I invite you to take a couple of deep breaths,
Freeing yourself from whatever is accompanying you into this practice.
Maybe imagine leaving all your worries at the door.
They'll be there later if you need them,
But for this practice you don't need them.
You can let them be.
You are enough.
You are beloved.
Lectio Divina is a form of prayer actually.
It's called a reading,
But it's actually a prayer.
The text is how we communicate with God.
A prayer is a conversation with God,
And in this case the text is our means of communication.
So we are trying to hear what God is saying to us through the text,
But also what we bring through the text to God.
The prayers that are on our hearts,
The thoughts that are occupying our minds,
This is all part of our experience.
God is always with us.
You might keep your eyes closed for this practice,
Or lower your gaze or however suits you.
Hear this reading from the 25th chapter of Isaiah.
But here on this mountain,
God of the angel armies will throw a feast for all the people of the world.
A feast of the finest foods,
A feast with vintage wines,
A feast of seven courses,
A feast lavish with gourmet desserts.
And here on this mountain,
God will banish the pall of doom hanging over all peoples,
The shadow of doom darkening all nations.
Yes,
He'll banish death forever.
And God will wipe the tears from every face.
He'll remove every sign of disgrace from his people wherever they are.
Yes,
God says so.
Also at that time,
People will say,
Look at what's happened.
This is our God.
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us.
This God,
The one we waited for,
Let's celebrate.
Sing the joys of his salvation.
God's hand rests on this mountain.
Take a few moments in the silence.
Our intention with this practice is not to remember the passage or to figure it out.
We're not applying any criticism to the passage.
We're simply being in prayer with it.
So in this next reading,
The intention is to notice what your bodily response is to the passage.
I consider our bodies and our emotions to be intertwined,
So it is a bodily emotional response.
Again,
Not trying to remember anything,
Not trying to make a point.
Simply letting the words be and letting your response be.
Paying attention to your bodily emotional response.
Hear this reading again from Isaiah 25.
But here on this mountain,
God of the angel armies will throw a feast for all the people of the world.
A feast of the finest foods.
A feast with vintage wines.
A feast of seven courses.
A feast lavish with gourmet desserts.
And here on this mountain,
God will banish the pall of doom hanging over all peoples.
The shadow of doom darkening all nations.
Yes,
He'll banish death forever.
And God will wipe the tears from every face.
He'll remove every sign of disgrace from his people wherever they are.
Yes,
God says so.
Also at that time,
People will say,
Look at what happened.
This is our God.
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us.
This God,
The one we waited for,
Let's celebrate,
Sing the joys of his salvation.
God's hand rests on this mountain.
We take a few moments attentive to our bodily emotional response to that passage.
For this next time through the same passage,
The intention is to notice which image sticks in your mind.
So if you haven't already got your eyes closed,
That might make this a bit easier to notice the image that this text puts in your mind.
From Isaiah 25.
But here on this mountain,
God of the angel armies will throw a feast for all the people of the world.
A feast of the finest foods.
A feast with vintage wines.
A feast of seven courses.
A feast lavish with gourmet desserts.
And here on this mountain,
God will banish the pall of doom hanging over all peoples.
The shadow of doom darkening all nations.
Yes,
He'll banish death forever.
And God will wipe the tears from every face.
He'll remove every sign of disgrace from his people,
Wherever they are.
Yes,
God says so.
Also at that time,
People will say,
Look at what's happened.
This is our God.
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us.
This God,
The one we waited for,
Let's celebrate,
Sing the joys of his salvation.
Let's celebrate,
Sing the joys of his salvation.
God's hand rests on this mountain.
We take a few moments attentive to that image that the text put in your mind.
During this final reading,
Pay attention to the single word that stands out for you.
What single word,
After all this text,
Stands out for you?
Again,
From Isaiah 25.
And God will wipe the tears from every face.
He'll remove every sign of disgrace from his people,
Wherever they are.
Yes,
God says so.
Also at that time,
People will say,
Look at what's happened.
This is our God.
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us.
This God,
The one we waited for,
Let's celebrate,
Sing the joys of his salvation.
God's hand rests on this mountain.
We take some time attentive to that single word that stood out for you.
It may be that God is calling you to be a certain way,
Or to do a certain thing,
Take a particular action,
Or say something specific.
It may also be that God just wants you to be aware of God's presence.
I'm very grateful for your presence with me today.
I hope that these words have enlightened you,
Brought levity to your life,
Reminded you that you are beloved,
And that God yearns for your healing and wholeness just as much as you do,
Maybe even more.
Thank you for this time of practice.
May you go in peace.
