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INTRODUCTION TO LECTIO DIVINA PART 1
Reading in spirit and truth
What is lectio divina? Content, structure, underlying principles
Lectio Divina, divine or sacred reading, which I call reading in spirit and truth, is an ancient practice where a text, usually taken from Scripture, is approached in different ways. Traditional lectio divina has a four-stage structure, lectio (reading), meditatio (meditation), oratio (praying), contemplatio (contemplation). This whole practice takes place in silence.
Originally it was a monastic practice dating back to medieval times when monks gathered together for prayer. The four stages correspond to four different ways of approaching the text. This was done either on an individual level or in a communal context.
The particular form of lectio divina suggested here is a modified version to render it suitable for Bible groups. A leader guides the group through each stage, each stage with varying degrees of silence, culminating in the contemplation stage completed in total silence.
Apart from being inspired by the traditional form of lectio divina, this particular form is also inspired by certain biblical texts, notably:
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23, which establishes the three dimensions or levels of being
• Hebrews 4:12, which reveals how to distinguish between the levels of spirit and soul
• Luke 10:42, which highlights the two ways one might relate to Jesus
• Luke 1:46, 47, which shows how Mary, the mother of the Lord, experienced divine revelation
• Romans 8:15, 16, which reveals on what level the Holy Spirit relates to us
• Parable of the Sower Matthew 13:3-23, which reveals different levels of experiencing the Word of God
Let us now proceed to explain in greater detail the procedure involved in this particular version of lectio divina, bearing in mind the verses mentioned above.
How to read
Let us start by stating the obvious. When attempting to understand a text the initial step is to read it. Now let us state the not so obvious. Words are symbols, they represent ideas, concepts. So, to understand a text, we must not only read and understand the words in the text but also be able to understand the concepts that those words express. We have all experienced what it is to read words without understanding their meaning.
The concepts they represent are sometimes time and culture conditioned. So, reading words and concepts dating back to centuries ago presents us with certain difficulties. Sometimes we need to be aware of the times and cultural context in which these words and concepts emerge. And to find that explanation we need to do a little research. This is true of any text whether it be religious or secular. Things become a little more complex when dealing with Scripture. Our Christian scriptures reveal the thoughts and ways of God. They are the self-revelation of God, the Word of God. And in fact the thoughts and ways of God can be quite different from man's thoughts and ways. The logic of God is often different from the logic of man. In fact we read in Isaiah 55
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8, 9)
It follows from this that we must step outside of our human natural logic and embrace the logic of God. Even the disciples, at the time of Christ found it difficult to penetrate the full meaning of the Scriptures. We can see that on the way to Emmaus when Jesus appeared to them and explained the meaning of recent events
beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.(Luke 24:27)
They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32)
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24:45)
Also in 2 Peter 3:16 we see that aspects of the apostle Paul's writings were difficult and were misinterpreted by some.
Furthermore, Scripture tells us quite clearly that the natural man cannot understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). In fact, the wisdom of God may seem to natural man as foolishness. No one can understand the meaning of Scripture with his own natural intellect neither can he accept them simply because they are discerned at the level of the spirit and the spirit of natural man is dead to God and the things of God. Spiritual things are discerned and experienced at the level of our spirit, the centre of our being. Just as all true worship is in 'spirit and truth' (John 4:24), so all true spiritual reading of Scriptue is in 'spirit and truth'. It is the Spirit that gives life to Scripture and the Spirit reveals to our spirit the life-giving truths contained therein.
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. (John 6:63)
As an example of words and expressions that are time and culturally conditioned we might refer to one of our texts Luke 7:11-17, "I say you arise"; for example the name of the town Naim and the cultural tradition of a funeral session. Also, in another of our texts Matthew 11, we need to explain the meaning and the purpose of a yoke.
Hence these considerations should prepare us for our reading. We should read each text with the spirit of humility and we should read it by asking the Holy Spirit to enlighten us because only the Holy Spirit of God understands the things of God and the Holy Spirit of God communicates with us on a spiritual level. So it is only by interacting with the Holy Spirit on the level of our spirit that we can gain precious insight into the meaning of what we are reading. Fortunately, it is not often that we have verses that require a specialist knowledge of times, events and traditions belonging to the remote past. This is not meant to discourage us, of course, but it is meant to make us aware that we are not able by our own natural skills, our own natural intellect to understand the Word of God. This should inculcate in us a prayerful disposition and humility. We are dependent on the Holy Spirit in order to gain insight into the Word of the Holy Spirit. All stages of lectio divina involve, to varying degrees, the whole of our being, spirit, soul and body. Our body is clearly involved in the posture we assume for the exercise, reading the text with our eyes or listening with our ears as the case may be. The whole four-stage process should not take longer than one hour.
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Part 2 > > > Lectio Divina Introduction Continue to Read > > >
© R W
bsgbiblestudyguide@gmail.com
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