When I read some of the chapters in Genesis where God is in conversation with Abraham, I get a little jealous, wishing for a relationship that seems sometimes so “daily.” I mean that it would be nice to talk about the family, e.g. Sarah having a son and Abraham laughing at God’s promise because he was 99 years old (Gn 17). As I write that, I see that I have moved away a bit from the conversational relationship with God that has long been a part of my morning meditation. I would like to blame the pandemic but I don’t think that would be fair. My meditation mat and home altar are still in place and no one is prohibiting me from the quiet of my bedroom…I just seem to have become lazy and am realizing that this recognition might be a value of revisiting a prayer schedule on a regular basis. Sometimes all it takes to wake up is a line from the Scriptures, as this morning with verse one from chapter 17. Listen:
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said: “I am God the Almighty. Walk in my presence and be blameless.” That shook me awake in an instant so that I almost felt a need to stand up and salute…but then I read the rest of the text and heard the softening of God’s voice as God spoke of descendants, especially “Sarai” (Sarah) having a child in her old age.
This is the God I want to be close to, the God in whom I place my faith, my trust and my love. I meet that God everywhere: in the dancing of the trees on our land…in the sounds and smells from the kitchen where Liz has begun to prepare our dinner for today…even in the wonder of my aging hands as I notice the curving of my right index finger. Even there I bless my mother whose arthritis, much more serious than mine, was borne with grace and a luminous smile…
I will stop here begause I can no longer avoid the pull of my prayer space and the gratitude that rises in me from the gifts of this morning. Blessings all… Stay Awake!