Lectio Divina, Luke 4:1-13

"Lectio Divina" (Latin for "Divine Reading") is a traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation, and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's word. This guided practice is based on Luke 4:1-13.

Transcript

Welcome into Lectio Divina.

This reading is from Luke 4 1 through 13.

I'm reading from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

I will lead you through the passage four times.

After each reading I will give you time to reflect on the reading with a different focus each time.

So before we begin,

Find a comfortable place to sit.

Prepare yourself to receive the Holy Spirit.

Sit upright in a comfortable chair with your feet on the floor and your hands resting comfortably on your lap,

Palms up.

Close your eyes and take a deep breath from your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth.

Focus on your breath and relax your body.

Invite God to be with you in your thoughts.

Imagine yourself sitting in the presence of God.

Remember,

This is a meditation.

It is a time for you to reflect on the text.

If you find your mind wandering,

Gently bring your thoughts back to the reading.

Continue taking deep breaths from your nose and exhaling slowly through the mouth.

As I read this passage through the first time,

Listen for patterns,

Images,

And ideas.

Listen as if you were listening to someone read a personal letter addressed just to you.

Listen for words or phrases that speak to you.

Jesus,

Full of the Holy Spirit,

Returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,

Where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil.

He ate nothing at all during those days,

And when they were over he was famished.

The devil said to him,

If you are the Son of God,

Command this stone to become a loaf of bread.

Jesus answered him,

It is written,

One does not live by bread alone.

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.

And the devil said to him,

To you I will give their glory and all its authority,

For it has been given over to me,

And I will give it to anyone I please.

If you then will worship me,

It will all be yours.

Jesus answered him,

It is written,

Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem and placed him on a pinnacle of the temple,

Saying to him,

If you are the Son of God,

Throw yourself down from here,

For it is written,

He will command his angels concerning you to protect you,

And on their hands they will bear you up,

So that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

Jesus answered him,

It is said,

Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

When the devil had finished every test,

He departed from him until an opportune time.

As you continue to breathe deeply from your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth,

I will read through this passage again.

I invite you to recall anything that stood out to you during the first reading.

Is this something that you can connect to your life?

Use your imagination to paint a mental picture of the text.

Place yourself in the text and engage all your senses.

What do you experience as you sit in this passage?

Jesus,

Full of the Holy Spirit,

Returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,

Where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.

He ate nothing at all during those days,

And when they were over he was famished.

The devil said to him,

If you are the Son of God,

Command this stone to become a loaf of bread.

Jesus answered him,

It is written,

One does not live by bread alone.

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.

And the devil said to him,

To you I will give their glory and all its authority,

For it has been given over to me,

And I will give it to anyone I please.

If you then will worship me,

It will all be yours.

Jesus answered him,

It is written,

Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem and placed him on a pinnacle of the temple,

Saying to him,

If you are the Son of God,

Throw yourself down from here.

For it is written,

He will command his angels concerning you to protect you,

And on their hands they will bear you up,

So that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

Jesus answered him,

It is said,

Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

When the devil had finished every test,

He departed from him until an opportune time.

You continue breathing slowly through your nose and exhaling from your mouth as I read this passage the third time reflect on all the thoughts feelings actions fears convictions and questions you have experienced up to this point offer these to God in prayer praise God for who God is Jesus full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the spirit in the wilderness where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil he ate nothing at all during those days and when they were over he was famished the devil said to him if you are the Son of God command the stone to become a loaf of bread Jesus answered him it is written one does not live by bread alone then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world and the devil said to him to you I will give their glory in all its authority for it has been given over to me and I will give it to anyone I please if you then will worship me it will all be yours Jesus answered him it is written worship the Lord your God and serve only him then the devil took him to Jerusalem and placed him on a pinnacle of the temple saying to him if you are the Son of God throw yourself down from here for it is written he will command his angels concerning you to protect you and on their hands they will bear you up so that you will not dash your foot against a stone Jesus answered him it is said do not put the Lord your God to the test when the devil had finished every test he departed from him until an opportune time as you continue your slow deep breathing I will read this passage through the fourth and final time sit in silence in the presence of God be still and know that God is God simply sit and allow yourself to feel God's presence and tender love that wraps around you and embraces you Jesus full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil he ate nothing at all during those days and when they were over he was famished the devil said to him if you were the Son of God command the stone to become a loaf of bread Jesus answered him it is written one does not live by bread alone then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world and the devil said to him to you I will give their glory in all its authority for it has been given over to me and I will give it to anyone I please if you then will worship me it will all be yours Jesus answered him it is written worship the Lord your God and serve only him then the devil took him to Jerusalem and placed him on a pinnacle of the temple saying to him if you are the Son of God throw yourself down from here for it is written he will command his angels concerning you to protect you and on their hands they will bear you up so that you will not dash your foot against a stone Jesus answered him it is said do not put the Lord your God to the test when the devil had finished every test he departed from him until an opportune time as you continue to breathe slowly I invite you to think about your experience with God during this exercise ask yourself four questions what did you learn from or about God what did you learn about what God thinks of you what does God want from you what action steps if any can you take out of conviction from this lesson may you feel the presence of God throughout your day today amen

Reviews

Praying today trying to resist temptation.

Thank you for this rich meditation experience. 🙏💖

Magnificent, please make more like this. Namaste