Scriptural Meditation: The Trial of Job
How to offer a Zoom Scriptural Meditation
This method has worked well in providing simple content to parishioners. You will develop your own way of doing this through a process of learning what works best for your group.
A small group of five to ten participants will be very manageable but you may be happy managing a larger group.
Step One: Preparation
Download the scriptural meditation that has been prepared (you will find the link at the bottom of this post, along with an image for you to share). If you are unsure about using Zoom, you can find a simple guide here.
Invite parishioners and friends to the Zoom meeting. Be relaxed and enjoy the opportunity for people to be together in faith. Welcome each person individually and ask them to introduce themselves to the group.
Step Two: Prayer
Assign different people to the various parts.
Begin with a prayer.
Suggested prayer:
God, you are a big God. You are powerful, loving, wise, and just. Though I may suffer, help me to never lose my faith in You. Though I may be angry, help me never to doubt Your love for me. Help me to be compassionate and show Your love to those who are suffering. Help me to remember that You, too, suffered on the Cross for my sake, and help me to unite my suffering to Yours. Amen.
Step Three: Art Introduction
Job and His Friends by Ilya Repin, 1869, Russian Museum
Share your screen and show the work of art accompanying the Bible passage, available for download. A guided art reflection has also been provided.
Introduce the work of art
Title of Work
Artist
Themes of the painting.
People will have a chance to reflect on the painting later on during the sharing time.
Step Four: Narration of the Chosen Passage
Ask the readers to read the chosen passage from the Bible (Job 2:1–13) or using the downloaded sheet.
Before the second reading you may wish to read a brief reflection from a commentary.
Ask the readers to read the passage out loud for a second time.
Then introduce five minutes of sacred silence.
Technical Note: It is possible to ‘mute’ all the participants and it is recommended to do so at this time.
Once the five minutes of silence has finished mark this with an appropriate prayer.
Step Five: Sharing Time
Encourage the participants to share their reflections of the Bible passage on which you are meditating.
You may find it helpful to include some guidance on the themes of the Bible passage you are using such as healing or forgiveness.
No one should feel obliged to share but it’s good to remind people that everyone has something to offer.
Technical Note: Zoom has a ‘hands up’ facility which helps so people can take turns sharing. You will know that only one person can speak at a time. So it’s important to be firm with participants so they don’t talk over each other.
Once everyone who wants to has had a chance to share you can finish the meditation with a prayer.
Supplementary Resource
The subject of suffering may be difficult for some participants to process. Please use the video below as an added resource if you find your group would benefit from further encouragement.