Meditations to help you see life differently

The words are from the opening of the Gospel of John – a poetic and slightly mind-bending intro that talks about Jesus as ‘the light’. We think it’s a great basis for a spiritual meditation as the nights draw in, the winter solstice comes closer and Christmas celebrations begin. 

The ‘light in the darkness’ motif appears not just in this opening paragraph but throughout the whole of John’s Gospel where the author, thought to be an eyewitness of Jesus’ life, writes about how he sees Jesus and his impact on the world.  

You can read the whole of the poetic opener by searching ‘John 1’ online or finding the book towards the end of a printed Bible. The contents page will take you to the first page of John’s Gospel where you can encounter this first-century writer yourself.  

Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus ... Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honourable. 

This is found in an early letter to a group of Christians in the town of Philippi (pronounced ‘Philip-eye') in Greece, and is thought to have been delivered  between AD52–62. Paul, its author, wrote from jail where he’d been put in custody for a crime he didn’t commit.*

He knew what it was like to be in worrying circumstances but he’d learned not to let it determine how he felt. Elsewhere in his letter to the Philippians, he says, ‘I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.’

The ‘him’ he’s referring to is Jesus, who he considered the ‘Christ’, the promised saviour not just for other Jews like him, but for all people. You can read the whole of Paul’s letter to the Philippians by searching online; or to find it in a printed Bible, head to the contents page.

*You can read more about this in the Bible in a book called Acts, in chapter 21.

There is a time for everything, 

and a season for every activity under the heavens: 

a time to be born and a time to die, 

a time to plant and a time to uproot, 

a time to kill and a time to heal, 

a time to tear down and a time to build, 

a time to weep and a time to laugh, 

a time to mourn and a time to dance, 

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, 

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 

a time to search and a time to give up, 

a time to keep and a time to throw away, 

a time to tear and a time to mend, 

a time to be silent and a time to speak, 

a time to love and a time to hate, 

a time for war and a time for peace. 

These words are taken from the book of Ecclesiastes (pronounced Eh-kleeze-ee-ast-ees) . It’s near the middle of the Bible so if you’re looking this up in a printed copy, open it at the centre, then flick past Psalms and Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon). When you get to Ecclesiastes you want to look for chapter 3, marked with a big number 3. Or search ‘Ecclesiastes 3’ to read online.  

Perplexed by the reference to gathering and scattering stones? So are most scholars. It's just one of those things lost in translation over the years – though you can bet it made sense to its first readers, who would have encountered this in its finished form sometime between 400 and 250 BCE. Despite the odd idiom we don’t understand, this beautiful text still brings wisdom today.  

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd;

I have everything I need.

He lets me rest in fields of green grass

and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.

He gives me new strength.

He guides me in the right paths,

as he has promised.

Even if I go through the deepest darkness,

I will not be afraid, LORD,

for you are with me.

Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me.

You prepare a banquet for me,

where all my enemies can see me;

you welcome me as an honoured guest

and fill my cup to the brim.

I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life;

and your house will be my home as long as I live.

The book of Psalms is a collection of songs and poems used by the Hebrew nation. It’s found in the middle of printed Bibles and includes songs penned in a range of emotional states – sometimes expressing great joy and at other times great pain. They’re realistic about life and are, at times, brutally honest, expressing faith in a God who accepts people however they feel towards him. While some of the circumstances the authors encounter are wildly different to our experiences today, many of their songs put words to our deepest feelings.

We follow three women on their way to Jesus’ tomb on the first Easter Sunday and use their experience to help us consider our own endings, options and potential new beginnings.

The meditation is based on the resurrection account at the end of Mark’s Gospel.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, ‘Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”’

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

There’s more to the story but our meditation pauses here, to consider the options the women faced as they left the tomb, and what stands ahead of us as we look to life beyond lockdown. If you want to find out what happens next, you can pick up the story either by searching Mark chapter 16 online, or any of the other Gospel accounts of the resurrection. Look for Matthew 28, Luke 24 or John 21. The resurrection accounts happen in the last chapter of each book, so if you have a printed Bible, the contents page will get you the start of each book, then you can zip through to the end.

Love is patient 
Love is kind 
It does not envy
It does not boast
it is not proud. 

It is not rude
It is not self-seeking
It is not easily angered
It keeps no record of wrongs

Love does not delight in evil but always rejoices with the truth

It always protects
Always trusts
Always hopes 
Always perseveres.

This description of love is part of a letter written to some of the world’s first Christians in around 53-54AD. They lived in a city called Corinth, about 50 miles from Athens. As people who followed the teachings of Jesus, they were learning how to love their neighbour as themselves – as friends, families, business people and a religious community in the context of the Roman Empire. 

The letter was written by one of their spiritual leaders, Paul and it’s the first of two addressed to them in the Bible, which is why it’s known as ‘First’ or ‘1 Corinthians’. If you want to read it from a printed Bible you’ll find it towards the back or you can search ‘1 Corinthians 13’ to read the whole chapter online.