2 Advent 2010 Prepare the Way for the Lord's Coming!

During the time of Advent 2010, you are invited to use the four lectionary readings for the week and engage in Lectio Divina, or "sacred reading."   Read only 1 text per day for as many days as you desire.  

Reading the biblical text before there were bibles was quite a challenge.  It was a communal and auditory experience rather than an individual visual experience.   Throughout Christian history, up until the time of the reformation, Lectio Divina was a common way to read and pray the scriptures.  We are finding our way back to this intimate and transformational way of listening and surrendering to God.

Although there are essentially 4 movements:  lectio (read), meditatio (reflect), oratio (respond), and contemplatio (rest) there truly are as many ways to creatively engage the bibical text through lectio divina as there are creative people who read the bible with not just their mind but their entire being.    I'll guide you gently but I encourage you to surrender to God and listen to what you are "hearing with the ear of your heart."    

1. Read the text aloud this week if you dare.  Read slowly and delight in the words and the ideas that emerge.  After you read, linger over the text in the silence … Recall the word or the phrase that caught your attention and sit with it for as long as you desire.  Take a deep breath and move on when you are ready ... 
2. Read the text slowly again and let the words flow into your spirit ... Reflect on the word or phrase you choose or any other that has attracted you.  Where does this passage touch your life or the world in which you live?  Sit with the passage for five minutes or more listening for God. Is there an invitation here for you?   Take a deep breath and move on when you are ready ...
3. Read the text slowly again and let God’s invitation echo deep within your soul.  Respond to God with prayers of ... praise, confession, gratitude, discernment, commitment ... whatever emerges from within you as you consider God’s invitation.   Take a deep breath and move on when you are ready …
4. Rest in the gentle silence of God's presence.  Breathe in the love of God.  As you move on, breathe out the love of God upon the world!

Day 1 Read Isaiah 11:1-10 using the 4 movements of Lectio Divina

A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, 
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
   the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge 
and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, 
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, 
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, 
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together;
   and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
   and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; 

the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious. 

Reading 1:  What word or phrase attracted your attention?
Reading and Reflection 2:  What is God’s invitation to you?
Reading and Response 3:  How do you respond to God’s invitation?
Resting 4:  Rest in the Spirit…  

Day 2    Read Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 A psalm of Solomon using Lectio Divina

 1 Give your love of justice to the king, O God,
      and righteousness to the king’s son.
 2 Help him judge your people in the right way;
      let the poor always be treated fairly.
 3 May the mountains yield prosperity for all,
      and may the hills be fruitful.
 4 Help him to defend the poor,
      to rescue the children of the needy,
      and to crush their oppressors.
 5 May they fear you as long as the sun shines,
      as long as the moon remains in the sky.  Yes, forever!
 6 May the king’s rule be refreshing like spring rain on freshly cut grass,
      like the showers that water the earth.
 7 May all the godly flourish during his reign.
      May there be abundant prosperity until the moon is no more.
18 Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel,
      who alone does such wonderful things.
 19 Praise God's glorious name forever!
      Let the whole earth be filled with God's glory.
            Amen and amen!

Reading 1:  What word or phrase attracted your attention?
Reading and Reflection 2:  What is God’s invitation to you?
Reading and Response 3:  How do you respond to God’s invitation?

Resting 4:  Rest in the Spirit…   

Day 3    Read Romans 15:4-13 A psalm of Solomon using Lectio Divina

Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.   May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.  Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.   Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.   He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:
   “For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.”
    And in another place it is written, “Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles.”
    And yet again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth.”
    And in another place Isaiah said, “The heir to David’s throne will come,
         and he will rule over the Gentiles.
    They will place their hope on him.”
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Reading 1:  What word or phrase attracted your attention?
Reading and Reflection 2:  What is God’s invitation to you?
Reading and Response 3:  How do you respond to God’s invitation?

Resting 4:  Rest in the Spirit…  

Day 3    Read Matthew 3:1-12 using Lectio Divina

          In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”  The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,
         “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
         ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!  Clear the road for him!’”
John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
          But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath?  Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.  Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.
          “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

Reading 1:  What word or phrase attracted your attention?
Reading and Reflection 2:  What is God’s invitation to you?
Reading and Response 3:  How do you respond to God’s invitation?

Resting 4:  Rest in the Spirit… 

Day 5  As we study the biblical texts during the Advent season, we look back and with the prophets we consider how these texts help us welcome the Christ Child, Immanuel "God with us" who is God incarnate.  At the same time, we look forward to when Christ will return to fully establish the kingdom or the "reign" of God ... on earth as it is in heaven.

   1. How do these texts help me celebrate the incarnation of God in the form of Jesus?
   2. How do these texts help me prepare for the coming of Christ once again?
   3. What are some of the images of God that I find in these texts?
   4. What have I heard from God during my study this week?
   5. What have I learned about God? 
   6. Where have I seen God working in my life?

Prayer for the Week from our Readings:   Spirit of the Living God, rest upon me and fill me with wisdom, understanding, knowledge.  Fill me with awe when I consider your presence living within me.  As I live and work with others, help us learn to live in peace and complete harmony with one other.  Prepare my heart this advent season for the entrance of God's reign.   Peace, Cindy

 

We are blessed by the Spirit of God who dwells within us to read with us, to speak to us, to lead and guide us if we will listen.  We hope and we pray fervently that the Spirit will fall upon us!  Listen to this arrangement of the song Spirit of the Living God ... it is a beautiful arrangement by Eden's Bridge singing in the Celtic tradition, and it is one of my favorites.