It's so easy to get caught up with the many lures of the world.
Those distractions that tell us,
Come here,
Look at this,
Look at me,
Follow this,
Subscribe.
And then we just find ourselves just spinning around,
Chasing one thing after another and none of it really keeps us satisfied.
We have a thirst and a hunger for something much deeper and much more enduring.
That these short-term fixes can't satisfy.
And we know that there is something beyond that calls to us at every moment and we just tune in and listen and that's what our sacred meditation is really about.
Allowing our minds to settle for a few moments so that we can hear the voice within us that is a part of God.
And so hopefully you're sitting comfortably.
And with the next deep inhale,
See if you can just extend the spine straight,
A big inhale,
Feeling the belly expand and the chest really open,
The shoulders roll back,
Opening your heart and then exhale,
Just let it fall and sighing it out.
And just follow that pattern of inhaling and extending tall and feel the extension just rising through the top of your head,
But also grounding through your seat.
So that balance of extension and then release,
Just recognizing that you are in a constant state of movement.
Even if life just seems to be stuck in certain patterns,
There's things that are moving at a much slower pace if we pay attention and we look within rather than look around at all the busyness and dizziness that the world often gives us.
So let's listen with our contemplative heart to this passage from Isaiah.
And if you haven't heard the words,
Listen closely,
But if you have,
See if you can tune in with a different perspective.
All you who are thirsty,
Come to the water.
All you who have no money,
Come forward,
Buy and eat.
Come,
Buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Why spend money for that which is not bread?
Your wages for that which fails to satisfy.
Listen carefully to me and you will eat well and delight in rich food.
Just let that passage sink in for a moment.
Just let the words just rest on you.
Maybe a word or phrase really stood out or maybe an energy lifted you.
So let's hear a different translation of this passage and see if a word or phrase really comes to you the second time we hear it.
Is anyone thirsty?
Come and drink,
Even if you have no money.
Come,
Take your choice of wine or milk.
It is all free.
Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the finest food.
So let those words sit with you and maybe that word or phrase arose again.
Just use it maybe as a mantra.
So let's listen again.
It's a somewhat different translation but it still carries that same essence.
So rather than be fixed on a particular word or phrase,
We use this to inspire a prayer that might emerge.
Let's hear it again.
All you who are thirsty,
Come to the water.
You who have no money,
Come.
Receive grain and eat.
Come without paying and without cost.
Receive wine and milk.
Why spend your money on what is not bread?
Your wages for what fails to satisfy.
Listen to me and you shall eat well.
You shall delight in rich fare.
So what prayers do you have?
What conversation would you like to have with God based on this passage?
So after we've sat for a while,
We can maybe open our hearts to the response that God might have for us.
So we hear him say,
Come to the water.
Come without paying.
Without cost.
Come not as one who is earned,
But as one who dares to receive.
Listen.
You will taste what is good.
Attend.
And your soul will be filled with delight.
So what else does God have to say to you at this moment?
So if you've received that divine pause that is available to us in this contemplative practice,
Consider it a gift and an opening to that divine water that is available to us.
It speaks to us at all times,
But it's most open when we are open,
When we are weary,
When we feel empty,
And we feel restless.
And we ask ourselves in our waking life,
How much of our energy is spent chasing what cannot nourish?
How many of our wages are poured out on shadows of satisfaction?
God asks not for any sort of payment,
But just for a little bit of attention.
There's no transaction.
Because the gift always flows freely like water.
It's bread for the hungry,
Wine for the faint-hearted,
Milk for the growth of your soul.
These aren't scraps or rations.
This is what true richness feels like.
So if your eyes are closed,
You can gently open them and just sit for a moment or two as you transition from this inward-looking to your outward-looking life.
And I also invite you to maybe write down what you experienced.
Write down maybe your reaction,
But also maybe what you felt.
And maybe a word or a message that really bubbled up within you.
And that way,
You can extend this contemplative practice.
But over time,
You notice maybe some changes,
Not only in your inward state,
But in your outer life.
Because this fruit is cultivated deep within you.
If you just maybe pay attention and drink some of that divine water.
Peace be with you.
Thank you.
