Today's practice is a Divine Reading (traditionally known as Lectio Divina) where we will invite God’s voice to speak to us as we meditate upon one of Jesus' parables.
We love this description of the practice of Lectio Divina from John Mark Comer:
"Lectio Divina (Latin for “spiritual reading”) is a way of reading Scripture with the specific aim of hearing God’s voice over your life. There are four basics movements (from four Latin words), but the mechanics are not as important as many people think. It’s less of a technique, and more of a heart posture and pace.
The basic idea is simply to find a quiet place to read Scripture slowly with your ear open to God’s voice through the text. Unlike Bible study (another wonderful practice) the goal is less to hear what he was saying to them (the original audience), but to take the next step and hear what he is saying to you."
This week's passage is Luke 18:9-14
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: Some manuscripts read stood and prayed this prayer to himself.: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
