Hello,
My name is Nicho and welcome to this Lectio Divina meditation,
A sacred reading practice that invites the Living Word to speak to your heart.
Today we begin our journey with the opening of the Gospel of John,
A passage of profound mystery and light.
I will be reading from the First Nations version of the Bible if you wish to follow along.
As you hear the bell,
Allow yourself to enter a sacred contemplative posture.
Word of life,
Light of all people,
Dwell in us,
Awaken us.
May your light shine in our darkness.
Long ago,
In the time before all days,
Before the creation of all things,
The One who is known as the Word was there face to face with the Great Spirit.
This Word fully represents Creator and shows us who He is and what He is like.
He has always been there from the beginning.
For the Word and the Creator are one and the same.
Through the Word all things came into being and not one thing exists that He did not create.
Creator's life shined out from the Word,
Giving light to all human beings.
This is the true life that comes to all peoples of the world and shines on everyone.
The light shines into the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it or put it out.
Into the wilderness of the land of promise,
Judea,
Came a man named Gift of Goodwill,
John.
He was sent by the Great Spirit to tell what he knew about the light so everyone could believe.
He was not the light but came to speak the truth about the light.
The true light that shines on all people was coming into the darkness of this world.
He came down into this world and even though He made all things,
The world did not recognize Him.
Even His own tribe did not welcome or honor Him.
But all who welcome and trust Him receive their birthright as children of the Great Spirit.
They are born in a new way,
Not from a human father's plans or desires,
But born from above,
By the Great Spirit.
Creator's Word became a flesh-and-blood human being and pitched His sacred tent amongst us.
Living as one of us,
We looked upon His great beauty and saw how honorable He was.
The kind of honor held only by this one Son who fully represents His Father.
Full of His great kindness and truth,
Gift of Goodwill,
John,
Told what he knew about Him and cried out with a loud voice,
The One I have told you about is here.
He comes after me but is much greater,
My Elder.
He has more honor,
For even though He is thought to be younger,
He existed before I was born.
From the fullness of His being,
We have all had many gifts of kindness poured out on us.
Drawn from the water,
Moses gave us our tribal laws,
But the gift of great kindness and truth came from the Creator sets free,
Jesus,
The Chosen One.
No one has ever seen the Great Spirit but the One Son,
Who is in Himself the Great Spirit and closest to the Father's heart,
Has shown us what He is like.
Let a word or phrase stir in your heart.
Listen not just with your ears but with your whole being.
Long ago,
Before the first sunrise,
The Word was there,
Face to face with the Great Spirit.
The Word was one and the same with the Great Spirit.
All things came to be through Him.
Not one thing came to life apart from Him.
In Him was life,
And that life was the light of all people.
The light still shines in the darkness,
And the darkness cannot overcome it.
A messenger came,
One who cries out in the wilderness to point to the light so that all people would trust because of Him.
He was not the light,
But He showed the way.
The true light was coming into this world,
A light for all tribes and nations.
He walked amongst His own people,
But many did not see Him.
But to those who welcomed Him,
He gave the right to become children of the Great Spirit,
Born not from flesh or human will,
But from Creator's heart.
The Word became flesh and made His home among us.
We saw His beauty,
The beauty of a Father's only Son,
Full of gift-giving love and truth.
From His full heart,
We have all received grace upon grace.
The law was given through drawn from the water,
Moses,
But love and truth came through Creator sets free,
Jesus.
No one has ever seen the Great Spirit,
But the One closest to His heart has made Him known.
Taking a few moments here in reflection,
You may let this passage wash over you in sacred silence and receptivity,
Or simply reflect in your own mind to these questions.
What is this passage inviting you into?
Where does it meet you in your life today?
What is this passage inviting you into?
Where does it meet your life today?
We will regroup for a final prayer at the end.
Word of life,
Light of all people,
Dwell in us,
Awaken us.
May your light shine through.
May your light shine in our darkness.
