Welcome to week two of Advent.
Today reading from Isaiah 40 and then a Lectio Divina on a blessing by Jan Richardson.
And as we prepare I invite you to come to stillness,
To take some deeper wider breaths as a way to settle,
To be here and now.
Letting go of the day so far and of what's to come and receiving the grace to be present in this moment.
Knowing yourself to be seen,
Loved and held.
Isaiah 40,
1 to 11.
Comfort,
O comfort my people says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that she has served her term,
That her penalty is paid,
That she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
A voice cries out,
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low.
The uneven ground shall become level and the rough places are plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all people shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
A voice says cry out and I said what shall I cry?
All people are grass,
Their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers,
The flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows upon it,
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers,
The flower fades but the word of our God will stand forever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion,
Herald of good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem,
Herald of good tidings.
Lift it up,
Do not fear,
Say to the cities of Judah,
Here is your God.
See the Lord God comes with might and his arm rules for him,
His reward is with him and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd,
He will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom and gently lead the mother sheep.
And now we come to the Lectio Divina,
It's called Prepare,
A blessing for Advent.
On this first reading I invite you to welcome the words without attaching to any of them.
Strange how one word will so hollow you out,
But this word has been in the wilderness for months,
Years.
This word is what remained after everything else was worn away by sand and stone.
It is what withstood the glaring of sun by day,
The weeping loneliness of the moon at night.
Now it comes to you racing out of the wild,
Eyes blazing and waving its arms,
Its voice ragged with desert,
But piercing and loud as it speaks itself again and again,
Prepare,
It may feel like the word is levelling you,
Emptying you as it asks you to give up what you have known.
It is impolite and hardly tame,
But when it falls upon your lips you will wonder at the sweetness,
Like honey that finds its way into the hunger you had not known was there.
And on this second reading I invite you to notice any words or phrases that capture your attention.
Strange how one word will so hollow you out,
But this word has been in the wilderness for months,
Years.
This word is what remained after everything else was worn away by sand and stone.
It is what withstood the glaring of sun by day,
The weeping loneliness of the moon at night.
Now it comes to you racing out of the wild,
Eyes blazing and waving its arms,
Its voice ragged with desert,
But piercing and loud as it speaks itself again and again,
Prepare,
Prepare.
It may feel like the word is levelling you,
Emptying you as it asks you to give up what you have known.
It is impolite and hardly tame,
But when it falls upon your lips you will wonder at the sweetness,
Like honey that finds its way into the hunger you had not known was there.
And on this final reading,
An opportunity for any words or phrases that captured your attention to go deeper,
To bring you what you need today.
Strange how one word will so hollow you out,
But this word has been in the wilderness for months,
Years.
This word is what remained after everything else was worn away by sand and stone.
It is what withstood the glaring of sun by day,
The weeping loneliness of the moon at night.
Now it comes to you racing out of the wild,
Eyes blazing and waving its arms,
Its voice ragged with desert,
But piercing and loud as it speaks itself again and again,
Prepare,
Prepare.
It may feel like the word is levelling you,
Emptying you as it asks you to give up what you have known.
It is impolite and hardly tame,
But when it falls upon your lips you will wonder at the sweetness,
Like honey that finds its way into the hunger you had not known was there.
May you continue to know God's love,
Blessing and grace towards you in this advent season.
Amen.
