One thing I ask of you, [Divine Goodness], one thing I seek: that I may dwell in your house all the days of my life, to gaze on your beauty and to meditate in your Temple.
– Psalm 27:4 (Inclusive Bible)
An early 6th century theologian described God as “beguiled by beauty.” The Creator was lured by a longing for beauty and so set in motion a world of immense diversity and goodness. We were made for this Divine Goodness. We were made inherently worthy, not by our “doing,” but by our simply being. Practices of contemplation help us train our gaze to these deeper truths. In this worship series, which will begin Sunday, June 7, we will dwell with the God of Divine Goodness, deeply in love with us, and practice ways to return that love as we fall more deeply in love with creation and with one another.
Divina is of Latin and Italian origin, meaning “divine or heavenly.” It is also a variant of Davina (Hebrew), meaning ”loved one.” In this series we will encounter the Divine Loved One through “Lectio Divina,” a reading of scripture in a contemplative way—through “Sermo Divina,” the Latin origin of the word “sermon”—and through “Visio Divina,” with images, music, and poetry. All of these are portals into a sensate experience of the holy. Some forms will pique your cognitive mind, but you can also allow some to simply wash over you, infusing your psyche and soul with a mysterious sense of wonder. Our anchor image for this series is wind chimes: simple, beautiful music makers that make gentle music in the breeze. This image represents the call to awaken more intentionally to beauty, to life. Chimes are moved by wind that we cannot see, just as we humans are inspired and called to expression by the Spirit moving through our lives.
Here is the worship synopsis for week 1, June 7: All things are beautiful–not by a standard of “pretty” as seen by our eyes, but by an essence of sacred worth that is sensed by the spirit. This is the root and heart of compassion and justice. Beauty is the threshold to Divine Goodness and a door into radical compassion. “The difficulty and crisis of the world is overwhelming. It is virtually impossible to bear it without very deep resources. A life of prayer does not take us out of life but deeper into it.” We pursue a contemplative life to intensify spiritual capacities so that we might live as Beloveds of God who extend Goodness in the world.
To fully experience this series, you may wish to have some wind chimes in your worship area at home. The children will be doing a scavenger hunt each week during the Children’s Moment. Here is a list of items they will be searching for:
- Week 1 (June 7) – a plant (they will need a cup of water, also)
- Week 2 (June 14) – a blanket
- Week 3 (June 21) – something with a crack in it or something imperfect
- Week 4 (June 28) – a star
- Week 5 (July 5) – a mirror
- Week 6 (July 12) – a megaphone (you can easily create one by rolling up a piece of paper)
Join us as we seek to dwell with the God of Divine Goodness, deeply in love with us, and practice ways to return that love as we fall more deeply in love with creation and with one another.
