Hello friends and welcome to this Lectio Divina.
And today I want to offer another blessing by Jan Richardson.
It's from her book,
The Cure for Sorrow,
A book of blessings in times of grief.
And the Lectio,
The blessing I'm bringing today,
Is called Stay.
And just as a way to prepare,
I invite you to come to stillness and rest.
Bringing your attention gradually from your head,
Letting go of the day so far and of what's to come.
Bringing awareness down to your body,
Towards your feet.
And receiving that sense of being grounded,
Of being held and supported.
Receiving the grace to be present here and now.
And as you come to being settled,
I offer a few moments of silence.
And perhaps in this silence,
You simply want to name your needs as you come to this meditation.
And to offer up any burdens that feel as if they're weighing on you at this time.
And as you come to being settled,
I offer up any burdens that feel as if they're weighing on you at this time.
And as you come to being settled,
I offer up any burdens that feel as if they're weighing on you at this time.
So this blessing is called Stay.
And I'm going to read it three times.
On this first reading,
I invite you to simply welcome the words without attaching to any in particular.
I know how your mind rushes ahead,
Trying to fathom what could follow this.
What will you do?
Where will you go?
How will you live?
You will want to outrun the grief.
You will want to keep turning toward the horizon,
Watching for what was lost to come back to you.
To return to you and never leave again.
For now,
Hear me when I say,
All you need to do is to still yourself,
Is to turn toward one another,
Is to stay.
Wait and see what comes to fill the gaping hole in your chest.
Wait with your hands open to receive what could never come,
Except to what is empty and hollow.
You cannot know it now,
Cannot even imagine what lies ahead.
But I tell you,
The day is coming when breath will fill your lungs as it never has before.
And with your own ears,
You will hear words coming to you new and startling.
You will dream dreams and you will see the world ablaze with blessing.
Wait for it.
Still yourself.
Stay.
And on this second reading,
I invite you to notice any words or phrases that capture your attention.
I know how your mind rushes ahead,
Trying to fathom what could follow this.
What will you do?
Where will you go?
How will you live?
You will want to outrun the grief.
You will want to keep turning toward the horizon,
Watching for what was lost to come back.
To return to you and never leave again.
For now,
Hear me when I say,
All you need to do is to still yourself,
Is to turn toward one another,
Is to stay.
Wait and see what comes to fill the gaping hole in your chest.
Wait with your hands open to receive what could never come,
Except to what is empty and hollow.
You cannot know it now,
Cannot even imagine what lies ahead.
But I tell you,
The day is coming when breath will fill your lungs as it never has before.
And with your own ears,
You will hear words coming to you,
New and startling.
You will dream dreams and you will see the world ablaze with blessing.
Wait for it.
Still yourself.
Stay.
And on this third and final reading,
I invite you to be with the words and phrases that stood out to you.
Invite them to go deeper.
Invite them to speak.
They may be offering you something that you need.
They may be shining a light on where you are right now,
Of what's going on in your life.
They may be inviting something from you.
They may simply come as a comfort and as a salve to your heart.
Simply let them bring what they're offering in this moment.
I know how your mind rushes ahead,
Trying to fathom what could follow this.
What will you do?
Where will you go?
How will you live?
You will want to outrun the grief.
You will want to keep turning toward the horizon.
Watching for what was lost to come back to you.
To return to you and never leave again.
For now,
Hear me when I say,
All you need to do is to still yourself.
Is to turn toward one another.
Is to stay.
Wait and see what comes to fill the gaping hole in your chest.
Wait with your hands open to receive what could never come,
Except to what is empty and hollow.
You cannot know it now,
Cannot even imagine what lies ahead.
But I tell you the day is coming when breath will fill your lungs as it never has before.
And with your own ears,
You will hear words coming to you new and startling.
You will dream dreams and you will see the world ablaze with blessing.
Wait for it.
Still yourself.
Stay.
My friends,
I offer you peace,
Stillness,
Rest and great love.
Amen.
.
