Recently, I went searching for the perfect thing to start a session with one of my directees. I had the idea that I wanted to ritual. Something grounding. Something that might speak to the things that I know have been rattling around in her mind but still leaves room for the things that only God knows are in her heart now. I couldn’t find what I was looking for and decided in the end to read scripture.
It’s something I rarely do in my sessions though we often reference scripture. (Many of my directees are clergy and they do this without my prompting. It just happens.) Perhaps because of this, I don’t want our sessions to default to sermon preparation. That’s not what this space is. This is a rare space to wonder about how God is moving in this particular life at this particular moment. Still, I came with Scripture. I actually came with a meditation on Psalm 50 and it was delightful and expansive. I’m hoping to create a little of that here through this version of lectio divina that is not so much lectio divina at all.
In addition to this guided sacred reading, you might want a Bible, a piece of paper, something to write with, and a timer from your phone or pulled from your kitchen. The whole experience will take about 30 minutes.
Open your heart and your spirit to what you might discover in this time of wonder and delight in sacred scripture with this song from the Porter’s Gate. You may choose to hit play and close your eyes to let God lead you through this song. Or you might watch the video created by the artists to find the power of the lyrics and images. Allow this song to prepare you for the wild wonder that God is always with you.
Open your Bible or browser to encounter the three scenes in Mark 1:9-15. Allow your senses to come alive and take in every word. Notice how your body reacts to each word and where your mind wanders. After reading through the passage once, read the text aloud and notice what strikes you differently as you hear the words reverberate from within you.
Set a timer for 2 minutes after you’ve read Mark 1:9-15 and simply be aware of what echoes from the passage are playing in your heart and mind.
Find yourself within these three scenes. Do you feel more drawn to the waters of baptism or are you driven into the wilderness with Jesus? Or do you resonate more with what comes next in these scenes? Are you keenly aware that somehow the “kingdom of God has come near”? Notice who else is in this moment with you and the looks upon their faces. Are they saying something to you? Do you dare say something back? What is the mood of this moment for you and what does that mood reveal about your life right now?
Set a timer for 5 minutes to ponder these questions and follow where these questions lead you.
Mark’s description of everything is impossibly short. It provides the briefest of accounts where our imaginations are left to run wild with what happens when the “heavens are torn apart” and “the angels waited on him.” Read Mark 1:9-15 again as you wonder what happens when “the time is fulfilled.”
Set a timer for 5 minutes to discover what draws your attention in these three scenes.
On a piece of paper, draw three squares as in a comic strip. Or if you have access to a printer, you can also download and print this page for this meditation.
Consider the three scenes in this story and how each scene might illustrate your own life right now. Use the sparse language in Mark’s account to fill in your own story with words or images in these three squares. If you find yourself uncertain how to engage in this meditation, you might engage these questions.
What are “you coming up out of” right now?
Where have you found a crack in the separation between heaven and earth?
When do you most clearly hear God’s blessing for you?
Where are you feeling “driven”?
Who are the “wild beasts” and “angels” in your life’s story?
What feels like “good news”?
Where is your lie pivoting right now?
Set a timer for 20 minutes to explore these three scenes in your life right now.
Read Mark 1:9-15 one more time and pay attention to where your story connects with these three snippets from the life of Christ.
Set a timer for 3 minutes to make room for these insights and connections.
Allow yourself to marvel at all that you have discovered in this sacred reading. Perhaps you have new insight on something important. Or instead you might have more questions that you aren’t yet sure how to answer. Notice how your body feels and ready you feel to welcome the “kingdom of God [that] has come near.”
Set a timer for 5 minutes for this closing reflection.
When you feel ready to transition to whatever comes next in your day, voice these words of prayer in gratitude for wilderness places like this.
As you feel so moved, please share what you discovered in this sacred reading and how you are stepping beyond this meditation into even more wild places.
If you’re still not sure how to enter into this season this year, you might find inspiration from taking up practices that counter the worst of our US politics. Or perhaps choose to daydream this Lent along with
. Or there may be something else entirely. Whatever it is that you choose to live into these days, I hope you get to glimpse the full glory of resurrection.