Praying the Scripture - Come and See

Opening Prayer

Here I am Lord,
Listening
Speak to me
within my heart and soul.
I am listening.



John 1:36
‘Come and See.’


Reflection

I suppose I could have just answered the question but this is much more interesting. It’s a teaching method I picked up. My Father does it too.

You are such curious children, so demanding, so full of questions. But there’s no point in giving you the answers because, lets be honest, most of the time you only want the answer that suits you. And I am not here just to suit you; to give you the higher ground; to make you feel superior. But I am here for you; to be your guide; your companion; your brother on the road.

This invitation to come and see - it’s not like a travel programme on the television; filmed through a soft focus lens; a filtered blue sky; full of gorgeous images with a veneer of luxury to entice the eye. It’s not like a holiday brochure, photographed from the perfect angle; colour tinted to perfection. It’s not about image or imagery – pretending to be something it’s not; creating an assumption of the ideal lifestyle. It’s not loaded down with other people’s expectations, values and prejudices.

Come and see the life you were born for; the life I have bought with my life; the life everlasting.

When I say ‘come’ I don’t mean for the weekend, I don’t mean ‘if you have nothing better to do’; I mean surrender yourself to the journey; to me; to the Father and the Spirit.

When I say ‘see’ I don’t mean just with your eyes, in fact your eyes are the last things I want you to rely on. I really want the scales to fall from your eyes, to see past the veneer. When I say ‘see’ I mean with every atom of your being; fully experience; submerse into; open up to.

So it may be three words but it’s as much as I offer; it is everything I can offer; it is everything you will ever need. I want you to be with me, all of you, each and every one of you.
Will you accept the invitation – will you come and see?


Contemplation
‘Come and See’
There are statistics. The theologians have counted the number of questions Jesus was asked in the Gospels – A couple of hundred. How many did he answer? Three. In almost every case he turned the question back on the questioner, invited the people to work it out for themselves.

This was a simple question ‘Where do you live?’ But the simple reply ‘Come and See’ was more than a sociable invitation – it was an invitation to a new life, a new experience.

We have been listening for the call of God, the call of the Lord. Holding our breath for that whisper of our name. Waiting for that connection, that relationship to be made more real; but then what? Just like the morning alarm, once it goes off there’s no real point in lying there. The opening of the door is the invitation to go on, to continue the journey of faith. A journey that lasts our whole life and beyond.

In a time of quiet prayer imagine our Lord standing at the door of his home, at the gate to a garden or a woodland walk. Imagine the invitation to ‘Come and See’. Will you make that initial step into the unknown? Will you stay in the comfort of where you are now? Maybe take a few steps to the threshold to share your concerns, your expectations, to hear what he has to say.


Closing Prayer
May the blessing of the Sacred Three
The Father who gave us the Word
The Son who is the Word
The Spirit who opens the Word within us
Be with us today and evermore.
Amen

wordinthehand2009

Comments

Anonymous said…
I was just looking up "Come and see scripture" on the google bar and came up with your blog. It is interesting to me because I was just thinking about how many times we turn and look at something, like Moses and the burning bush which led me to think of the words in scripture, "Come and see". I really liked what you shared. I love that "surrender your life to the journey" and what you shared about seeing.

Thank you.
15 June 2009 at 12:59
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