John Scoble
Introduction
Each of us has had a personal experience of Scripture that can vary from passive listening to deep contemplation. My own experience as a child and well into adulthood was to hear Scripture at church and to have it in unpacked for meaning by a priest. It was not our family practice to discuss the sermon after church, so I was “taught” to be a passive listener. It was only ten years ago that I began to adopt an active and reflective approach to Scripture by reading the Bible on a regular basis at home.
In this episode, we will examine three different ways of interacting with Scripture
1) Rules for reading Scripture for accurate meaning
2) Reading Scripture with Commentary
3) The traditional practice of Lectio Divina
While the pre-reading covers all three, our meeting focus will be on Lectio Divina. We will briefly outline the practice and then provide a recommended scriptural passage to help you experience this practice before our meeting. Our meeting discussion will focus mainly on members’ experience of using this process.
At our following meeting in August, we will focus on the Ignatian practice of imagining oneself inside the Gospel scene.
There is no single best way to pray with Scripture. Through the next two meetings, we hope to give you some well-established methods for improving your understanding of Scripture and deepening your experience of it and therefore of God.
Rules for Reading the Scriptures
The following is kindly provided by Ross Pitt, a fellow parishioner and former Director of the Multifaith Academy for Chaplaincy and Ministries which trained 50 people a year to offer spiritual care in hospitals, aged care, palliative care, education, prisons, and the military forces.
He derived these “rules” or principles from work by Dr. Peter Williamson[1] who himself extracted them from the most comprehensive official Catholic church statement on the subject (viz., the 1993 document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission on The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church) and then recast them into a very specific “do and don’t” list for reading individual texts within the Christian scriptures.
Do not read the text as a direct stenographic transcription[2] of the Word of God.
Treat the text as inspired by God but communicated through human agency for God’s sake what you doing to me.
Treat only the version as it appears in the canon as the inspired expression of the Word of God.
Treat the results of applying the Source Criticism methodology as merely shedding light on the meaning of the inspired form of the text in the canon.
Because the text is the work of human authors(s), read it as you would any other ancient text i.e., set out first to understand its literary, socio-cultural, religious, and historical contexts.
Apply the same critical methods as you would to any other ancient texts (provided the methods are not atheistic or ideologically incompatible with the Christian faith).
Do not read the Christian scriptures as history but read them as bearing witness to a historical reality viz., the saving actions of God in the past.
Use historical-critical method to supply the context that makes the text intelligible. Give the historical-critical method primacy but do not give this critical method a monopoly.
Make sure your interpretation remains faithful to (i.e., consistent with) the message the human author(s) expressed in writing.
Do not confine the meaning of Christian scripture to their original historical circumstance. You must accept possibilities of meaning beyond the text’s historical setting and you must accept plurality of meaning.
Do not deem the verifiable historical information about the events recounted in the Christian scriptures as the only information worthy of credence.
Treat as subjective all accounts and interpretation of historical events.
To help make clear what the human author(s) intended, you must value the synchronic study of texts as well as the diachronic perspective of historical study. This means that you must use philological, semiotic, and literary analyses (viz., analysing vocabulary and syntax, distinguishing textual units, identifying genres, analysing sources, recognising internal coherence in texts, analysing narrative and rhetorical devices, etc).
Keep an open mind about the plurality of methods and approaches for aiding interpreting the Christian scriptures, especially those based upon tradition[3].
You must accept that your interpretation is subjective.
Proceed on the basis that the text must be approached in the light of faith in order to be properly understood and that real understanding of the text is possible only if there is a fundamental affinity (sympathy not necessarily correspondence) between your paradigms and that of the author’s.
Seek the meaning of the text for the present and overcome the distance in time between the origin of the text and today.
Interpret individual texts in the light of the whole canon. Observe throughout the canon the pattern of re-reading (interpretation) of original texts in the light of new circumstances. (Later writings often depend upon earlier texts when their authors re-read what had been written before in the light of new questions and circumstances.)
Read the Judaic scriptures both as a stage in the history of salvation and as presaging Christ.
Proceed on the basis that the spiritual sense of the Christian scriptures is always founded on the literal sense. The spiritual sense is the one intended by God but not clearly expressed or even fully understood or perceived at the time by the human author.
Reading Scripture with commentary
Scripture scholarship advanced substantially in the 20th century and was given a significant boost in the Roman Catholic tradition by Vatican II. Scholars were encouraged to understand and interpret Scripture by going beyond the English and Latin to the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic (which was only spoken, not written) and Greek. Many scholars developed commentaries on the Gospels and other significant scriptural texts. They explain issues such as authorship, cultural and political context, writing style, symbolism and imagery to probe the intended meaning of the author. Understanding English translations of the Scriptures is made more complex by the subtle nuances of the source language which do not easily translate into other languages. Reading Scripture with an accompanying commentary is one way to improve our understanding of the text.
Here is a text and commentary to illustrate the point and a suggested process to follow:
1. read the Scripture text
2. read the commentary
3. read the Scripture text again with the benefit of the commentary
4. reflect on the text. Ask yourself “what is the most important message for me personally in this passage?”
Matthew 8:14-15
When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him.
Commentary by Fr Michael Fallon MSC
Matthew seems to be presenting Peter’s house as a symbol for the Christian church (compare 2:11). As we watch the mother-in-law, we are watching how Jesus heals those who belong to the Church of Jesusʼ disciples. Jesus took her by the hand and she ʻgot upʼ(8:15). This appears a simple enough statement. We find it again in the healing of the paralysed man (9:5-7) and in the story of the little girl (9:19,25). However, it is not without significance that it is the same word that is used for the resurrection of Jesus (27:63,64; 28:6,7). In response to Jesus, Peter’s mother-in-law is rising to new life.
Matthew tells us that ʻshe began to serve themʼ. The Greek word for ʻserveʼ is dialkene, from which we get our word ʻdeaconʼ. It is used in the New Testament for ministry performed by a person commissioned by God. Matthew has already used it of the angels sent by God to minister to Jesus (4:11). This woman is healed, and the fruit of the healing is that she places herself at Godʼs disposal to be a minister of love. We all have love to offer.
We all have something to give to others in service. How often we, like Peterʼs mother-in-law, can be so overwhelmed by our own pain that we are tempted to give up and isolate ourselves from those who need our love. We, too, need Jesusʼ healing touch, that we might share with him his ministry of service. We might reflect on the following statement from Saint Paul:
“There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good”. – 1Corinthians 12:4-7
Paul is speaking of the Christian life. From the Spirit of God, we each receive all that we have as a gift of grace. From the risen Christ we are commissioned to use the gifts we have to carry on his mission in the world: to ʻserveʼ God in serving others. Nor should we be despondent if our gifts seem so poor, for it is God, who creates out of nothing, who “by the power at work within us is able to accomplish far more than all we can ask or imagine”. – Ephesians 3:20
This commentary has been provided by the scholastic research of Fr Michael Fallon MSC. I have used his commentaries on Scripture for almost 10 years. With a generous spirit, Fr Fallon has shared all his commentaries for free on the Internet at http://mbfallon.com/
Lectio Divina
This form of prayer has been used in Christianity throughout its history. It can be traced from Origen in the third century to St Ambrose, St Augustine, St Benedict, and the monastic traditions. Guigo II, a Carthusian monk, formalised the practice in his seminal work, The Ladder of Monks. It has become more popular with the laity of the Roman Catholic tradition since Vatican II. In 1965, one of the Council’s principal documents, the dogmatic constitution Dei verbum, ("Word of God") emphasized the use of Lectio Divina.
Traditionally, Lectio Divina has four separate steps: read; meditate; pray; contemplate. First a passage of scripture is read, then its meaning is reflected upon. This is followed by prayer and contemplation on the Word of God. The focus of Lectio Divina is not a theological analysis of biblical passages but viewing them with Jesus as the key to their meaning. Origen in the third century wrote: "When you devote yourself to the divine reading, seek the meaning of divine words which is hidden from most people". The aim is to develop a better understanding of the word of God and therefore of Jesus.
Experience suggests that different words or phrases will emerge from this practice at different times in one’s life. Family, work and social circumstances combine with growing maturity to provide different stimuli when interacting with the text.
The following outline of the steps in Lectio Divina is our own version influenced by Guigo II and the Benedictine and Ignatian traditions.
To begin, you might open with a short prayer, asking God to guide your prayer time. Then do the following:
Read (Lectio)
Slowly and thoughtfully, read the Scripture passage the first time. What does the text say? What word or phrase captures your attention and grabs your heart? Linger with it whenever this happens.
Reflect (Meditatio)
Slowly and prayerfully, read the passage again. What is God saying to you in this passage? offering you? asking you? What feelings are arising within you?
Respond (Oratio)
What do you want to say to God about the text? Respond from your heart. Speak to God of your feelings and insights. Offer these to God.
Rest (Contemplatio)
Sit quietly in God’s presence. Rest in God’s love and listen.
As you end your prayer period, you might close with an Our Father or another short prayer. It might be helpful to jot down in a journal what arose during this time. What did you speak to God, and what did God offer you?
Take some time to practice this with a Scripture passage. You might like to use Mk 10:46-52:
They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So, throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
I would like to conclude this section with an early Hasidic saying
One who reads the words of prayer with great devotion may come to see the lights within the letters, even though one does not understand the meaning of the words one speaks. Such prayer has great power; Mistakes in reading are of no importance.
A father has a young child whom he greatly loves. Even though the child has hardly learned to speak, his father takes pleasure in listening to the child’s words
Questions for Discussion
1. What was your experience of using Lectio Divina?
2. How have you prayed with Scripture in your life?
3. Are there any other practices you have used that you would like to share with our group?
Resources (for further consideration)
Catholic Australia
Richard Rohr introduces Lectio Divina and Guigo II
James Finley conducts a Lectio Divina coaching session with Kirsten Oates in a podcast. (Highly recommended)
It is part of a Turning to the Mystics series in which Finley unpacks Guigo II, consisting of 8 separate sessions from 1 Nov 2021 to 20 Dec 2021.
Hallow, Indiana USA. This group provides a downloadable app for your mobile phone. There is an annual fee but there is also a 14 days free trial you can use to test it. If you don’t wish to purchase, make sure you cancel the trial before the 14 days expires.
[1] Williamson P.S., Catholic Principles for Interpreting Scripture: A Study of the Biblical Commission’s The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church (Subsidia biblica 22), Rome. Pontifical Biblical Institute (2001)
[2] While some fundamentalists claim that the Christian scriptures should be read as a direct transcription of the Word of God their official church organs do not endorse this claim.
[3] This claim for the authority of tradition is contested by Protestant Churches.
July 2022
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