Duplicity

8/24/2019

Step #1: Lectio / Read

Click the link below or open your Bible to the passage and read through the reading at least once, paying attention to what is happening in the text.

John 1:45-51

Step #2: Meditatio / Meditate

Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).

Jesus has a sense of humor.

You might not realize it if you hear a tired lector droll through the readings at Mass and you might not see it if your rush through your reading of the Gospels, but its there. So often, Jesus gives us a sly wink and a nod when he speaks to his disciples. It's never vindictive or selfish or mean, but like all good humor, it pulls us out of ourselves and helps us see things from a different perspective, even those things that were right in front of us all along.

"Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him." John 1:47 (NAB)

On one level, Jesus is being a little ironic here. If you read the Old Testament, there is plenty of duplicity in the children of Israel. Sometimes they are guided by God to use tricks in warfare to defeat their enemies. Other times, they are being duplicitous by their evil dealings with other or turning to false Gods. Israel himself (also known as Jacob) even used trickery to gain his father's blessing.

But here, Jesus is using this humorous little statement to flip the idea of duplicity on its head. He recognizes that Nathaniel is a straight shooter, even if he is a little rude about it sometimes, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" But God knows our true selves. He wants us to be single-hearted, and he recognizes this quality, still unpolished, in Nathaniel. He sees him "under the fig" tree. He sees who he really is and who he is meant to become.

Jesus Christ loves you so much and wants to draw you to himself. He sees that you and I often have duplicitous hearts - both seeking God and things of the world. But he wants us to become who we were born and baptized to be, "a true child of Israel" a true child of the Church, and a true Child of the Heavenly Father.

He sees who you are and he is calling you to become who he made you to be. Will you follow?

Step #3: Oratio / Pray

These questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.

In what ways in life have you fallen into a duplicity that God wants to call out of you?

Where is God meeting you in your life right now? Where does he want to take you?

How are you responding to God's call on your life to come and see, to come and follow him?

Step #4: Contemplatio / Contemplate

In this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.

"Come, Holy Spirit."

"My heart is yours."

"You are the King."

Step #5: Actio / Act

In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?

Let yourself dream today. Take some quiet time where you just let your mind drift into the things you desire, letting God put into place in that quiet time a vision for your life. Let the depths of your heart, the things you long for, come to mind. And then turn those over to God, knowing that he longs to meet you precisely in those desires.

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The following image is here for you to save and use as a background or lock screen on your smartphone or device to help you carry today's Lectio Divina with you the rest of the day.

Today’s Prayer was prepared by Fr. Anthony Sciarappa who was ordained in 2016 and is a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

If you have anything you'd like our team to pray for, please go to the page of our website called "Prayers" and let us know how we can pray for you today.

CARPE VERBUM