Reflecting on a living Word

When it comes to preparation for preaching, commentaries and study are essential components. The Church has embraced modern methodologies and their search for the message and intent of the original author in his original context. These methods have produced enormous fruits - most especially in assisting us to hear again the unique witness of the many biblical authors. Nonetheless, it would be a mistake to imagine that historical studies and modern methodologies are the sum total of our interaction with the text. The Bible is more than a collection of documents form the past - it is a Living Word. In the most fundamental sense, the Word is a Person - Jesus Christ. And we are summoned to relationship - to conversation. For the Christian life itself, and for the sacred task of preaching, prayer and meditation sustain that relationship. 

Lectio continua
In the liturgy, we experience passages from the Scriptures that have been arranged for the purposes of theological reflection. The lectionary is a gift to the Church and to preachers. It reminds us that we do not go looking in the Bible fro our own interests, but rather we allow the text to confront us with its power. At the same time, we might want to recall that the lectionary does not actually cover the full text of the Bible, even when prayed daily. There is still reason for the disciple to read the One Book even as we may focus on an individual book or passage. This is especially important for the preacher who needs a familiarity with the whole of Revelation if he is to adequately preach a portion of it. The ancient tradition of Lectio continua provides an excellent framework for the fulfillment of this need. The devotion call for an ongoing reading of the whole text in a sequence. The reader may choose to read beginning to end, or follow a more theological approach - for example reading the NT and then going back to the Prophets. Another choice might be to read types of books in sequence. (It is interesting to note that the Divine Office looks much like a program of lector continua.) Whatever the choice, the point is to become more familiar with the text - to allow its truths and patterns to deepen the relationship between the disciple and the Master.

Lectio divina
Lectio divina is the more familiar devotion in which the believer meditates on individual passages of the Bible. For this reason, it is especially suited to the task of the preacher. For the preacher, there must be adaptation of the method given that he must pray with and meditate on multiple passages even for one instance of daily or Sunday preaching. But this approach, in tandem with the use of study tools, assists the preacher to make certain that the homily will be more than an opinion piece. 
If you are already familiar with the methods of Lectio divina, then the priority will be adapting those methods to the typical week. Perhaps the most important point of Lectio is that a text inspired in its composition can only truly be comprehended by the inspiration of that same Spirit. Before we sit down and write a homily, before we even open a commentary, we must hear the text. "Let those who have ears to hear, hear!" (Matthew 11:15) The preparation for a Sunday homily begins on the Sunday before with the simple reading of or listening to the texts for the coming week. We need a day or two to listen in prayer and live with the texts before we dare to imagine what we might have to say about them - we need to do lectio!
If you are not familiar with Lectio divina, look at some of the links and videos below.