pat loughery

Instead of preaching a sermon today we practiced lectio divina as a group.

I introduced the topic very briefly and then we watched Nooma Film #5: Noise.

We considered this passage:

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

– Matthew 9:35-10:1

Lectio Divina (“divine reading”) is an ancient practice that we’re trying to revive in our comumnity. At its core, it’s a means by which we meditate on scripture in order to let it come alive within us.

A few good resources to check out:
1. Kevin Rains’ PDF describing LD and the state transitions in the time flow.

2. An additional bit of information on lectio divina for groups from this website for the Sisters of St. Claire.

3. That piece is complementary to this description of LD from a Benedictine monk.

It’s very interesting to me to see how Christ speaks through the text to everybody – young, old; man, woman; 5-decade Christian and seeker.

++Lord, give me grace to continue to assimilate this form of prayer into my walk++