Advent 2023—Lectio Divina part 3

This Advent I am going to look at the practice of Lectio Divina, mostly because it is my favourite form of prayer and meditation. Lectio Divina means “Divine Reading” in Latin. It is a systematic way of reading the Bible dating back to the early centuries of the Christian church.

Lectio Divina has four parts:

1. Reading: Read the passage slowly and carefully.
2. Meditation: Think deeply about the text.
3. Prayer: Have a loving conversation with God.
4. Contemplation: Rest in God’s presence.

Reading, Lectio in Latin, is the first of three readings of the passage. But don’t dive in just yet.

You’ve got your passage, and the Bible is open on the right page. You’ve got plenty of time, your phone’s notifications are turned off, and your computer is off. It’s finally time to read. But wait, are you feeling calm enough?

There’s actually lots of ways you can calm yourself down. Some folks like to call it “centring down,” but honestly, the name doesn’t really matter. I prefer to call it chilling out instead. It’s all about taking a moment to relax and handing over all your anger, worries, and loneliness to God. Personally, I like to focus on my breathing and slow it down to help me feel more at ease. Oh, and fidget toys can be a game-changer too! Just do whatever works for you to find that sense of calm. If you are going to do Lectio Divina in a group, maybe it’s best to leave the fidget toys at home.

This is when all those little things you have to do start filling up your brain, and they just won’t leave you alone. Remember that pen and paper we talked about earlier? Write down all those annoying distractions and flip the paper over. Now you don’t have to stress about those tasks anymore, they’ll still be waiting for you when you’re ready.

Ready to start? Then say a short prayer. Something like, "Father, speak to me," or "Jesus, speak to me." Mine is, "Come, Holy Spirit."

Now read! To begin with, read it out loud. This will give you an idea of how slowly to read. The concept is to fully immerse yourself in Scripture so you can hear God speaking through a specific passage and reflect on it. So listen for the phrase that jumps out at you, let your mind be drawn to the words by God. Remember those words or make a note.

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That’s it. The fist stage is done. As an example I shall show how I do it, using the Old Testament reading from the Common Lectionary for Advent Sunday, Year B—this year.

64 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
    that the mountains might quake at your presence—
²  as when fire kindles brushwood
    and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
    and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
³ When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
    you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
⁴ From of old no one has heard
    or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
    who acts for those who wait for him.
⁵ You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
    those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
    in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
⁶ We have all become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
    and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
⁷ There is no one who calls upon your name,
    who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
    and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.
⁸ But now, O Lord, you are our Father;
    we are the clay, and you are our potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.
⁹ Be not so terribly angry, O Lord,
    and remember not iniquity for ever.
    Behold, please look, we are all your people.

Isaiah 64:1-9

Please read this slowly, asking God to speak to you.

I had decided to use the Advent Sunday reading as the example for these posts as we are in Advent. Up to this point I had not looked at what the reading is, let alone read it.

I don’t expect you to get the same exact words from God like I did. Just listen for God to say something to you. It could be like, “Hey, we’re like clay, and you’re the potter,” (paraphrased from verse 8) or maybe even a bit of a scolding from God. These words have a lot of rebuke in them. So just keep your ears open!

The passage that shone out for me is from verse 4:

A God … who acts for those who wait for him.

I shall be carrying those words over into the next section.