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LUKE 7:11-17 LECTIO DIVINA PART 1
READING THE WORD (LECTIO)
The Text Itself
Please read Introduction to Lectio Divina for the structure and underlying principles involved.
11 Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
Stage 1. Reading and understanding the passage and setting (Lectio).
Non-group Use
If you are doing this alone you can follow the same model but you have greater freedom. In this first stage you can make use of both the questions and the brief talk and also the Bible study and meditation on this text. Furthermore you are obviously not subject to group timings.
Group use
This can be done either by asking questions such as the ones below or in the form of a brief introductory talk (given here after the questions for sharing).
If the questions are used in preference to the brief talk, immediately after the reading of the text allow 3-4 minutes in silence for each participant to understand the text. Each participant can then share a thought inspired by the text. Then the leader can guide the group through the questions to encourage greater understanding.
Whichever option is chosen, the interactive sharing or the brief talk, this first stage should not take more than 10 minutes.
Introductory Spontaneous Prayer
Option 1 Questions for sharing
Did Luke write another part of the New Testament? What does this tell us about what to expect from Luke? -
‘Soon afterwards’ (v. 11), after what? What episode comes before this one? What episode comes after? Does this context shed any light on our text, on how we should read it?
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Where is Jesus coming from and where is he travelling to? What is the approximate distance covered?
Where does this episode take place? What does the name of the town mean? Why? Where is the town located? Is it important to note this?
Words and expressions that group participants may not know: ‘gate’, ‘behold’, ‘compassion’, ‘bier’, ‘bearers’, ‘fear’, ‘glorify God’. -
What tells us that this episode is rooted in reality?
How many groups of people are there here?
What does Jesus and his disciples meet as they are walking towards the town?
Does the encounter take place inside or outside the town?
Are they moving in the same direction? What are these people doing? Where are they going? Where are Jesus and his followers going?
Do the widow and her son have a name? Do you think this has any importance?
Why do you think the widow’s state is desperate?
The group leader might want to avail himself of further questions on Luke 7:11-17 and the meditation on Luke 7:11-17
Option 2 Brief Introductory Talk by the group leader (if chosen instead of sharing)
Our passage is taken from the Gospel of Luke one of the synoptic Gospels. We know that Luke wrote another part of the New Testament called the Acts of the Apostles. We also know that the Acts of the Apostles is an account of the early history of the Church. From the pen of a historian we might expect a precise and detailed factual account of people and events. We can see evidence of this in our text from chapter 7 of Luke’s Gospel.
He places the event in its temporal context. The passage begins with the word ‘afterwards’ or some other word depending on your translation. It comes after the healing of the centurion’s servant. Following this passage come the messengers of John vv. 18-23. Both passages, before and after our text, have the aim of bringing into relief the identity and authority of Jesus as Son of God. here we see this authority over life and death in dramatic action
Luke tells us that the point of departure was Capernaum and his point of arrival Nain. Nain was located on high ground overlooking a fertile valley below. The distance from Capernaum to Nain is approximately 25 miles, a long journey for the time.
The town of Nain no longer exists but its location has been discovered. The name is significant; it means pleasant, charming, delightful probably due to the scene it commanded of the fertile valley below. It is important to note this as it is relevant to the direction of movement of the groups highlighted here.
As we would expect from a historian, the inspired author gives us the name of the town, the character and precise location of the funeral procession, the direction each group is moving in, the approach and reaching out to touch the bier, the woman’s condition of widow with no children and how the three groups relate and interact. Everything is conveyed in precise detail. It is not difficult to create a mental image of the scene before us.
Certain elements might need explaining as they do not correspond to modern practice. The most important is the funeral where the body is visible, laid out on a kind of stretcher, called ‘bier’. The gate referred to is the entrance to the town, one group is coming out of the town and the others moving towards the entrance to the town. Two different and opposite directions. This stretcher or bier is borne by the bearers. After the miracle Luke speaks of the ‘fear’ of God, meaning reverential awe and not ‘scared’ of God, which would be incompatible with the general reaction of all those witnessing the miracle who joyously praise God as they make their way into the town of delight.
We need to note that despite these realistic details in the narrative neither the widow nor her son has a name. This would suggest that although the narrative is rooted in reality it is meant to go beyond and become universal in its application. There is only one name of a person and that is Jesus. We are meant to focus on him and what he represents, life, giving and leading people to life as they move towards the town of delight and life.
There are three groups in the narrative and each is defined by how they relate to Jesus. Faith is a relationship, a trusting relationship with Jesus and not simply a decision divorced from life. Two groups follow Jesus and go in the same direction towards the entrance to the town of Nain. One follows Jesus but at a distance, the other is in close contact with Jesus. The third group is the funeral procession going in the opposite direction, in the presence of death, heading towards the land of the dead, the local cemetary. These are symbolic of the relationship we can have with Jesus.
Three characters stand out: Jesus, the widow and the dead man, the widow's son. These last two characters are recipients of special attention.
Each of these aspects of the narrative teach us a lesson for life.
Soft, barely audible background music to transition to stage 2. I used the kyrie eleison found on YouTube.
In a group setting this stage should take no longer than 10 minutes
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Part 2 > > > Luke 7:11-17 Lectio Divina Continue to Read > > >
© R W
bsgbiblestudyguide@gmail.com
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