Take a listen to Empty from Tom Booth's CD, Captured. I had the pleasure of co-writing that song with him. It is perhaps the most confusing song on the CD. "Empty I came, empty I leave ..." If God satisfies every longing, why are we "empty?" Ok ...enough writing, listen to this beautifully arranged song; pay special attention to the lyrics, and then we will move through the other parts of lection divina.

Reflect

I wrote these lyrics because of some Bible study work I was doing on "nakedness" in the Old Testament. Adam and Eve hid from the Lord when they realized they were nake. Noah got drunk, took off all of his clothes, and passed out ...naked. Job said he came naked and left naked. I think nakedness is a biblical image for our infinite need for God. Augustine said that our hearts are made for God and that we restless until they rest in God. Adam and Eve were naked, incomplete; yet they were in perfect relatiionship with God. When they disobeyed God, they broke their perfect relationship with Him and that is when they realized their incompleteness. Instead of returning to the Lord and saying, "We are made for you!" They hid and tried to find other things to fill the void that can only be filled by God. That is still our condition. We are naked. We are incomplete. And we constantly seek ways to fill that incompleteness: status, things, drugs, other people, experiences. But God alone statisfies. The song Empty could very easily be called Naked. When I give talks on this, I ask two questions: 1) How are you naked 2) what are your fig leaves? How free would you be if God really was enough for you? Take some time to reflect on those questions.

Respond

As you examine your life and how you feel empty or naked, and as you realize the many ways you try to complete yourself outside of God, give those over to Him. Ask for God alone to be enough for you.

Rest

God is passionately in love with you! He wants to be enough for you. Close your eyes. Breath deeply. Be open to hearing Him say, "I love you. Come closer." Allow yourself to site in silence.