As I was praying with today’s readings, my focus was drawn to Paul’s words in the Acts of the Apostles

The God who made the world and all that is in it,
the Lord of heaven and earth,
does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands,
nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything.
Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.
He made from one the whole human race
to dwell on the entire surface of the earth,
and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions,
so that people might seek God,
even perhaps grope for him and find him,
though indeed he is not far from any one of us.
For 'In him we live and move and have our being,'
as even some of your poets have said,
'For we too are his offspring.'
Since therefore we are the offspring of God,
we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image
fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination.

In them I heard a reminder of the mystery of God.  A reminder also to not hold on too tightly to whatever images, depictions or imaginations are given to us to help us relate to God.  God does not need our prayers, our incense, our icons and statues.  I would also include our rites and rituals in this. These are things we use to “grope for him and find him.”  This reminder gives me the freedom, and I would go so far as to say it invites me, to look at what images, prayers and rituals facilitate my relationship with God?  Is there anything I am doing that has no fruit or may even get in the way of that relationship?  Am I being invited to something new or different for this season in my life as I grow?  As I continued to reflect I realized that I am attracted to being with God in nature.  As I write the birds are singing, the sun is shining and I feel companioned.  As a contrast, I used to pray with icons and lectio divina.  These practices have faded into the background for me as I spend more time in contemplative silence or time in nature.  These practices allow me to withdraw whatever projections I have placed on the divine and simply be with mystery.

Lastly, I am reminded that although we find ourselves oftentimes groping for God, the Mystery that is the divine is where “we live and move and have our being.”  The Mystery is right here within us and around us.  So, as we go about our day today we might ask:  What are we being called to let go of,  our attachments and ideas about God, so that the Spirit can guide us in Truth to experience the Mystery in all things?