Hello friends and welcome to this Lectio Divina.
On Beginnings,
A new song written by Howard Thurman.
And before we come to the Lectio Divina,
I'm going to invite you to a simple arriving meditation,
Grounded,
Aware presence to enable you to settle in,
To become comfortable and to be open to receive the words that this Lectio Divina offers.
Find a comfortable seated position and simply start to become aware of your body.
Sense its position,
Weight and inner space.
Begin now to centre your attention at your base,
Your seat,
Where your body is supported by whatever you're sitting on.
Feel the weight of your whole body and how it is planted on the earth.
Trusting yourself to the earth's solidity,
Let your body really settle and be at ease.
Appreciate the simplicity of being bodily present here and now.
Say the word grounded softly to yourself.
Next bring your attention to the head region.
Close your eyes or lower your gaze.
Concentrate your awareness on your sense of hearing.
Be open and sensitive to any sound with a simple mental label.
Bird singing,
Traffic noise,
Refrigerator hum.
You may even notice some sounds coming through this recording.
Try not to enter into a discursive thought process.
At the same time try to notice the larger quality of silence that surrounds whatever you hear from moment to moment.
Sense the whole space around you,
Extending even beyond the walls and what you can see from where you sit.
Experience the vast panoramic quality of awareness.
Say to yourself softly,
Aware.
Now move your attention into the centre of your chest.
Place your hand gently over your heart and experience a quality of presence.
You are simply here,
Alive,
Breathing,
Feeling,
Experiencing your basic existence.
It is happening right now at this very moment.
Slowly repeat the word present.
I'm going to read this through twice and I invite you to notice words or phrases that capture your attention.
To notice how you respond in your body and your emotions as you hear these words.
Be aware of anything that stirs within you,
Of any invitation that comes,
Any sense of hope or movement within yourself.
Be open and receptive,
Aware of what these words bring and how they land within you.
The old song of my spirit has wearied itself out.
It has long ago been learned by heart,
So that now it repeats itself over and over,
Bringing no added joy to my days or lift to my spirit.
It is a good song,
Measured to a rhythm to which I am bound by ties of habit and timidity of mind.
The words belong to old experiences,
Which once sprang fresh as water from a mountain crevice fed by melting snows.
But my life has passed beyond to other levels where the old song is meaningless.
I demand of the old song that it meet the need of present urgencies.
Also,
I know that the work of the old song,
Perfect in its place,
Is not for the new demand.
I will sing a new song.
As difficult as it is,
I must learn the new song that is capable of meeting the new need.
I must fashion new words,
Born of all the new growth of my life,
My mind and my spirit.
I must prepare for new melodies that have never been mine before,
That all that is within me may lift my voice unto God.
How I love the old familiarity of the wearied melody,
How I shrink from the harsh discords of the new untried harmonies.
Teach me,
My Father,
That I might learn with the abandonment and enthusiasm of Jesus,
The fresh new accent,
The untried melody,
To meet the need of the untried morrow.
Thus I may rejoice with each new day and delight my spirit in each fresh unfolding.
I will sing this day a new song unto thee,
O God.
The old song of my spirit has wearied itself out.
It has long ago been learned by heart,
So that now it repeats itself over and over,
Bringing no added joy to my days or lift to my spirit.
It is a good song,
Measured to a rhythm to which I am bound by ties of habit and timidity of mind.
The words belong to old experiences which once sprang fresh as water from a mountain crevice fed by melting snows.
But my life has passed beyond to other levels where the old song is meaningless.
I demand of the old song that it meet the need of present urgencies.
Also I know that the work of the old song,
Perfect in its place,
Is not for the new demand.
I will sing a new song.
As difficult as it is,
I must learn the new song that is capable of meeting the new need.
I must fashion new words,
Born of all the new growth of my life,
My mind and my spirit.
I must prepare for new melodies that have never been mine before,
That all that is within me may lift my voice unto God.
How I love the old familiarity of the wearied melody,
How I shrink from the harsh discords of the new untried harmonies.
Teach me,
My Father,
That I might learn with the abandonment and enthusiasm of Jesus,
The fresh new accent,
The untried melody,
To meet the need of the untried morrow.
Thus I may rejoice with each new day and delight my spirit in each fresh unfolding.
I will sing this day a new song unto thee,
O God.
Be blessed,
My friends.
May these words invite you to a new melody and a new song.
And may they bring you the grace to sing it and to enter in to the harmonies that are shaping themselves in and through your lives.
Amen.
