This involves entering a Gospel passage imaginatively, asking what I would hear, see, smell and touch, and what my feelings would be. The contemplation often ends with a conversation with Jesus, hearing Christ ask us, “What is your heart’s desire?” This example includes questions to prompt the imagination.

To begin, take time to be relaxed and settled. Read Luke 19:37- 42 several times.

You are with the crowd – there is great excitement and delight all around. People are buzzing about Jesus’ teaching and how it has touched them, about the people whose lives have been changed and about the hope they have in him. There is spontaneous laughter and song – of gratitude to God for the gift of this compassionate man, a leader in their midst.

Who are the people around you? How do you feel in the midst of this crowd? What are your feelings about the excitement, about Jesus? Where are you in relation to Jesus and what do you do? What are the temperature and atmosphere like? What is the city like, and the path? Does the city remind you of anywhere?

Amongst the crowd are religious leaders who don’t like the excitement and say to Jesus, “It’s out of control, tell them to stop that noise.” How do you feel about these religious leaders? What are your reactions to them?

Now you are nearing the city and Jesus stops and looks out over the buildings. This is a place he loves – a place that evokes memories from his life and the history of his people, a place of great spiritual significance. Jesus is deeply moved. You notice that he is weeping and wants space apart from the crowd. How do you feel now? Where are you standing? What is the mood around you and what is happening?

You hear Jesus speak through his tears saying, “If you had only recognised the things that make for peace, but they are hidden from your eyes.”

How do you feel about the violence and hatred, the brokenness in the city, about the way it is torn apart by people’s lack of care for one another, by selfishness, intolerance and greed. How do you feel about the spiritual state of the city? What do you notice now about Jesus and the crowd, what is the mood?

Where are the places that you want peace to be made? Where do you desire wholeness in a situation of conflict in the world, in the community, in the family, in the church, in yourself?

How do you feel about Jesus’ passion for the city and about his strength of feeling?

Do you want to speak to anyone around you or to Jesus? What do you do?

Now Jesus sets his face to the city and begins his descent into the place of trouble and unrest. How does he seem to you? How do you feel? What is your heart’s desire? What would you like to speak to Jesus about?