Liturgies & Prayers · Prayer
Lectio Divina on the Pastoral Invitation
An exploration into the pastoral work of this current moment
In times of great disruption, we can benefit from the practice of prayer to help us discern next steps and where the Spirit is inviting us. We have as our guide the pastoral work of the prophets during the Exile, who listened to the pain of the people, expressed that pain, and helped the people find the presence of God in a foreign land. The result was an expanded view of God. God was not just a God of the land of Israel, but of the entire universe.
This new understanding was such a shift that a new creation story (Gen 1:1f) was written from this perspective. How might our role as pastors be similar to the role of the prophets during this time? How do we help our people claim the central values of our faith in this moment, values we may not have needed to name so concretely before, but which now can be important anchors for us?
As a starting point for this reflection on the invitation to us as pastors, let us sit inside the raw material the prophets themselves were listening to: the words of Psalm 137, a lament sung from the middle of exile itself.
A prayerful rhythm
Four readings and a response
-
First reading
Notice the words
Read Psalm 137 slowly. Notice the words that catch your attention and speak to you. You might circle or underline them.
Allow 1–2 minutes of silence -
Second reading
Notice what stirs
Read the psalm slowly again, noticing the emotions and thoughts triggered by these words.
Allow 2–3 minutes of silence -
Third reading
Listen for ministry
Where do these words connect to your sense and purpose of ministry? How are they similar to what you or your people are experiencing?
Allow 2–3 minutes of silence -
Final reading
Receive the invitation
What is the Spirit’s invitation for you? What words, actions, or prayers are you called into? How might this invitation guide your ministry today and affirm what God spoke in your heart when you were called?
Allow 2–3 minutes of silence -
Response
Gather what you received
Spend some time journalling to capture what you have received. May this prayer be fruitful and clarifying for your leadership in this cultural moment.
Psalm 137:1–6
Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem
1 By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down, and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung up our harps.
3 For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How could we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither!
6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy.