Paradigms of prayer--Ponder
Lectio Divina is the spiritual practice of slowly and contemplatively reading scripture, with the goal not so much intellectual knowledge as union with God. It has been a practice of the church from ancient times, starting with monastics and contemplatives from very early. The goal is to take the word of God from the objective or scientific realm, to the subjective and personal; to make the word of God real to my spirit. This is true theology. As the desert fathers have said: A theologian is one who prays.
The book of Psalms plays a huge part in Orthodox liturgics. I can't think of a service that does not include the Psalms, if not directly chanting them, at least sound bytes, such as the Prokemenon for the Epistle reading. Clearly the Psalms are a wellspring for spiritual growth, and a wealth of material for contemplative practice. "The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver" Ps 119:72
I vaguely remember as an evangelical, a preacher encouraging believers to spend the bulk of their time reading the bible in the epistles. The epistles (according to him) were the law of God for the New Testament church. The gospels were important, not so much for Christ' teaching as the revelation of salvation. And the Psalms, well they were milk for spiritual babes and one should eventually grow out of them for the most part. How strange that teaching seems to me now that I've been Orthodox for 10 years.
Far from being just spiritual milk, the Psalms are truly God's word. They are not only our hymnbook, they are a source of comfort, of learning, of peace, of weapons for spiritual warfare, and a depth of life for contemplation. No where is this more apparent than Psalm 119. Of its 176 verses, all but 4 specifically refer to God's word, law, decrees, statues, commands, and precepts. The Psalms have become for me, and specifically Psalm 119, a great starting point for contemplative prayer. They prime the pump so to speak, and lead me to ponder what is truly the word of God: the revelation of God to my heart.
To the evangelical still in me, this kind of talk is borderline heresy, and dangerous. To them, the word of God is an objective intellectual enterprise, a book of rules and laws for great minds to interpret for the rest of us in unchanging stagnant decrees. But far from dangerous, lectio divina brings the word of God to life. I don't expect to hear God speaking directly in specific concrete instructions (go to Chicago today, leave your wife, drink the kool-aid) nor should I. Clearly that would be opposed to the spirit of God's word. But I do hear the Spirit make personal the real word of God: God is love, God is life, God is concerned about me personally.
Words only represent thoughts, emotions, or senses that are made personal to each of us. As we ponder the word of God, and prayerfully ask "Speak Lord, your servant listens", we follow the model of the greatest lay contemplative and the Mother of our God. "I am the Lords servant, may it be to me as you have said" Luke 1:38. "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" Luke 2:19.
The book of Psalms plays a huge part in Orthodox liturgics. I can't think of a service that does not include the Psalms, if not directly chanting them, at least sound bytes, such as the Prokemenon for the Epistle reading. Clearly the Psalms are a wellspring for spiritual growth, and a wealth of material for contemplative practice. "The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver" Ps 119:72
I vaguely remember as an evangelical, a preacher encouraging believers to spend the bulk of their time reading the bible in the epistles. The epistles (according to him) were the law of God for the New Testament church. The gospels were important, not so much for Christ' teaching as the revelation of salvation. And the Psalms, well they were milk for spiritual babes and one should eventually grow out of them for the most part. How strange that teaching seems to me now that I've been Orthodox for 10 years.
Far from being just spiritual milk, the Psalms are truly God's word. They are not only our hymnbook, they are a source of comfort, of learning, of peace, of weapons for spiritual warfare, and a depth of life for contemplation. No where is this more apparent than Psalm 119. Of its 176 verses, all but 4 specifically refer to God's word, law, decrees, statues, commands, and precepts. The Psalms have become for me, and specifically Psalm 119, a great starting point for contemplative prayer. They prime the pump so to speak, and lead me to ponder what is truly the word of God: the revelation of God to my heart.
To the evangelical still in me, this kind of talk is borderline heresy, and dangerous. To them, the word of God is an objective intellectual enterprise, a book of rules and laws for great minds to interpret for the rest of us in unchanging stagnant decrees. But far from dangerous, lectio divina brings the word of God to life. I don't expect to hear God speaking directly in specific concrete instructions (go to Chicago today, leave your wife, drink the kool-aid) nor should I. Clearly that would be opposed to the spirit of God's word. But I do hear the Spirit make personal the real word of God: God is love, God is life, God is concerned about me personally.
Words only represent thoughts, emotions, or senses that are made personal to each of us. As we ponder the word of God, and prayerfully ask "Speak Lord, your servant listens", we follow the model of the greatest lay contemplative and the Mother of our God. "I am the Lords servant, may it be to me as you have said" Luke 1:38. "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" Luke 2:19.
posted by Jeff at
1:45 PM
