Heather Helbig
Last night, Jon- Mark led the Zoom group and looked at Luke’s recount of Jesus in the boat in the storm. We used the method of Lectio Divina which aims at hearing what God wants to say to us, speaking through scripture. The passage is read four times, and we look for that quickening of our spirit where we know God has something for us.
As a teacher, I have thought about whether there is a streamlined procedure here that enhances what we teach about the 3 levels of comprehension:
Level 1 is literal: what facts are presented?
Level 2 is inferential: we can combine a given fact with other true facts to make a new fact, also true (logic).
Level 3 is evaluative or creative: we can extend our understanding by applying it to new situations.
Levels 1 and 2 are the necessary bases from which we fly into Level 3.
So does Lectio Divina mesh with this concept? I think it does, and goes further to enhance it through the creative presence of the Holy Spirit. I find that through multiple readings of a short passage, I’m taken through the two base levels to a place where the Holy Spirit can creatively ignite my understanding of one or more concepts and how they apply to me.
Last night, as a group, we saw different pictures: about the power of Jesus, the quality of faith, His presence in the storms of our life, to name a few.
I was caught by the words, “They took Jesus, just as He was, to the boat”. My thoughts went to Jesus being the everyday Jesus. Exhausted as He was, He slept while a storm blew up. Exhausted, yet, when woken, He met their needs. Now He is our ascended Lord. No longer frail, from a position of power, He understands my everyday needs and meets them.
And He did this the very next day.
I was due for a medical procedure. I thought about who was in the boat with me. Christ in me, I in him, Jesus in the Father, the Holy Spirit united in them. How awesome! Yes, my boat may rock, but I am not alone. (And to add a special little provision for me, my appointment time had been changed as new rosters had needed to be drawn up. My allotted Doctor was a lovely woman named Abraham. I was reminded the whole time that I am secure within the Father’s family of faith.)
What we looked at the night before became a reality for me. My everyday Jesus meeting my needs in the boat of my life. I am so thankful.
Heather.