“When Philip ran up, he heard him (Ethiopian on his way home after Pilgrimage to Jerusalem), reading Isaiah the Prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading? “How can I,” he replied “unless I have someone to guide me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit by his side.” Acts 8: 31-32
The Lectio Server is someone who is familiar with the method and principles of Lectio, passionate and enthusiastic about the practice, and sensitive and respectful of the Word and the individuals who make up the community. It is a role in which the Server grows stronger over time through practice as they learn to trust themselves, the Word, and the presence of God in the community.
The spirituality of the Lectio Server combines both humility and self-confidence. Humility, because the Server knows it is God’s word, not theirs! And at the same time self-confidence, because the Server also knows that God’s spirit is at work in the process – “ Just as the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes forth from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do”. Is 55:11
The servant of the Lectio community humbly and yet confidently serves the journey with the word according to method of Lectio: Reading, Meditation, Prayer (thanksgiving, repentance, petition and Contemplation) and finally the search for the Wisdom moment.. While the journey with each passage remains more or less the same the method in itself is not rigid in its application. There is plenty of room for flexibility, creativity and spontaneity as to how we get there!
Over a period of time it best practice for a Lectio Server to give some very brief reminders to a Lectio community of the different aspects of method and of the principles involved. Fidelity to the method and principles insures the food is rich and nourishing.
At the same time the Lectio Server is guided by important governing principles: veneration of the word as sacred and inspired; faith in Jesus alive and at work today; entry into the word as story through the imagination; respect for God’s desire that his word will be life-giving for all his children.
In an ideal Lectio world each community would have at least two Lectio Servers who would meet to prepare for each session. The best preparation for helping others to make the Lectio journey with a passage is to have already made the journey oneself.
When possible it is good for Lectio Servers of different communities to come together and share experiences and learn from each other and pursue deeper grounding in the method and principles.
There may also be some practical responsibilities: Servant of Lectio community may have to take some responsibility for gathering the community, for arranging room, creating a prayerful and nurturing space for people to gather, checking Bible or lectionary is opened on relevant page, lighting of candle, preparation of appropriate pieces of music and making sure resource leaflets are at hand.