Lectio Divina literally means “sacred reading.” It is a spiritual practice in which the listener comes to the words of God with no agenda or presuppositions. He approaches a reading of Scripture not as a teacher or theologian or even student. Rather, she comes to the text naked, so to speak, and lets herself be clothed by the reading of God’s words.
History
Sacred Readings has a deep rich history beginning with the Tribe of Israel and later carried through the life of the early church. In both communities, the communal, public reading the sacred writings was a priority. Later, this deep tradition was codified by St. Benedict, a Desert Father, in his The Rules of St. Benedict. Stemming from these instructions, the three elements that guide the life of Benedictine monks are prayer, work and lectio divina. Later, Gugio II, the ninth prior of the Grand Chartreuse, a Carthusian order in France, further articulated lectio divina and established four spiritual steps, including: reading (lectio), meditation (meditatio), prayer (oratio), and contemplation (contemplatio). These four steps are still foundational to the current practice of lectio divina.
Theology
At it’s theological root, lectio divina is inspired by the devotional use of the Bible. One approaches the Scriptures devotionally, believing that it is God’s inspired Word and this living, active text has something to say to individual believers. Lectio divina continues this notion by assuming that, as a person engages deeply the holy words of God, we will encounter Him in the text and will be spoken to and shaped by God Himself. This encounter is not presupposed by years of study or knowledge, rather it is the average, plain encounter that is welcomed in this spiritual practice.
Practice
In regularly practicing lectio divina there are a few things the practitioner can do in this encounter. First, the main emphasis behind “sacred readings” is to shed common interpretive and study methods that usually accompany Bible reading or study. The point is to approach the text plainly and simply, so choose a Bible without notations or explanations and try to shed your own common interpretive devices. Secondly, lectio divina requires calm, quite surroundings, even silence. So seek out space that will allow for a “clean,” undistracted encounter. Finally, choose a passage on which to meditate, preferably a chapter in on book.
From here you move through the four steps from Guigo II: during the first step, lectio, you read or listen to the section of Scripture. It is a calm, deliberative reading where attention is focused to each word and idea contained in the text; the second step is meditatio, a stage that begins to flesh-out the deep meaning of the text and come to grips with the personal emotions and feelings that the text conjures in your inner soul; during oratio, you deliberately ask God for illumination, an act that takes an active step in conversing with God about the meaning of His words and how you are experiencing them; lastly, contemplatio moves beyond the words and intellectual wrestling into the “thin space” where heaven and earth touch. It is a state where one becomes entirely dependent upon God for understanding his revelation apart from any human effort, a state that takes patience and practice to experience well.
While such a practice may be foreign or seem odd to you, I am going to start to incorporate lectio divina into this blog through the form of podcasts. Over the years, spiritual disciplines have become a huge part of my spiritual journey, and I hope the reading of Scripture will help you delve deeply into the cool streams of union with Christ.
Today’s sacred reading is from John 4.
