throne of grace. Not an exegetical commentary, nor yet a sentimental flight of fancy, Meditating with Scripture is that rare thing under the sun: unobtrusive scholarship serving, as it always should but seldom does, faith understanding, engagement, and worshipful prayer. Bosetti explores the Gospel of John through its dramas, its soliloquies, its prayers. From Cana of Galilee to the Place of the Skull and beyond, she teases out the essentials of what is said and what is done, offers insights which move from explanation to meditation, from meditation to prayer. From the woman at a Cana wedding to men about a charcoal fire, we meet familiar people as if for the first time, so fresh and imaginative they become in these lyrical pages. Twelve chapters are twelve glorious incentives to come and see. Each encounter with John's narrative is approached in the same way. Thus we meet Jesus and the woman of Samaria at the well and the delicacies and subtleties of the story are carefully explored with candour and refreshing insight. The woman emerges as a woman of truth who fulfils the potential seen in her by the one who asks for a drink. Bosetti's careful attention to detail leads gently to thoughtful meditation and dialogue with the word which, by and by, she turns into perceptive prayer. A reader, but better still, a group of readers, wishing to explore John's Gospel in order to plumb the depths of its summons to the God who is love, will find the journey in Bosetti's company engaging and fruitful. And challenging. Her metaphor is that of a journey, a way of the Lord, with the Lord, to the Lord, a true lectio divina. Father Joseph O'Hanlon Lecturer in Biblical Studies at Allen Hall Seminary, London Book details*ISBN: 9781841018232*Published: 23 July 2010*Status: *Format: Paperback*Pages: 208Email this page to a friend Who do you want to send to?We will email a link to the page you have just been reading to a friend or group of friends you specify. Enter the email address of the friend(s) you wish to share this page with. Separate multiple addresses with a comma (,) To email(s)* .. Tell them who it's fromEnter your details. Enter your name so your friend(s) will know who has sent them the link. 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'How should we read the Gospel of John? There are so many ways. The one presented here is rooted in an experience that does not separate reason from faith or the intellect from the heart. It follows the method of lectio divina, proposes a prayerful listening to the word, and is moved by the invocation of the Spirit. We cannot fly on eagle's wings unless the Spirit lifts us'. Using the ancient tradition of lectio divina ('sacred reading'), this book leads us on a journey through John's Gospels, reflecting on the people and the events in the life of Jesus, as well as his teaching and prayers, which all combine to make this most carefully structured and lyrically written of Gospel accounts. Each chapter concludes with exercises to help us 'dialogue with the word' and a prayerful meditation to draw together our thoughts and help to shape our response. Summary of contents: Introduction; John the Baptist and the Lamb of God; Jesus and the first disciples; The mother of Jesus and wine for the wedding; The night-time conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus; Jesus at the well with the Samaritan woman; The Good Shepherd; Lazarus, Martha and Mary: friendship and resurrection; The Lord becomes a servant; The great prayer of Jesus; The crucified King; Mary Magdalene, the disciples and Thomas; The new starting point is love; and, Notes. What is "lectio divina"? David Winter writes: Recently many Christians have begun to take an interest in an ancient, traditional way of reading the Bible called lectio divina, which a new BRF book "Meditating with Scripture" is written to facilitate. "lectio divina" is literally 'divine' or spiritual reading. There's an example of it in St Paul's letter to the Christians at Colosse. They are told to 'let the word of Christ dwell in you richly' (3:16). The word is to saturate their spirits - that's the literal meaning of 'dwelling richly'. This way of reading the Bible is more like an engagement with a living being than studying a book. At Colosse, this group of Christians are simply to open themselves to the Scripture and listen to its inner voice together. After all, the Bible wasn't written for the library or the lecture theatre, but to enable ordinary believers to meet with God, to hear his voice, to enter into a kind of conversation of the soul. With "lectio divina" we seek from the text just one thing, but that the greatest thing a human being can ask for: a living relationship with God.