Sunday 5th October 2025 - How To Read The Bible: Ignation Imagination

[0:00] This morning we are going to continue in our series on how to read the Bible and we're going to explore Ignatian imagination imagination.

[0:10] ! He's known for founding the Jesuits but also renowned for his use of spiritual exercises.

[0:40] So you might hear the wider term Ignatian spirituality. And what's unique about this is it uses an approach to prayer and reading the Bible that engages our imagination and senses.

[0:56] So Ignatian himself, previously a soldier, came to value this while he was convalescing in bed from a battle wound.

[1:08] And as he read the stories of Christ he pictured himself being a pilgrim, heading to Jerusalem and placing himself among the stories and journeys happening.

[1:19] However, Ignatius wasn't the first to discover this way of using imagination. And in medieval times it would have been common to reflect in this way.

[1:35] So for monks who couldn't read, they would have passages read to them multiple times and they would return to their cells to pray and let them unfold in their minds.

[1:46] In fact, it's thought that Ignatius was inspired by meditations in a book from the 14th century from Ludolf of Saxony.

[1:58] And actually the book cover on the right, it's translated into English and we can get that now. Although the cheapest I could see was about £80 for it, so I haven't got it yet.

[2:10] But we know that Ludolf writes, if you want to draw fruit from these scenes of the mystery of Christ's life, you must offer yourself as present to what was said or done through our Lord Jesus Christ with the whole effective power of your mind.

[2:30] And he continues, many of these are narrated as past events, so you must meditate on them as though they were happening in the present moment.

[2:44] Read then of what has been done as though they were happening now. Bring before your eye past actions as though they were present. So this form of contemplation takes the then of Jesus' story and it makes it now present and relevant to us.

[3:05] And it can enable us to meet Jesus in a very real way. For both Ludolf and Ignatius, they don't want us to just think about Jesus, but to experience him, to meet him, for him to fill our senses.

[3:23] And I think their wisdom can be just as relevant today as it was back then. But I also appreciate that there might be people sitting here thinking, well, I don't have a very good imagination, I really struggle to picture things, I might struggle to picture a gospel scene, I might lose concentration, or actually this just really isn't my thing and I don't think I would enjoy this.

[3:50] And that's okay too. We are all different, we are all unique, and we all engage with God and the Bible. There's not just one way.

[4:02] But it's also worth noting that it's not just the visual sense that's engaged. Ignatius suggests that there's sight, hearing and feelings that are often stimulated through these spiritual exercises.

[4:14] And you might find that one is more dominant for you. But the reality is, we're usually always using our imaginations, even if we don't realise.

[4:27] When we read a book or an article, when we read a food recipe, we might walk through the steps in our mind, making a whole meal in our mind before we've actually done it.

[4:40] So I came across this spirituality back in 2018. And I was facilitating a retreat for children's and youth workers.

[4:50] And I was completely in work mode. I was a little bit grumpy. And while I wanted people attending to have an encounter with God, I really wasn't expecting one myself.

[5:02] But the leader of the retreat, he was a Jesuit. And he used several methods of engaging with the imagination. And I've got to say, it's been transformative in how I experienced Jesus.

[5:19] And I also think it gave me permission that it was okay to bring myself, my imagination and who I am into the Bible stories. Of course, we want to take things seriously.

[5:32] But we don't necessarily have to be rigid or serious in how we engage. Imagination is not the same as imaginary or not real. We are praying or reflecting on something very real.

[5:48] Representing it. So this morning, we're going to have a go at this. We're going to have a go at engaging with the Bible passage, placing ourselves in the scene. Now, of course, we need to be aware that bringing ourselves and all that brings into this.

[6:02] We can trust the Holy Spirit will help and guide us. If our encounter is fruitful and helps us to flourish, then we can be assured it's of God.

[6:15] And Matt is going to talk a bit more about this in a few weeks' time. So the passage we're going to engage with this morning is from Mark's Gospel, where Jesus heals Bartimaeus.

[6:26] And I'm going to read it now, straightforwardly, so you can hear it. So there's no surprises when we move into the meditation. Blind Bartimaeus receives his sight.

[6:44] Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus, which means son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside begging.

[7:01] When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet.

[7:14] But he shouted all the more, son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus stopped and said, call him. So they called the blind man.

[7:27] Cheer up, on your feet, he's calling you. Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. What do you want me to do for you? Jesus asked him.

[7:43] The blind man said, Rabbi, I want to see. Go, said Jesus, your faith has healed you. Immediately, he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

[8:03] So, I invite you, if you'd like to, to get comfortable in your seats. Close your eyes, if you'd like to, and take a few deep breaths.

[8:15] We're going to place ourself in the story. Start to picture the scene.

[8:31] Jesus and a crowd are leaving Jericho. There is a beggar at the side of the road. Who are you in this scene?

[8:46] Someone in the crowd. A passerby. One of the disciples, maybe. Be there.

[9:03] Look around you. The sun is beating down.

[9:15] Look up at the sky and feel the warmth. Look around you and take it all in.

[9:28] The road. The buildings. The people. Smell the air.

[9:48] What can you smell? Smell the air. Smell the air. Smell the air. Smell the air.

[9:58] Feel the ground under your feet. Is it solid? Or dusty?

[10:17] Look down at your feet. What are you wearing? What clothes are you wearing?

[10:35] Feel the touch of cloth on your skin. Feel the touch of cloth on your skin. Feel the touch of cloth on your skin.

[10:50] Listen to the sounds around you. What can you hear? Are the crowds noisy? Are the crowds noisy? Where are you alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém alguém Bartimaeus has just found out Jesus will be passing him how does this affect him he calls out listen to his cries

[12:03] Jesus, son of David have mercy on me the crowd tells him to be quiet what do you do?

[12:20] what do you do? he shouts louder Jesus, son of David have mercy on me how does this make you feel?

[12:46] how does this make you feel? Jesus becomes aware of him you hear Jesus say call him call him the crowds tell him to go to Jesus Bartimaeus stands and throws off his cloak he makes his way towards Jesus' voice his cloak his cloak will be the only item he owns and they are costly how does that make you feel?

[13:45] watch as Bartimaeus gets closer to Jesus and you hear Jesus ask that question what do you want me to do for you?

[14:14] Bartimaeus replies Rabbi, I want to see go Jesus says your faith has healed you you watch Bartimaeus closely as he shakes his head moves around can you imagine what it would be like to see light to see light after darkness for so long the colours and shapes people's faces Jesus' face how are Jesus and Bartimaeus looking at each other?

[15:22] how are they feeling? how are you feeling? something stirs inside of you and you yearn to get closer to Jesus to see the details of his face you step out of the crowd into his path he is right in front of you can you bring yourself to look into his face?

[16:14] or are you overwhelmed? look at him now what do you see?

[16:35] let him look at you how do you feel now?

[16:59] he asks you the question what do you want me to do for you? take your time when you are ready give him your answer carry on this conversation until you have said everything you need to say and Jesus has responded stay with him outside of Jericho as long as you want to youiseise him

[18:01] Thank you.

[18:31] Thank you.

[19:01] Thank you.

[19:31] Thank you. Jesus and the crowd begin to finally depart from Jericho.

[19:47] Bartimaeus follows him hurriedly. What do you do? Do that now.

[20:02] Thank you. Thank you. And you're alguém through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through you through what feelings did you experience when did you feel encouraged or maybe discouraged what did you receive what did you receive what did you learn about Jesus about Bartimaeus about yourself you

[22:03] And when you are ready, slowly open your eyes and bring your awareness back to the room.

[23:01] So we've heard the Bible passage. And we've had a go at engaging all of our senses and imagination.

[23:16] And so now we're going to watch the video clip. And we use the video clips in church as it's another way of engaging with our visual senses.

[23:30] So we're going to have a watch and see if there's anything similar or different to how you imagined, remembering there's no right or wrong way of this. Then they came to Jericho.

[23:49] As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus, which means son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside begging.

[24:01] When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me.

[24:20] Jesus stopped and said, Call him. So they called to the blind man, Cheer up, on your feet, he's calling you.

[24:32] Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. What do you want me to do for you? Jesus asked him. The blind man said, Rabbi, I want to see.

[24:56] Go, said Jesus. Your faith has healed you. Go. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

[25:11] Go. So if you found this morning helpful, if you would like to do it again, there's lots of things online to help you.

[25:28] There's lots of scripts you can listen to that you can just pop on at home, close your eyes and sort of get into that space. I've popped a few examples up there.

[25:40] There's the IgnatianSpirituality.com. The Pray As You Go app I find particularly helpful. They do a daily meditation and prayer, but also there's lots of resources on there as well, including some of these imaginative reflections.

[25:57] And the same for Lectio 365. That's another good one. The other way of doing it is to choose a Bible passage, read it two or three times until you're familiar with it, and then find a quiet space to meditate on.

[26:18] Some passages lend themselves really well to this kind of thing, and it's usually ones where Jesus is involved in conversation or something is happening. So when Jesus calls his disciples, when the woman anoints Jesus' feet, Zacchaeus the tax collector, when Jesus walks on water, when Jesus heals Jairus' daughter and the bleeding woman, healing in Simon's house, and when Jesus raises Lazarus.

[26:47] And I'm sure there's lots more, if you might have a favourite Bible passage, that you would like to meditate on. So just to draw all of this together, there are lots of different ways to engage with the Bible.

[27:03] But using your senses and imagination has been a technique used for centuries. And we can trust that when Jesus says, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened, that when we spend time engaging, that he will meet with us.

[27:21] Amen. Amen.