Lectio Divina

IT IS WRITTEN
Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:106

Lectio divina is the Latin term for 'divine reading'. It is used to describe a practice common in the Benedictine order, in which a short bible passage is read several times and a word or phrase which 'snags' on the mind of the reader is then contemplated in the expectation of God revealing a fresh insight or new direction. Lectio divina is not intellectual analysis and does not seek doctrinal understanding; rather, it is a form of intimacy with God, and its blessings are personal. It often provides an uncomfortable glimpse into the status of one's spiritual health.

Each Sunday evening I attend a communal lectio on the gospel of the day at St Joan's Catholic Church in Victor Harbor. In a group, the insights remain personal, but those attending gain enormously from hearing how God is speaking into the hearts of others. In that spirit I share some of my insights with you.

2017 Most recent listed first

Matthew 3:1-12: John the Baptist rebukes the Pharisees and Sadducees for their lack of repentance and testifies about Jesus
Catch phrase: Bear fruit worthy of repentance
In pondering this phrase I saw an image of a Christmas tree decorated with baubles, and the baubles represented the fruit of repentance. Zooming in for a closer look, I saw that the baubles were Humility, Obedience, Joy, Compassion, Love, Tenderness and Power. One bauble was so highly polished its surface was like a mirror. When I looked at it more closely, the face of Jesus looked back at me! I understood that it is only through repentance that we can become more Christ-like. I also saw that if I am not demonstrating humility, obedience, joy, compassion, love, tenderness or power then I must find that area in my life that is not yet fully yielded to God and repent.
7 January 2017

2016 Most recent listed first

Matthew 18:23-35: Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a king settling accounts with his servants
Catch phrase: Settle accounts
In this parable, the first servant to come before the king owes 10,000 talents – a fortune. Questions chased across my mind: What do I owe? What have I borrowed? What have I been given? Am I ready and able to settle the account? How do I settle my account?
I was alarmed, because I realised I had never bothered to keep track of my ‘account’ with God. I know I’ve been given much, but have I properly understood the terms of the gifting? Peace, for example, must be shared if it is to be retained. Do I pass on the peace that is given to me? Is there anything I have purposefully borrowed? And, if so, what are the terms of the loan? I can certainly see that I’ve liberally helped myself from the king’s storeroom to shelter, money, lifestyle, even relationships.
At this point in my contemplation I grasped at my tithing practice as if it were a life buoy. Surely tithing and sacrificial giving help to balance the accounts! Unfortunately, this life saver quickly deflated as I realised I tithe with little thought. Without mindfulness, without a deeply embedded sense that God is the source of all that I have and all that comes to me, I had turned tithing from a blessing to another form of legalism, to a practice that is, indeed, of no account.
What a wake up call! Repentance and a mindset shift were immediately required.

Luke 20:27-38 Some sadducees question Jesus about resurrection
Catch word or phrase: Died childless
The phrase ‘died childless’ made me ponder whether I am bearing spiritual fruit. Do I have spiritual children? If I were facing death now, would I be able to look back confident that I had given all that I could to God?
I could see that not only do I have very few children, those I might lay claim to are badly malnourished.
Then my contemplation took a more positive turn: If I were dying now, would a pregnancy test prove positive? Yes, I am pregnant! I am pregnant with the Word, with love for God, with God’s spirit. Hallelulia! What a glorious feeling. I so much want to birth the life within me and I see Jesus as God's very special midwife! As we enter the Advent season, what a rich gift for further contemplation.

Luke 19:1-10 Jesus speaks to Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree
Catch word or phrase: He ran
Zacchaeus the tax collector was short and could not see Jesus for the crowd around him, ‘so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus’. Three things struck me: first, Zacchaeus desired to see Jesus; second, he made a plan to create the opportunity to achieve that desire; and, third, he moved as fast as he could to put that plan into action.Phew! I quickly scanned my own desires, plans and actions to get close to Jesus.
I have to seek Jesus in a crowd of church traditions, doctrines, and preachers’ and artists’ interpretations. Where do I have to go and what do I have to do to get above this crowded space to ‘see’ Jesus? And I’d better make planning and action a priority: as Jesus said to Zacchaeus, ‘Hurry, because I must stay at your house today’.

Luke 12:32-48 Jesus warns his disciples to stand ready for the coming of the Son of Man
Catch word or phrase: He will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them.
'Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes,' Jesus tells his disciples. Then follows the extraordinary reversal of roles, as the master becomes the servant. It struck me that the master will be serving what has been prepared by the servants for him. In other words, we do indeed reap what we sow, and we are indeed forgiven as we forgive.
What am I cooking up?

Luke 9:18-24 Jesus asks his disciples, 'Who do you say that I am?'
Catch word or phrase: Follower of mine
I was struck by the insight of one of the group members: 'I realised that I have to follow Jesus wherever he goes, not just to the mountain top.'
I learn so much from listening to our group members!
I had never thought before of 'taking up the cross' as an act of followership, but more as a condition of discipleship. They are not quite the same thing - at least not in my mind. And I realised that the gospels are full of followership stories that I could revisit with fresh eyes.

Luke 7:36 - 8:3 The woman washes Jesus' feet with her tears
Catch word or phrase: You did not
In this passage, Jesus challenges the lack of understanding of Simon the pharisee, in whose home he is dining. Jesus reminds Simon that when Jesus arrived at Simon's house Simon did not pour water over Jesus' feet, welcome him with a kiss or anoint Jesus' head with oil.
I asked myself, How do I welcome Jesus? The ghastly answer is, I don't. Rather, I summon Jesus into my presence, at my chosen timing, and with the expectation he will obey my imperious commands: Be here now! Do this! Listen! Answer! Advise! Help! And then the final insult: Go away now - I need 'me' time.
Like Simon, I need a new attitude and better manners, fast.

Luke 7:11-17 Raising of the widow's son at Nain
Catch word or phrase: Get up
I had a sudden perception of myself as lying dead, and Jesus speaking to me, ‘I say to you, get up!’ But unlike the son of the widow of Nain, I did not get up, I remained as one dead.
I remembered other instances where Jesus had declared over people, ‘Get up!’ The raising of the daughter of Jairus in Mark 5, and the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5 are vivid examples. For the first time I was hearing these words spoken directly to me, a command more real and immediate and with far greater impact than the command to go out and declare the gospel to the nations. I was totally aware that unless I responded and got up, unless I was fully alive in God, I could not be really alive at all, but I remained as one dead.
‘Talitha koum,’ said Jesus to Jairus' daughter, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise!’, and he took her by the hand. Jesus, please, please, help me up!