Spiritual reading
THERE is one particular way of listening to what the Lord wishes to tell us in His word and of letting ourselves be transformed by the Spirit. It is what we call lectio divina. It consists of reading God’s word in a moment of prayer and allowing it to enlighten and renew us. This prayerful reading of the Bible is not something separate from the study undertaken by the preacher to ascertain the central message of the text; on the contrary, it should begin with that study and then go on to discern how that same message speaks to his own life.
The spiritual reading of a text must start with its literal sense. Otherwise, we can easily make the text say what we think is convenient, useful for confirming us in our previous decisions, suited to our own patterns of thought. Ultimately, this would be tantamount to using something sacred for our own benefit and then passing on this confusion to God’s people. We must never forget that, sometimes, “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
In the presence of God, during a recollected reading of the text, it is good to ask, for example: “Lord, what does this text say to me? What is it about my life that you want to change by this text? What troubles me about this text? Why am I not interested in this? Or, perhaps: What do I find pleasant in this text? What is it about this word that moves me? What attracts me? Why does it attract me?” When we make an effort to listen to the Lord, temptations usually arise. One of them is simply to feel troubled or burdened, and to turn away. Another common temptation is to think about what the text means for other people, and so avoid applying it to our own life. It can also happen that we look for excuses to water down the clear meaning of the text. Or we can wonder if God is demanding too much of us, asking for a decision that we are not yet prepared to make.
This leads many people to stop taking pleasure in the encounter with God’s word; but this would mean forgetting that no one is more patient than God, our Father, that no one is more understanding and willing to wait. He always invites us to take a step forward, but does not demand a full response if we are not yet ready. He simply asks that we sincerely look at our life and present ourselves honestly before Him, and that we be willing to continue to grow, asking from Him what we ourselves cannot, as yet, achieve.
An ear to the people
THE preacher also needs to keep his ear to the people and discover what it is that the faithful need to hear. A preacher has to contemplate the word, but he also has to contemplate his people. In this way, he learns of the aspirations, of riches and limitations, of ways of praying, of loving, of looking at life and the world, which distinguish this or that human gathering, while paying attention to actual people, to using their language, signs and symbols to answering the questions they ask. He needs to be able to link the message of a biblical text to a human situation, to an experience that cries out for the light of God’s word.
This interest has nothing to do with shrewdness or calculation; it is profoundly religious and pastoral. Fundamentally, it is a spiritual sensitivity for reading God’s message in events, and this is much more than simply finding something interesting to say. What we are looking for is what the Lord has to say in this or that particular circumstance. Preparation for preaching, thus, becomes an exercise in evangelical discernment, wherein we strive to recognize—in the light of the Spirit –a call that God causes to resound in the historical situation itself. In this situation, and also through it, God calls the believer.
In this effort, we may need to think of some ordinary human experience, such as a joyful reunion, a moment of disappointment, the fear of being alone, compassion for the sufferings of others, uncertainty about the future, concern for a loved one and so forth. But we need to develop a broad and profound sensitivity to what really affects other people’s lives.
Let us also keep in mind that we should never respond to questions that nobody asks. Nor is it fitting to talk about the latest news in order to awaken people’s interest; we have television programs for that. It is possible, however, to start with some fact or story so that God’s word can forcefully resound in its call to conversion, worship, commitment to fraternity and service, and so forth. Yet, there will always be some who readily listen to a preacher’s commentaries on current affairs, while not letting themselves be challenged.
To be continued
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