Gospel Contemplation: Just Generosity

Gospel Contemplation is a way of praying that St. Ignatius proposes quite frequently in his Spiritual Exercises. You are invited to use your imagination to enter the scene, to take part, to let the scene unfold. As Ignatius suggests, notice the people, listen to them, watch what they do [SE, 106, 107, 108]. Perhaps you may sense an invitation to be one of the individuals in the scene and engage in a conversation with one of them. You can do this on your own, or use the text below as a guide.

If this way of praying is new – simply relax and try to become engaged in the scene. Try not to worry about what you are “supposed to” be doing. If you find yourself distracted during your prayer, very gently bring yourself back to the scripture text or your imaginative contemplation.

If at any point during the guided contemplation your imagination comes to life in such a way that God invites to you stay with a particular moment, follow the invitation that you sense, rather than move on to where the written contemplation is going. In that case you might want to stop reading and continue on your own.

• Choose a position where you can be relaxed but alert.
• Breathe deeply several times and let your body relax
• Breathe out any worries or stressful thoughts and put them in God’s hands
• Become aware of God’s presence here with you now, looking at you with love.

• Ask God for the grace of openness to accept God's generosity.

Read the passage slowly, savoring the words and beginning to imagine the scene. Read it twice if that helps you to visualize it.

If you were a day laborer, what work would you do? Would you work in the fields, in construction, sewing, temp office work, landscaping, driver, waiter? If you are not currently in that situation, imagine that you are (or remember when you were).
What is it like for you to hope every day for a job, to make some money to support yourself and perhaps your family?
Imagine going to the place where you wait for work – a parking lot, a temp agency office, or maybe just sitting by your phone waiting for an employer to call.

Imagine a day when you are up early and ready to go, and it’s your lucky day – an employer calls, she needs someone with your skill set, and you’re off to work at 9am. Throughout the day more workers come in to help complete the work by 5 pm. It’s a long day, and you are tired at the end. You all line up to get your checks. The first ones in line are the folks who arrived later in the day, and they start celebrating because their checks are larger than usual – in fact they reflect a full day’s work. You wonder what this means for your paycheck. After you are handed your check, you take a peek inside the envelope, and it looks like you got the normal amount for 8 hours as well.

How do you respond? Is it easy or difficult to accept the employer’s generosity?

Now imagine a different day, waiting all day for an employer to call. You’ve given up – no one will need anyone this late in the day. And then, an employer calls. He needs help just to finish out the day. What is it like to get that call and go to do the work? The day ends, not too long after you arrive. And much to your surprise, the employer pays you for a full eight hours, even though you worked only one.

How do you respond? Is it easy or difficult to accept his generosity?

Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven is like the employer who is surprisingly generous – and like the workers who do not earn God’s generosity but receive it freely.

Pay attention to what feelings Jesus’s parable and your imaginative exercise prompt in you. What does it mean, that you feel the way you do?

Talk with Jesus about all of this, sharing your thoughts and feelings with him. And listen to what he has to say in response, remembering that he wants to be generous with you. And when you are ready, close with a favorite prayer.