To prime yourselves for Sunday’s exercise on Lectio Divina, I’m sending you two readings over two days from the same chapter. The excerpt below is taken from Sacred Rhythms‒arranging our lives for spiritual formation by Ruth Hayley Barton. The chapter title is, SCRIPTURE: Encountering God through Lectio Divina. This is not the full chapter and I have shortened the two sections and highlighted five lines. There are another two helpful paragraphs, shorter than what you have below, titled Moving from Head to Heart and Encountering God in Scripture. I will send these two through by Saturday and you will get other notes on Sunday, at our meeting, which guide you through the exercise step by step with a short Scripture passage of 6-8 verses maximum.
READING FOR INFORMATION OR TRANSFORMATION?
“One way to reflect on our varied experiences with Scripture is to think about the difference between reading news or a textbook and reading a love letter”…with news, “you probably read it hurriedly to get the highlights of what is going on in our world”…sifting what is of interest, unsure of what to trust as genuine and with little anticipation “because much of the news is bad news and it is not intended to produce a deep emotional experience anyway.”
Similarly, with a textbook, “you probably remember at times employing techniques that enabled you to read as little as possible to get the best grade possible‒particularly when it was a subject” of lesser interest. You crammed and regurgitated for the test and there “was no emotional connection with the author or the content.” There were those subjects you enjoyed but once you completed for purposes of a good grade or to check off your list, “we didn’t think of it again.”
“Now, perhaps you can remember a time when you were exchanging love letters with someone. Do you remember the sense of anticipation you had when you opened a letter? Can you recall how wonderful it was to have this special person express their feelings for you? Do you remember where you would go to read the letter‒perhaps a quiet, private place-and how you savored each and every word and pondered what these things might mean.”
“The sad truth is that many of us approach the Scriptures more like a textbook than like a love letter. In Western culture in particular, we are predisposed to a certain kind of reading. We have been schooled in an informational reading process that establishes the reader as the master of the text. As a reader, I employ key techniques that allow me to use the text to advance my own purposes. With this kind of reading, the intent is to cover as much ground as possible as quickly as possible. Our emphasis is primarily on mastery, that is, controlling the text for our own ends‒gathering information, interpreting or applying the information, proving our point about something, gaining a ministry tool or solving a problem.”
“When we are in an information-gathering mindset, we are analytical in our approach and at times even critical and judgmental. We are reading through cognitive filters, made up of preconceived thoughts, feelings, biases, doctrinal systems, teachings and life experiences that have shaped us. When we are in this mode, it is exceedingly difficult for us to hear anything new because we have so many unconscious defenses in place.”
“The information-gathering mindset is very appropriate and helpful for a student in an academic or a learning environment. But when applied to Scripture, this approach does not serve the deeper longing of our heart-the longing to hear a word from God that is personal and intimate and takes us deeper into the love that our soul craves. The study of Scripture is important, but if we stop there, we will eventually hit a wall spiritually. Information gathering may be exhilarating and even useful at times, but in the end our soul knows that there must be something more.”
READING FOR RELATIONSHIP
“When we engage the Scriptures for spiritual formation, on the other hand, we engage not only our mind but also our heart, our emotions, our body, our curiosity, our imagination and our will. We open ourselves to a deeper level of understanding and insight that grows out of and leads us deeper into our personal relationship with the One behind the text. And it is in the context of relational intimacy that real life change takes place…We make it our top priority to listen to God relationally rather than seeking only to learn more about God cognitively. Our approach is driven by the longing of a lover. We read slowly so that we can savor each word and let its meaning sink in. Rather than rushing onto the next chapter so that we can complete a reading or study assignment, we stay in the place where God is speaking to us, contemplating its meaning for our life and for our relationship. We receive it as given without judgment, wanting to hear the heart of this One we love. Like the little boy Samuel, we approach the Scriptures with utter openness and availability to God: “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9).”
“In this listening stance, Scripture becomes an instrument of God’s control rather than a tool that we control to our own ends. Then, as God speaks to us through Scripture, we respond to what we read with our heart and soul rather than just our intellect. When we are falling in live with someone, we want to know everything about them. We are fascinated by every detail, every relationship and every event that shaped them. But the desire for intimacy moves us beyond fact finding to seeking understanding, connecting with that person emotionally and sensing our own response. Thus when we read Scripture for relationship we pay attention to our own inner dynamics and allow our response to take place in the deeper level of our beings. We are open to a whole different set of questions‒questions that help us to risk greater levels of truth telling with ourselves and with God. In addition to asking, What does it say? What does it mean? How do I apply it to my life? ‒all questions that promote primarily cognitive activity and allow us to remain firmly in control of the whole experience‒we might ask:
· How do I feel about what is being said? Where do I find myself resonating deeply? Where do I find myself resisting, pulling back, wrestling with what Scripture might be saying? (Note: it is important to notice these inner dynamics without judging them, because they have much to tell us. You may even notice that you feel resonance and resistance at the same time. For instance, you may have a deep sense of the rightness of what the text is saying but on another level have the feeling There is no way I can do that! This is a particularly important dynamic to notice, because it indicates a place where God is at work beyond your own cognition.)
· Why do I feel this way? What aspect of my life or my inner being is being touched or spoken to through this Scripture?
What do my reactions tell me about myself-my attitudes, my relating patterns, my perspectives, my behaviors? Am I willing to look at that in God’s presence?”