I wrote the text and tune of "Taken and Blessed" at an Academy for Spiritual Formation during the silence. I was reflecting on Henri Nouwen's teachings in "Life of the Beloved" after a presentation by Robert Benson. Nouwen saw a Eucharistic pattern Christian lives, modeled after the four actions Jesus took at the table. As children of God, we are chosen, blessed, broken, and shared as bread for the world.
I am honored that "Taken and Blessed" was published on the General Board of Discipleship Worship Website recently. You can find the musical arrangement by my good friend Nylea Butler-Moore on the General Board of Discipleship Website. Here is the text:
Taken and blessed, broken and shared,
We come back to the table the Lord has prepared.
Washed by the water, born by the wind,
We come back to the fountain all over again.
This is our story, this is our choice
To discover again your compelling, still voice.
Life is a circle of joy and pain,
So refresh us, oh God, with your soft gentle rain.
Take us, your children, bless us with grace.
In your hands, gently break us, who dodge your embrace.
Share us with others, bread for the world.
We're the body of Christ, now redeemed by his blood.
Copyright 2004 by Stephen P. West. All rights reserved.
