One of our very first activities with Go Local is to engage in the practice of listening to God through a practice of Lectio Divina. We have done many of these at GNF over the years, but this particular practice is focused on Luke 10:1-12 – the core driving verses behind the Go Local Journey.
You will be invited into this practice at various meetings, bible studies and during a service over the course of the next few months, but you are encouraged to engage in this practice at home with your partner, your friends and your family!
Keep track of what God is speaking to you through this passage and be sure to share it on a sticky note on the bulletin board in the hallway!
Dwelling in the Text
Listening to God through the Text and One Another
Dwelling in the Word is a simple exercise that is rooted in the traditions of the church. It is a practice in which
all the people of God can participate. It helps to cultivate and nourish a community rooted in listening to God
and each other through Scripture.
As we ‘Dwell in the Word’, we learn how to listen to God in Scripture through one another. We affirm that
this is not about being ‘experts with answers’ but about being the priesthood of all believers and trusting
therefore, that the Spirit speaks to us through the ordinariness of each other’s lives.
Secondly, we learn to approach Scripture differently: To discover that it is not so much about us interpreting
the text but about the text interpreting us! It’s an invitation to ‘jump in’ rather than observe and critique
from above or beside. It’s an invitation to ponder more deeply what God is saying to us.
Thirdly, as we dwell, we learn to be better listeners; and listening is an important and powerful practice for
those seeking to discover what the Spirit is up to in their neighbourhoods in order to join God there.
- Read the passage out loud twice, preferable once with one female voice and once with a male voice if you’re able.
- Wait in silence before the text for several minutes, personally reflecting on the questions.
- After a few minutes of silence, pair up (if it’s possible, find a person whom we haven’t met or do not know well).
- Listen attentively as your partner shares his/her responses to the questions outlined below. After
two minutes, switch speaker/listener roles.
**Listening is your primary task; so only ask questions that help you understand what the other
person is saying (e.g. resist giving advice or talking about something that triggered in you as you
were listening.) - After four of five minutes, we’ll come back together as a whole group; introduce our partner and share
what we heard her/him saying.
The Text- Luke 10: 1-12
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town
and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers
are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way.
See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and
greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is
there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain
in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do
not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat
what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come
near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets
and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet
know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for
Sodom than for that town.
The Questions:
- As the text was read, where did you stop/what caught your attention?
- What insight or sense of God (or the Spirit’s nudging) did you gain?