Tapping the Constant Spring with Lectio Divina

Five 2-hour sessions: Monday 2/3 – Friday 2/7 (3-5pm Eastern / 12-2pm Pacific) Tapping the Inner Spring through Lectio DivinaLectio divina is a way to deepen our understanding of the Divine, take our faith from the mind to the body, and ground daily life in Spirit. It is meant to be a bridge between the…

Workshop Description

Five 2-hour sessions: Monday 2/3 – Friday 2/7 (3-5pm Eastern / 12-2pm Pacific)

Tapping the Inner Spring through Lectio Divina
Lectio divina is a way to deepen our understanding of the Divine, take our faith from the mind to the body, and ground daily life in Spirit. It is meant to be a bridge between the rational side of the brain and the intuitive, imaginative, and creative side, to have a more unitive experience of the Divine. It is a way to encourage and strengthen vocal ministry in worship and to open new ways of perceiving ‘that of God’ in ourselves and others.

Objectives

Participants will be learning the basics of lectio divina (sacred reading/writing) and develop it as a personal and/or communal spiritual practice.

Materials

Participants should have a pen and notebook or journal for writing by hand, or if that is not possible, a keyboard. Optional: some notecards.

Schedule

Monday through Friday, two hours, evening (8-10pm ET, 5-7pm PT)

Topics

1. What is lectio divina in the modern world? What are its roots in European Christianity? What are its roots in the American Black Church? What is its potential for Quaker vocal ministry?
2. Lectio Divina Practice 1. Isaiah 61:12
   For as the soil makes the sprout come up
   and a garden causes seeds to grow,
   so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
   and praise spring up before all nations.
3. Read and discuss Isaiah 58.
   Lectio Divina Practice 2 with Isaiah 58:6-9
4. Lectio Divina Practice 3 with Isaiah 58:10-12
5. Sharing your own experience.

Format for the practice

Dictation of the passage. We start in silence, understanding that we ground ourselves on the earth and in Being, and we remember those who before us yearned to open themselves to Spirit. We humbly ask Spirit to be with us in the room and even to enter into us as an indwelling experience. At any point in the process, we return to Being in silence, or we take time for scriptio divina. These stages are to be considered as a circle or spiral to go in and out of as led.

Lectio. When led out of the silence by Spirit, one person reads the passage aloud while others listen. Several others read it aloud too, while everyone follows along in the text. We study the text with an open mind, looking at the words and phrases. We think of any stumbling blocks we might have with the text and try to overcome these.

Meditatio. In silence, we ponder the meaning of the text in a personal way. We might take the time to write some notes in a journal, in scriptio divina.

Oratio. We enter more deeply into silence, letting some of the words flow through us. We open ourselves to the Divine, and to any wisdom and love we might receive in the form of vocal ministry. If in a group, we speak the vocal ministry.

Contemplatio. If way opens, we let go of all words and sink into a deep rest in the Divine Presence in our lives.

Scriptio. We create a sacred journal. Scriptio divina is complementary to lectio; it is a way of reverently copying, dictating, and writing sacred passages, by hand if possible, into a journal. In meditatio, we might write questions and answers, in oratio, we might write prayers, after contemplatio, we might write about what we experience.

Ora et Labora (Walking/Rolling Meditation). Ora et labora is meant to build up muscle memory for inspirational texts so that they are at hand when needed. It takes spiritual experience out to the world. Memorization, repetition, and rumination on the passage embody it—that is, it becomes a body prayer. Choose a small section of the passage, one that is meaningful to you. Feel free to change words or put different phrases together to make it more relevant to you and your condition. Write the passage on a notecard and try to memorize it, repeating it to yourself as you walk, roll, work, and do daily tasks. It becomes a kind of affirmation or body prayer to accompany you throughout the day.

New International Version Isaiah 58:6-12 (slightly adapted)

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

Leader Experience

Using the practice described here, I have facilitated on-line and face-to-face workshops on lectio divina for Ben Lomond Quaker Center, Friends General Conference Encountering Spirit Unconference, and other informal groups. My book, Lectio Divina: Revelation and Prophecy, is forthcoming from Quaker Quicks, John Hunt Publishing.