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LECTIO DIVINA: 2 CORINTHIANS 4: 5-12, MSG 

“Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful”.

“If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken”.

INTRO TO LECTIO DIVINA

Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) is a way of being with God in His Word in Four Movements. Its roots go back to some of the early church fathers and later became formalized as a part of monastic life beginning with Benedict in the Sixth Century.

PREPARATION: SILENCE

We prepare by quieting ourselves before the Lord and seeking to get in touch with and amplify our heart’s desire to hear His voice. Once we are quiet, we read the passage through four times in our quest to become more present to it. Take a moment to be quiet after each reading as if listening to the last notes of a great piece of music.

In our house church meeting, we will all sit quietly together for a few moments. Then we have four different voices read the passage through once each. Male, female, younger, older, etc. Good to mix it up.

MOVEMENT ONE: READ (LECTIO)

Now we return to the passage and read it once, maybe twice, with particular awareness of any word or phrase that strikes us. We are particularly looking for anything which resonates more deeply within us or which we resist in some way within. We will be gentle and reflective – anticipating that God is present to speak to us. For a moment, remain with the word or words that stand out, savoring or repeating it (them) without trying to figure out why they (it) got our attention.

In our house church meeting we do this as a group, each to ourselves for a few moments.

MOVEMENT TWO: REFLECT (MEDITATIO)

Now we return to the passage again to specifically reflect on why the word or phrase may being meaningful to us today. If it is a story, we may ask: “Where am I in this story?” Or we may reflect on the question: “What is going on in my life that I needed to hear this word today?” Try not to overthink at this point, but to reflectively examine anything that seems worth noting.

Again, in our house church meeting we will give people time to do this on their own as we sit together

MOVEMENT THREE: RESPOND (FORMATIO)Is God inviting us to something? Is He challenging

us in some way? How do we find ourselves responding to this? This is the time to pray back to the Lord out of the experience we are having. Let the prayer be authentic, intimate, honest and heartfelt. If we are aware of sin, confess it. If we are inspired, rejoice with gratitude. If we are touched, savor it. If we are amazed, admit it!

In house church, this is something we are processing to ourselves but we will be willing to share with the church after we complete our solo meditations.

MOVEMENT FOUR: REST AND EMBODY (CONTEMPLATIO / INCARNATIO)Now we read the passage through one final

time with an attitude of rest and satisfaction. We have encountered the Spirit of God in His word. We can rest in this encounter.and be at peace. We resolve to embody or carry into life with us anything we have received from our experience of Him with the expectation that it will bring life to ourselves and others.

In house church, we will follow this with a time of open floor sharing. What part of the passage drew your attention? How did you respond to God? How will you seek to live into the things the Spirit of God enlightened you with this week?