On Lectio Divina

I’ve been reading His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. Part science fiction, part theological reflection, Blake and Milton, high fantasy and modern physics. This includes the idea of parallel worlds.

            The monastic practice of Lectio Divina seems similar to me. It’s a way of reading scripture that puts you into a parallel world which informs and infuses us. I read the first eight verses beginning Mark: ‘John did baptise in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.’ Because I’m reading King James, I get ‘did baptise’ which appears to me. It’s emphatic. In this parallel world where all the land converges on Jordan River John stands as a marker. I can see the prophet, preparing to baptise the Lord.

            What did John do? He did baptise. He preached. He preached the baptism of spirit, after the water. When I read this passage again, I get the word ‘remission.’ I would dearly love a remission of illness. John preached the remission of sins. Yet it was Jesus who has the actual power to forgive sins. On third reading, John baptised in the wilderness. Are we not in wilderness, much of the time? In this parallel world, some healing is taking place. It’s a world worth exploring: Lectio Divina is one way.