If you have been reading this blog (or participating in Christian contemplative practices) for a while, no doubt you are familiar with Lectio Divina. If not, you can see a post I wrote about it by clicking here.
The classic four-step model of lectio divina — lectio/reading, meditatio/reflection, oratio/response, and contemplatio/rest, has stood the test of time and is now considered a core practice of contemplative spirituality, at least within Christianity (in a way, lectio divina is the core contemplative practice, since it draws together the four key practices in the contemplative/mystical tradition: reading (immersion) in the stories and teachings of our faith tradition (lectio), meditation as an exercise of the imagination (meditatio), prayer as a lifting up of the mind and heart to God (oratio), and finally, contemplation as the settling of the mind and heart into silence for the purpose of consenting to God’s presence and action with us (contemplatio).
But what I’d like to suggest is a new way of thinking about lectio, not to replace the old, but hopefully to offer a new perspective and possibly an alternative approach into this core spiritual practice.
I got this insight as I was working on my latest book. It’s built on my conviction that the Bible needs to be understood as essentially a mythological book. Of course, I mean this in the most positive sense, mythology not in the shallow secular sense of “something that isn’t true” but rather a more nuanced understanding of mythology as “spiritual truth conveyed through stories, that may or may not be historically accurate.” Myths come to us through stories. Ancient religions tell stories of gods and goddesses like Zeus, Aphrodite, Poseidon and Artemis; meanwhile the Bible also contains folkloric tales of its own, like the tales of Adam and Eve, or Balaam’s donkey, or Daniel in the lion’s den. These stories convey meaning and spiritual insight not on the basis of whether they actually happened in a historical sense, but rather by their wisdom, moral/message, and invitation to see things from a more spiritual perspective.
To read the Bible in a contemplative or even mystical way means to read scripture in its entirety as a book of myth, even the parts that are generally accepted as historical. Reading it primarily as a mythological book means to read it primarily for spiritual insight and wisdom, and then only secondarily to learn more about what may or may not happened in the world thousands of years ago. I emphasize “primarily” because there is still an important place for reading the Bible from a historical/critical perspective, although that is usually the work of scholars, academics and professional theologians. My purpose is to support anyone who wants to encounter the Bible for the purpose of personal and communal spiritual growth — and that means to encounter it as a book of myth.
The purpose behind mythological stories is to help us discern wisdom. Myths come to us as stories, and we can encounter these stories through reading (like reading a book), listening (to a story being told), and watching (a play, movie, tv show or other video). But once we receive these stories (in whatever form they come), then we need to interpret them, reflect on this, ponder what they mean for us and for our communities. This is the classical second step of lectio divina, the “meditatio” step: but it’s not meditation as commonly understood today. It’s more of a pondering, an imaginative engagement with the story, a kind of dialogue with the story where we ask ourselves (or God), “What does this mean for me, and for my community?” So this first step of discerning wisdom through mythology encompasses both the lectio and meditatio stages of the classical approach.
In classical lectio divina, after meditatio we progress to oratio, which is essentially prayer, or what Teresa of Ávila called “vocal prayer” — basically, talking to God. But I believe this also falls under the umbrella of discernment. We share what’s on our minds and hearts with God, not because God is in the dark otherwise, but because it helps us to understand what’s going on inside us better. If God is truly God, God does not need a report from us (God is all-knowing, or omniscient), but we may need to make that report to help us with our own self-understanding. So I see lectio, meditatio, and oratio as three elements of a single act of discerning the wisdom that’s in mythology.
Classical lectio then culminates with contemplatio or what we might call silently resting and waiting in the presence of God. The Catholic Catechism defines contemplation as “wordless prayer” and also as the “gaze of faith.” 1 This is the intentional and willing releasing of our mental and emotional activity to simply be still and present in the silence beyond words, the silence of a loving gaze. This is actually much closer to what is commonly understood as meditation in our time. So if the first movement of lectio divina is discerning wisdom, this second step is discovering silence. I’m using the word discover in the sense of removing the cover that hides something; in this case, we “discover” silence by gently letting go of the thoughts, emotions, and other inner activities that typically obscure us from paying attention to the deep ocean of silence that always exists within us. Meditation discovers silence that is already available to us, it is a process of learning to notice the gift that has already been given.
In my new and alternative model of lectio, I’d like to propose a third movement, that takes us beyond the gentle rest of silence. We could call this movement delighting in the mystery or perhaps delighting in divine union. Here we have moved from mythology, to meditation, to mysticism.
Delighting in the mystery (divine union) takes place deep within us, at a level often hidden from our conscious awareness (remember, one of the meanings of mysticism is simply “hidden”). So this movement of lectio divina is radically based on trust, for it is an invitation into a nuanced expansion/transformation of consciousness that may not necessarily be easily experienced in terms of normal awareness. This is the realm of dreams, deep imagination, or theta brain waves. If silent prayer (meditation) is a gesture of consenting to the Spirit’s presence and action within us, then delighting in the mystery is how the blessings of the Spirit’s work within us becomes manifest in our lives.
Mystical theology is based on the idea that God wants union with us. God loves us and desires to fill us with the divine presence, whether or not we are conscious of such indwelling. Delighting in the mystery means engaging in the slow, nuanced, lifelong process of realizing and enjoying how the Spirit makes a difference in our lives.
So this is a process, not a moment in time. It’s long term: not something we can experience promptly, like eating a fast food meal. This is more like planting an olive tree and slowly tending to it for years, trusting that the olives will eventually come. We engage in the long practice of discerning wisdom and discovering silence, so that we may, over time, recognize subtle shifts in our capacity for love and compassion, our awareness of the divine indwelling, and our recognition that spiritual growth is ultimately beyond our control and under the guidance and direction of the Spirit. It’s all mystery, but over time we can notice hints of the fruit being borne in our lives. So we delight in the mystery: we delight in the long slow process of recognizing that we have been one with the Spirit (divine union) all along.
To summarize: here are the three movements of this new model for lectio divina:
1. Mythology: Discerning Wisdom. We read, or hear, or watch, or participate in, sacred stories, myths and poems and wisdom literature that call us to remember our spiritual heart and the destiny of love, compassion, felicity and bliss that we are all called to embody. We discern this wisdom through encountering the story, reflecting on its meaning(s), praying about it as necessary, and considering its implications both for us as individuals but also as communities — myths not only call us privately on the path of purification, illumination and union, but also collectively on the path of dismantling privilege and oppression, safeguarding justice, and cultivating love and compassion for all.
2. Meditation: Discovering Silence. We pair the stories that give us wisdom (on a verbal/cognitive level) with a deep engagement with silence, discovering (uncovering) the silence within us through practices such as centering prayer, zazen, shamatha, and vipassana. Regardless of what tradition we follow, we learn the discipline of gentle non-attachment to thoughts and turbulent emotions by returning to attention on the breath and/or a sacred word or verse. We are gentle with this process, understanding that the silence is always there but that it is ordinary and normal for human consciousness to be cluttered with stray thoughts, images and feelings. We let all these go, continually returning our attention to the silence again and again as a way of consenting to the Spirit’s presence and action within.
3. Mysticism: Delighting in the Mystery of Divine Union. The “Spirit’s presence and action within” typically occurs at a level so deep within us that we are not consciously aware of it, so this movement is founded on radical trust of the Spirit’s love, efficacy and transforming work. The Spirit works for sustainable transformation rather than the quick fix, so we begin to notice subtle shifts in our consciousness and/or way of being slowly and gently, over time. But we trust that these nuanced transformations are real and are truly happening within us; the Spirit is working like a gardener to bear the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in our lives. As we notice these subtle shifts, we engage especially with the second fruit — joy — in terms of our delight: we delight in the mystery, we delight in the Spirit, and we delight in our oneness with the Spirit.
I hope this is a helpful model. Again, this does not mean abandoning the old lectio divina model: think of it as lectio divina 2.0; an expansion on the original that is designed to be more inclusive (not just reading, but all the ways we engage with mythic stories) and longitudinal (this doesn’t just happen during a single “session” but is an ongoing practice of slow and sustainable inner growth and transformation). May you always consent to the Spirit’s presence and action within, and may you always delight in the fruits that the Spirit bears in your life!
Featured image photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash.
1 Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2715 and Glossary entry for “contemplation”
