Luther on Meditation

"When you open the book containing the gospels and read or hear how Christ comes here or there, or how someone is brought to him, you should therin perceive the sermon or the gospel through which he is coming to you, or you are being brought to him. For the preaching of the gospel is nothing else than Christ coming to us, or we being brought to him. When you see how he works, however, and how he helps everyone to whom he comes or who is brought to him, then rest assured that faith is accomplishing this in you and that he is offering your soul exactly the same sort of help and favor through the gospel. If you pause here and let him do you good, that is, if you believe that he benefits and helps you, then you really have it. Then Christ is yours, presented to you as a gift." A Brief Instruction on What to Look for and Expect in the Gospels, 1521. AE 35:121.

There are three ways in which we are to look at what Luther writes here.

First, meditation is an ancient tradition. We should be reading the gospels evangelically. That is, we should read them as if it is a sermon. It is telling us good news not a series of moral aphorisms or rules that we must follow. That is the other thing about how to read the gospels. Read them as if it speaks to you. Without Christ, this is only wishful thinking. It would accomplish nothing without Christ working in we who believe. Jesus is actively with you. He is working and accomplishing in you what His word is telling you. What Jesus said and did then, He says and does now. So, each story about Jesus is meant to be an aid to our meditation.

Secondly, Luther encourages us to read the stories about Jesus that we find in the gospels, faithfully. He assumes that each story is meant for us and is intended to inspire us to trust more fully in Jesus and to turn to Him for help. So, we then believe that Jesus is now saying and doing the same good thing for us as He did for those who came to Him or were brought to Him and cried out, "Lord, have mercy". As we do this, we experience Jesus' hidden intervention in the here and now. So, by faithful meditation on the Word of God, we receive Christ as a gift.

Finally, meditation is meant to engage all five senses. This happens as we imagine the scenario of the event. As we imagine those men tearing a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching so they might lower their crippled friend down for Jesus to heal him. All this because they could not otherwise get close to Jesus for the great crowd. It takes our eyes to read the words, our ears to hear the noises of such as scene, our noses as we smell the imagined smells of a first century city, our touch as we help our friend and as we dig with our hands in the roof of the building and finally, our taste as we get dust and other debris in our mouths while we dig. Think of it!

All as we ponder such a scene, and many others and hear the words Christ would teach us. Thinking how we might also respond in our own lives in obedience to Jesus. So, in all of this, meditation becomes a matter of reception from Him rather than an act of obedience to Him.

Such is just a taste of the book on Christian spirituality that I have been slowly reading through. Dr. Kleinig has given us a great gift. Especially his chapter explaining the mystery of meditation. That part in particular, as you have seen has been helpful to me. I always find myself racing through any book that I read. I need to continually remember to slow down and really take in what it is that I am reading. Maybe as I grow older, I will begin to do better?

When I will stumble upon some other gems that will be interesting to ponder more deeply. I will share them with all of you.

Thank you Dr. Kleinig for writing Grace Upon Grace: Spirituality for Today.