“There is nowhere morning does not go…”

It’s a line from Leah Hager Cohen, in her book,  Glass, Paper, Beans: Revolutions on the Nature and Value of Ordinary Things: “There is nowhere morning does not go.” That is to say, the very concept of morning is pervasive. It reminds you of the eternal sacredness of things.

The Psalmist takes it in terms of listening. Morning is a time for God and me to listen to each other! On the one hand, Psalm 5:3 has:  “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord,” and  on the other Psalm 119:147 has “I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words.” I like that sense of conversation. A rather crass interviewer once asked Mother Teresa what she prayed for. “Oh, I don’t pray for things. I listen.” Rather abashed, he said, “Well, what does He say?” “He doesn’t speak. He listens.”

In the morning, perhaps you don’t feel like talking so much, but it’s good to learn to listen. Maybe that’s what real conversation is.

Part of that morning conversation is the intimacy of God’s presence: “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God… And when I wake up, you are still with me! “(Psalm 139: 17, 18) Jesus promised to be always with us, and when the sun rises, and the birds sing their hearts out for sheer joy, it’s impossible not to realise that. It’s a truth that sets you free from the anxiety of daily need.

But, still, things have to be attended to. So: “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3) “Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to you for mercy.” (Psalm 88:9)  This is the same quiet recognition of need that prompted the petition in the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.” It’s not a prayer request so much as a statement of trust. It’s like saying: “I trust you with all that I need for today.” The same thought is there in Psalm 31: “I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, “You are my God! My future is in your hands.” (Psalm 31: 14, 15).

And in its turn, this sense of intimacy and presence,  of needs heard and met, issue in a quiet joy and a confident hope. That too, is part of the conversation of morning.

“Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy.”  (Psalm 65:8)

“Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love.”  (Psalm 90:14)

“Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you.” (Psalm 143:8)

I live a few minutes from a coast of wild uncluttered beaches. Every dawn brings its dog walkers and sundry watchers -like us- who stand in silent joy at the unfolding of a new day, willing to be a beginner every single morning (as  Meister Eckhart put it). 

And as I begin again, I think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love—then resolve to make that day count. Every morning, I drink a cup of sunlight to brighten myself.

There’s a line in Walden that comes to mind. Henry David Thoreau wrote: “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.”

Yes, I can see that. The word “cheerful” is appropriate. It reminds me of the sheer optimism of the dawn chorus. And I resolve again and again to make my life of equal simplicity -worship, trust, intimacy, wonder, joy and love.

“New every morning is the love
Our wakening and uprising prove;
Through sleep and darkness safely brought,
Restored to life and power and thought.”

John Keble wrote the lines in his early thirties. It’s the profound thought of a young man, that all this centres upon love. There is nowhere that morning does not go!

So in the morning, we are worshippers, rapt children with mouths open in wonder, birds singing in unabashed gladness, listeners and lovers, alert and alive… all of that.

One more quote. This one is from Vera Nazarian’s The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration:

“Have you ever seen the dawn? Not a dawn groggy with lack of sleep or hectic with mindless obligations and you about to rush off on an early adventure or business, but full of deep silence and absolute clarity of perception? A dawning which you truly observe, degree by degree. It is the most amazing moment of birth. And more than anything it can spur you to action. Have a burning day.”