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APC Wednesday 24th Feb 2021 Lessons on Lent – ‘Lectio Divina’ Welcome and Introduction Today we continue our series on Lent. Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. We reflected on how the tradition of that day reminds us of our need to keep short accounts with God and to regularly repent so that we can keep close to God and stay spiritually healthy. Today I want to share with you another ancient tradition which can help us not only during this Lenten season but every day to keep our relationship with God alive and spiritually fresh. It’s called ‘Lectio Divina’ which simply means ‘Divine reading’. Lectio Divina is a contemplative way of reading the Scriptures. It dates back to the early centuries of the Christian Church and was established as a monastic practice by Benedict in the 6th century. It is a way of praying the scriptures that leads us deeper into God’s word. In Lectio Divina we slow down. We read a short passage more than once. We chew it over slowly and carefully. We savour it. We reflect upon it prayerfully. As we do this, Scripture begins to speak to us in a new way. It speaks to us personally, and stengthens that relationship we have with God through Christ who is himself the Living Word. So, Lectio Divina is not Bible study or even an alternative to Bible study, but something radically different. Like the disciples on the Emmaus Road, the practice understands Scripture as a meeting place for a personal encounter with the Living God. It is a practice we come to with the desire to be changed at all sorts of levels. It operates very much on the emotional rather than the purely intellectual level. It might be described as ‘hearty’ rather than ‘heady’. Through it we allow ourselves to be formed in the likeness of Christ; it is about formation rather than instruction. There are a variety of ways you can enter into Lectio Divina but this morning I’m going to show you one very simple one by leading you through a short time of Lectio Divina focusing on the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. I will be using a resource that is available free online called Lectio 365. Together we will worship God using a series of pauses, prayers, questions for reflection and Scripture readings. You might wish to close your eyes for the whole time or to close them at certain points. When I pause for silence, use that time to reflect, to listen to what God might be saying to you and to talk to Him. When you hear me say the words, ‘AMEN’ you will know that our time of worship has come to an end. Pause and Pray As we begin, let me encourage you to close your eyes, to pause and be still. Breathe slowly and deeply…Let go of any anxious or busy thoughts and allow your mind to focus on the truth that God is here with you, right now….PAUSE… Prayer Holy Spirit, we thank you that you are here with us today. Thank you that when we are silenced by suffering you pray for us and through us. Lord Jesus when we feel helpless we are strengthened because you are with the Father, right now, praying for us. ….PAUSE… Rejoice and Reflect In the wilderness of this Pandemic we cry out to God today, in the words of Psalm 13… “O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?” “How long will you simply look the other way?” “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul?” “With sorrow in my heart every day?” “How long will my enemy have the upper hand?” ….PAUSE… Jesus is no stranger to life’s wilderness experiences. As we read Mark 14 we join Jesus and his closest friends in the Garden of Gethsemane. Knowing that He would soon be arrested and executed, Jesus prays a shocking prayer… Reading (Mark 14 v 32-36) “They went to a place called Gethsemane and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took Peter, James and John along with Him and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’ he said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch.’” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible this hour might pass from Him. Abba father, he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.” ….SHORT PAUSE… Here Jesus follows His own pattern of prayer. He calls God, ‘Abba Father’- ‘daddy’ instead of our father. He hallows God’s name by saying, God, you can do anything. But at the point where he is meant to pray, “Your Kingdom come” he says the exact opposite, “Take this cup from me!” He is going off script, admitting to the father, “I don’t want to suffer, I’m scared. There has to be another way! If Jesus can be so honest with God in his hour of greatest need then surely so can we?... ….PAUSE… Ask In what ways do I pretend when I pray? Are there any tricks I use to try to avoid or persuade God? We take a little time now to speak to the Father honestly from our hearts about what we are really feeling and thinking, remembering that He loves us, values our honesty and is never shocked… ….PAUSE… Pause and Pray We think about someone we know who feels deeply distressed and troubled, overwhelmed by what they are facing at the moment… “Jesus, you know what it’s like to suffer. Please draw near to the person I’ve been thinking of. Help them to be honest about how they feel. Bring them your comfort and hope.” ….PAUSE… Yield As we return to our passage, we ask you Holy Spirit to highlight one word or phrase for me today… “They went to a place called Gethsemane and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took Peter, James and John along with Him and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’ he said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch.’” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible this hour might pass from Him. Abba father, he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.” (Mark 14 v 32-36) ….SHORT PAUSE… Everything is possible for the Father. Words like this build our faith, but they can sometimes make it hard for us to face disappointment and loss. Everything is possible but not everyone is healed right now. Everything is possible but not all prayers are answered in the way we hope. Everything is possible but not all evil is stopped immediately. We ask you Holy Spirit to give us strength to persevere in prayer. Restore to me the gift of faith that believes, “Everything is possible with you.” ….PAUSE… Yielding Prayer We join in a beautiful and challenging prayer written by Richard Foster… “Today, O Lord I yield myself to you. May your will be my delight today. May you have perfect sway in me. May your love be the pattern of my living. I surrender to you my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions. Do with them what you will, when you will, as you will. I place into your loving care my family, my friends, my future. Care for them with a care that I can never give. I release into your hands my need to control, my craving for status, my fear of obscurity. Eradicate the evil, purify the good and establish your Kingdom on earth. For Jesus’ sake, Amen. Closing Words If you haven’t already done so I want to encourage you now to open your eyes. I really hope you enjoyed our Lectio Divina and that you really felt connected to God as we prayed and reflected together. Basically you can use this method of pausing, reading, reflecting, re-reading and praying in any way you want. The emphasis is on allowing the scriptures themselves to really speak to you by reading them over and over. It’s about slowing down and taking time to listen to what God is saying. If you find it hard to do this on your own then let me encourage you to use the free online resource that I used today to demonstrate how Lectio Divina can be done. The App is called Lectio 365 and you can download it for free. I’ve found it a great way of helping me to slow down and to prayerfully reflect on scripture in a way that nurtures my spirit rather than just my mind. I hope you will find it helpful too. I’m afraid we’ve no further word yet about when church will be able to reopen but as soon as we get any further information we will let you know. I just heard this week that Father Padraig Parish Priest of St Mary and Peter’s is in hospital. Please do pray for his recovery at this time and for Fr Dave as he leads the parish in his absence. Please do pray for Bev who is also in hospital at this time and for his wife Sharon and their family. I would also like to highlight a wonderful resource of Lenten reflections specifically aimed at bolstering our emotional wellbeing produced by the Bible Society. It’s called ‘Lifting the lid’ and you can register by logging onto the National Bible Society of Ireland’s website. They will be running on Monday nights for the next 6 weeks during the season of Lent. For now let me close with a benediction after which I invite you as always to share the grace together… Benediction Go now as witnesses of God’s eternal presence. The risen Christ has made himself known to you in the reading of scripture and in quiet prayer, so set your faith and hope on God, fulfilling your promises and living in genuine mutual love. May God hear and respond whenever you call; may Christ Jesus make himself known to you in all things; and may the Holy Spirit open your eyes and set your hearts on fire with love. So may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and forever more. Amen
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