“Christ stands in the midst of those who
seek him.”
— John 1:26 (paraphrased)
LECTIO
DIVINA means “sacred reading,” and it can be done as a means of spiritual
contemplation toward practicing the Presence of God. For Example, when Jesus
says, “Peace I leave you, my peace I give to
you”
(John 14:27), we can either focus on what that means theologically or we can
meditate on it to deduce what Jesus is actually saying to us, in our space and
time, right now. We are practicing being Present with the Messiah.
Lectio
Divina is done by simply praying the Word aloud, repeatedly, for example, John
14:27... “peace, I leave you... peace...
peace, I leave you... I give you peace... I give to you... peace...” we
imagine Jesus saying to us as we pray the words aloud, slowly, experimenting in
different tones and pace.
What
follows is an acrostic that describes some of the features of Lectio Divina:
Linger – as we linger over the Word
of God – one verse, line, or word – we draw deeply into the Lord and God becomes
real in that moment.
Examine – of a sense we are
examining the text before us. God is doing things in our minds as we open
ourselves up via our intentional focus.
Concentrate – there are times when
our thoughts waver into distraction; but this is about stilling the mind, heart
and soul as much as possible. Whenever we find ourselves distracted we
re-connect and concentrate, not so much mentally, but on our spiritual
resources of being one with God.
Transform – through such a
submission of ourselves into contemplative practice we are open to God
transforming us by the revelation of his Word back to us through the biblical
text. The text literally comes alive; it makes us change.
Internalize – the introvert will
love lectio divina, but any busy or weary person will; that’s because there is
the intentional internalization. We have given ourselves permission to escape,
for a brief time, from the burdens of this world.
Obedience – to practice being
Present with God is possibly the greatest sign of the humble submission of
ourselves.
Discipleship – lectio divina is an
investment, at its core, in the process of discipleship. In allowing God to
speak to us through his Word, we are able to listen, to hear (and therefore
understand), and to contemplate the action to take.
Illumined – there are myriads of
false enlightenments in this world. To be truly enlightened is to see as God
sees. To be illumined is to be judged; to know the truth – the good, the bad,
and the ugly – as we are personally concerned.
Vulnerable – to be vulnerable to
God’s grace and revelation is to be opened up like a tin can, knowing all along
that as God pervades us we are safe. To be vulnerable as we pray through the
Word is to give God license to change us.
Integrity – this is what we want to
harness; to be integral as we pray; to be a unit within ourselves with God.
New – as we plunge prayerfully into
the biblical text, we come through fresh exploration into to new
understandings.
Acuity – lectio divina blesses us
with a sharper, keener sense for ourselves, God, and our relationship with God.
© 2014 S. J. Wickham.
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