Hello friends and welcome to this Lectio Divina on Psalm 8.
And as a way to prepare,
I invite you to gently bring your attention to the breath,
Being aware of the movement of air in and out of the lungs,
Taking a few deeper,
Wider breaths and welcoming stillness,
Slowly letting yourself let go,
Sink,
Be held and supported,
Letting yourself settle,
Receiving the grace to be here and now in this moment.
And as we give a few breaths to being silent,
As thoughts and distractions come,
Simply observe them and then let them go,
Put them down,
Knowing that they are seen,
Acknowledged and sent as prayers to the Beloved,
That in this moment,
As always,
You are loved.
Psalm 8.
I'm going to read this three times.
And on this first reading,
I invite you to simply let the words come,
Without attaching to any in particular.
O Love,
My Beloved,
How powerful is your name in all the earth,
You whose glory is sung in heaven by the angels and saints,
Who with the innocence and spontaneity of a child,
Confound those who are mighty and proud,
You comfort the unloving and fearful.
When I look up at the heavens,
At the work of love's creation,
At the infinite variety of your plan,
What is woman that you rejoice in her and man that you do delight in him?
You have made us in your image,
You fill us with your love,
You have made us co-creators of the earth,
Guardians of the planet,
To care for all your creatures,
To tend the land,
The sea and the air we breathe.
All that you have made,
You have placed in our hands.
O Love,
My Beloved,
How powerful is your name in all the earth.
And as I read this psalm through a second time,
I invite you to notice any words or phrases that stand out to you.
O Love,
My Beloved,
How powerful is your name in all the earth,
You whose glory is sung in heaven by the angels and the saints,
Who with the innocence and spontaneity of a child,
Confound those who are mighty and proud,
You comfort the unloving and fearful.
When I look up at the heavens,
At the work of love's creation,
At the infinite variety of your plan,
What is woman that you rejoice in her,
And man that you do delight in him,
You have made us in your image,
You fill us with your love,
You have made us co-creators of the earth,
Guardians of the planet,
To care for all your creatures,
To tend the land,
The sea and the air we breathe,
All that you have made,
You have placed in our hands.
O Love,
My Beloved,
How powerful is your name in all the earth.
O Love,
My Beloved,
How powerful is your name in all the earth.
And this third and final reading is an opportunity for any of the words or phrases that stood out to you,
To speak to you more deeply.
What are they offering you?
What do they invite?
What are they stirring within?
Are they bringing you something you need today?
O Love,
My Beloved,
How powerful is your name in all the earth.
You whose glory is sung in heaven by the angels and the saints,
Who with the innocence and spontaneity of a child,
Confound those who are mighty and proud,
You comfort the unloving and fearful.
When I look up at the heavens,
At the work of Love's creation,
At the infinite variety of your plan,
What is woman that you rejoice in her,
And man that you do delight in him?
You have made us in your image,
You fill us with your love,
You have made us co-creators of the earth,
Guardians of the planet,
To care for all your creatures,
To tend the land,
The sea and the air we breathe.
All that you have made you have placed in our hands.
O Love,
My Beloved,
How powerful is your name in all the earth.
And as we come to the end,
You may want to spend some time lingering with the words and phrases.
You may want to journal,
You may want to just sit and be,
And allow your heart to be ministered to in the way that you need.
May blessing and love and grace and peace be with you.
Amen.
