Week 3 Christmas Challenge: Lectio Liminal.Sample

Here’s the Infinitum Christmas Plan take on the old discipline of ‘divine reading’. 

First Movement: Peruse. Peruse means ‘read (something), typically in a thorough or careful way’. Before you start, ask the Lord to open the eyes of your heart for this exercise and then read slowly, curiously, and aggressively. Here is the story (NIV):

57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, ‘No! He is to be called John.’

61 They said to her, ‘There is no one among your relatives who has that name.’

62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, ‘His name is John.’ 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbours were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, ‘What then is this child going to be?’ For the Lord’s hand was with him. 

Second Movement: Weigh. Here are contextual synonyms: ‘consider · contemplate · think about · give thought to · entertain the idea of · deliberate about · turn over in one's mind · mull over · chew over · reflect on · ruminate about · muse on · assess · appraise’. Don’t rush this movement.

Third Movement: Ask. Ask God to confirm or clarify bits you’ve been chewing on and to enlighten you on things you missed that He as for you. In this movement, you might profitably ask about lessons and tips God has from this reading for you in the realm of surrender, generosity, and mission.

Fourth Movement: Muse. Muse—‘be absorbed in thought… gaze thoughtfully at’—is a verb synonym of the Latin word ‘contempatio’. From Google, “The word contemplation is derived from the Latin word contemplatio, ultimately from the Latin word templum, a piece of ground consecrated for the taking of auspices, or a building for worship.” So, in a sense, we are to recognize that we are on holy ground in this exercise (note further that ‘auspices’ means ‘a divine or prophetic token’).

Fifth Movement: Activate. Apply what you have picked up (this might take the rest of the day… or the rest of your life).