Lectio Divina ~ Spiritual Reading

~Silencio

(this is not one of the traditional steps in Lectio
Divina, but it can be helpful as you prepare yourself for
this type of spiritual reading)

In this step we take time to step out of our information
grabbing self and allow God to bring us into a receptive mind set. We open ourselves to let the Scripture speak to us in a deeper way than just the surface information gathering mode we are used to.

~Lectio

In this step we read the text aloud. We "taste" the words as they roll off of our tongue. We hear the words as they encounter us. Some people will burn incense here to engage their sense of smell to symbolically take in the text with their sense of smell as well. Read the passage aloud four or five times and let it soak into all of your senses. This is often compared to putting food into our mouth.

~Meditatio

In this step we take the words we have encountered through our senses and we "chew" on them. If Lectio is putting food into our mouth, then Meditatio is the act of chewing on the words. In this step spend time thinking about the passage. What word of phrase jumped out and really caught your attention. Think about that and "chew" on it a while. Some people find it helpful to take that word or phrase and find other passages where it is used, read commentaries or theological dictionaries, and other ways to help you discern what God is saying to you.

~Oratio

In this step we open dialogue with God about what we've
read. We share our feelings of love, joy, anger, frustration, conviction, and more with the God who brought those words out to us. We pour out our heart in openness and honesty to God. Some people find it helpful to journal in this step, others who prefer to process things externally will talk with other spiritual friends or simply talk out loud with God to engage the way that they best can express themselves to God in response to the passage read.

~Contemplatio

In this step we step back and reflect upon what God wants to
do in us and through us. We abandon ourselves to the arms of God and how He loves us. The image here is represented in Psalm 131:2 of a weaned child being held by it's mother. The unweaned child wants something from it's mother, milk. The weaned child just wants to be with its mother. So here we take time to just let God guide our thoughts as we rest in His loving embrace.

~Incarnatio

(this is not one of the traditional steps in Lectio
Divina but it can be helpful as you prepare yourself for this type of spiritual reading)

In this step we move back out into "real life" with the word
that God has given us during our time of spiritual reading. We take that word and bring it to life in our reality. We move here from where we were determined to put into practice an appropriate response to the ways God has encountered us in this time.

We learned about Lectio Divina during our last Sunday's worship. At the time of service the Scripture we practiced this Spiritual reading with was

John 15:5

"Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing."

The words/phrases that really caught my attention were:

"I am the vine"

"fruit"

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22,23)

I know we can "try" to be all these things. To possess all these character traits, but we can never be truly successful without his help. He is the vine. We must know him. We must love him. We must remember ALL he has done for us. We must grow to be like him. In our actions, in our thoughts, in our love for one another.