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(Originally published April 14, 2017)
This post will be slightly different than usual. Customarily, I would reserve our Lectio Divina time for the podcast, but I have no voice, so we'll lean into it here. I'm healing from the flu (and so are three of my children). Thankfully, the ache is gone, and we're in the last leg of its grip.
Spring Holidays
Speaking of the power of gripping, the spring cycle of holidays have grasped our attention and fixated our focus on the miraculous. Lent ushered us down the corridor of sacred waiting and anticipation, which included our encounter with Purim and our current encounter with Passover (technically, Feast of Unleavened Bread) and soon, Easter (Resurrection Sunday).
It's a liberating fest, a sacred narrative told from different angles. And we get to breathe in solidarity as we celebrate communal liberation. Before we lean into Lectio Divina, let's further decelerate by deeply breathing in the liberation of a lifetime. We get to celebrate...
+ The death of our old self
+ Our freedom from sin's tyranny
+ Our position as resurrected beings
+ Our focus not having to be on our old nature, but entirely on who we are becoming in Yeshua
+ The fact that He is 100% resting in His completed work, and this is our imperative + invitation, too!
Our Passover + Easter Blessing
The ongoing, transformative companionship of redemption and the resurrection will press, pull, and propel us into liminal places. The betwixt spaces do not exist to disorient us, rather, those sacred spaces direct our path—personally + collectively. In those spaces we emerge as abundance alchemists who abide in amazing grace.
Lectio Divina
(Passover Show Notes journaling worksheets and other links are available at the end of your reading.)
Lectio
1. We turn to a passage from Scripture and read it slowly, gently. Savor.
Meditatio
2. Take the word or phrase into yourself.
Oratio
3. Speak to God in conversation (prayer).
Contemplatio
4. Rest in God's embrace.
Read & Savor Luke 22:19, 20, slowly And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." Read it a second time, carefully
In the second reading, pay close attention to the word or phrase that captures your heart.
Take the word or phrase into yourself, gradually
If it helps you to jot it down, download and print the Passover Show Notes journaling worksheets provided at the end of your reading. What is your word or phrase?
Speak to God in conversation (prayer), openly
This is about a relationship, which allows for the exchange of thoughts, concerns, ideas, desires...
Whether you use words, ideas, or images--or all three--it is up to what the Spirit gives you. Interact with God as you would with one who you know loves and accepts you.
And give to God what you have discovered during your experience of meditation. Experience God by using the word or phrase He has given you as a means of blessing and of transforming the ideas and memories that your reflection on God’s word has awakened.
Give to the Most High what you have found within your heart.
If gratitude begins the conversation, begin there. If anxiety, begin there. If silence, begin there. Just be sure to direct your thinking upward. How did your word or phrase affect your thoughts?
Rest in God's embrace, unashamedly
Any conversation, especially one that digs deeply into the soul requires plenty of hospitable space to flourish.
And when the Beloved invites you to return to your contemplation of the word or to your inner dialogue (prayer), do so. Learn to use words when words are helpful, and to let go of words when they no longer are necessary.
Rejoice in the knowledge that Divine Love is with you in both words and silence, in spiritual activity + inner receptivity.
Sometimes, you may return several times to the printed text, either to savor the literary context of the word or phrase that God has given or to seek a new word or phrase to ponder. At other times, only a single word or phrase will fill the whole time set aside.
It is not necessary to assess anxiously the quality of your Lectio Divina as if you were "performing" or seeking some goal. Lectio Divina has no goal other than that of being in the presence of God's love by praying the Scriptures.
After your rehearsal of Lectio Divina, take a few minutes to recall your experience. There is an abundance of woo awaiting you/us.
(Click/tap on the above image to download for your iPhone wallpaper. More soul care wallpapers here.
(Click/tab on the image beneath or the link for the Passover Coconut Cookie Recipe from the Land of Honey blog—yummy and gluten-free!)
One more thing...
Breathe deeply whether you're tired or energetic, clueless or confident, glad or grieving, determined or doubtful. No matter what, He's here to remind us that His love always invites, commands, and promises: "Come to Me... I will give you rest."
Until next time,
Scribble. Speak. From your soul.
Links for further discovery Subscribe & Listen to my Soul Care Podcasts
LEAVE A COMMENT: Ponder the questions: “How did the reading of Scripture this week shape my daily living?” and “How did my daily living this week shape my reading of Scripture?
