What is lectio divina?

How "holy reading" can change the way you read your Bible for the better! With my own example.

I'll be the first to admit that prior to starting my M.Div. I had no concept of lectio divina, so if this is the first time you've heard about it, you're not alone! Despite being an ancient practice, this wonderful way to read the Bible was abandoned within the Protestant church. It's one of those situations where the baby went out with the bath water, unfortunately. I wrote about reading the Bible in this post, but thought maybe now was a great time to revisit it.

The phrase lectio divina is Latin, and literally translates to "divine reading." There are lots of different ways to go about doing this, but put simply:

1. You invite the Spirit in.

2. Read the passage.

3. See what jumps out at you, and

4. Reflect on it.

Let me share with my own reading from earlier this month. I've been slowly making my way through Mark (no "Bible in a Year" for this girl!). Now, I haven't been reading Mark using lectio divina the whole time, or even at all for that matter, but for some reason I decided to do it for Mark 10:32-40. I'll put the passage below, but it's actually broken into two chunks - one is Jesus predicting his death, and one is James and John asking for a seat on either side of him. Here's what it says (I'm using the Common English Bible),

Jesus and his disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, with Jesus in the lead. The disciples were amazed while the others following behind were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he told them what was about to happen to him. “Look!” he said. “We’re going up to Jerusalem. The Human One will be handed over to the chief priests and the legal experts. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles. They will ridicule him, spit on him, torture him, and kill him. After three days, he will rise up.”

James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

They said, “Allow one of us to sit on your right and the other on your left when you enter your glory.”

Jesus replied, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink the cup I drink or receive the baptism I receive?”

“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said, “You will drink the cup I drink and receive the baptism I receive, but to sit at my right or left hand isn’t mine to give. It belongs to those for whom it has been prepared.”

As I was reading through it (out loud, by the way - and yes, it actually helps) I was paying attention to any word/phrase that caused me to pause, jumped out at me, or made me go "hmmmm." On this particular day it was the phrase "we want you to do whatever we ask you."

The first time I read a passage, I don't spend much time trying to figure out why something jumps out at me, I just write it down. Maybe I'll turn it over in my mind, pondering how it makes me feel. Why does it make me feel that way? Maybe I won't. It really depends on the day. On this particular day, I also checked into a couple emotions in the passage - astonished, and amazed. Interesting, I wonder who's feeling it, and why. All along, I'm jotting down notes.

Then I'll read through the passage again. This helps me to go deeper into my reflections. Since I've been reading through Mark, I know that the Pharisees had been questioning him at the beginning of the chapter, and now he's on his way to Jerusalem. But maybe you've just picked a passage from a list of suggestions, so you don't have the full context, and that's okay too.

The second time I read the passage I tend to take more reflective notes. In this case, I was pretty peeved at James and John, especially since Jesus had just shared his death. I even wrote what it felt like in my body - I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. Then I wrote something interesting

"I am astonished at the gall of these two men."

The disciples were astonished that Jesus was going to Jerusalem, a place where prophets were traditionally killed. I was astonished at the actions of James and John. But then something else jumped out at me, a juxtaposition of greatness. Allow me to explain:

Jesus is doing something sacrificially.

James and John are doing something for themselves.

Do you see it? The juxtaposition? At this point, I didn't grasp it fully yet. So it's okay if you don't either. In fact, you may be off on your own tangent at this point, because something else caught your eye, and caused you to pause! (I hope you're taking notes about your reflections. They come in handy later!)

Finally, I read through the passage (yes, out loud, again) a third time. I'm processing through what I've written down, as well as paying attention to the story. This time I consider Jesus' question to the brothers:

"What do you want me to do for you?"

What if I'm reading my anger, and astonishment into the question? What if Jesus is simply looking for clarification? He may already know what they're going to say, but he gives them the opportunity to share. Maybe they'll ask him to explain why he's going to Jerusalem? Or why he keeps predicting his death? Alas, that's not the case. When they voice their request Jesus asks them another question, which I summarized as follows,

Are you able to handle greatness?

Um, ouch! That's a bit harsh, Jesus. Or is it? And here's where my notes and reflections end... I summarize everything with this final statement:

We often desire greatness, fantasize about it, work towards it -

but greatness always comes with a cost.

I know I said that my notes ended there, but I also wrote out a prayer, which I'm going to keep private. I hope you understand. In the meantime, here's a picture of my "prayer journal." Lest you believe you must run out and get a beautiful new journal to records notes... may I present Exhibit A? A 3-ring prayer binder that I keep all my notes/reflections in from the dollar store... that has been chewed on by my parrot, the little menace! It doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to hold paper. Of course, if you like fancy, who am I to stand in your way?

Well, that's my process. It may not be for everyone, and I certainly don't do it every day. In fact, there are times that I've done it, and walked away with absolutely nothing. Typically, if I can't seem to get into it, I'll put it aside for a while. There's no point forcing it, then I'll be doing it because I "have to," and I want to avoid that as much as possible.

I'll leave you with one final question... how does this passage compare, or contrast with the final passage of the chapter, where Jesus encounters Blind Bartimaeus? Share your thoughts in the comment section, I'd love to hear them.