Talking with God. Our readings today invite us to be aware of the intimate relationship God desires to have with each of us.

Abraham is aware of the visitors he and Sarah had were, in fact, expressions of God’s word and presence to him and Sarah. Upon departure of these mysterious strangers, Abraham goes on to carry on a conversation with God discovering God’s on-going fidelity and mercy. Contemplating the situations in Sodom, he asks God over and over again even to the point of possible impatience. Will God destroy the good with the sinful? NO! The Lord is kind and merciful. (Ps 103)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is in conversation with a young man desiring to be in closer relationship with Him. Can this man do what is asked of him to follow Jesus? Does Jesus’ responses seem unreasonable or is He laying it on the line?

I picture both men struggling with God, IN PRAYER AND DISCERNMENT, with a desire for an intimate relationship with God and with their desire to know God more deeply. Who is God? Who is Jesus? What is going on in my heart? Can I do what God, or Jesus might be asking of me? To find the answers, keep praying! Talk to God. Talk to Jesus. Ask the questions. Implore the Spirit for insight and wisdom.

Our prayer, our conversations with God can be revealed through our conversations with friends, companions, strangers, spouses, and creation. We can learn from St. Irenaeus, whose feast is today, that all creation is an expression of God’s Glory. May our eyes be open and let us be alert to those moments the Spirit breaks into our lives with an invitation to talk with God. God wants to talk!

Once while I was wondering what I was to do next in ministry, I clearly heard the words, “Let the dead bury the dead…I desire LIFE!” Choose life! Lean into what is light and blessings. Blessings for me, light, life, and blessings for others.  It is to be God’s glory, mercy, kindness, loving compassionate presence in following Jesus. It is for us to be “fully alive” as St. Irenaeus exults.

In both situations of our Scripture today and through the life of St. Irenaeus, what God desires is LIFE.  God desires an intimate relationship and not without some costs. At times living the Gospel is not easy. A Gospel life presents challenges. We have choices.

So, let’s talk with God. Pray! Listen!  We will hear God’s voice. It will be a revelation of life in abundance as it was for Abraham and Sarah. Life in abundance that is more than the stars in the sky. Life in abundance confirming that God is kind and merciful! Life in abundance in Jesus!

Let us pray this prayer attributed to St. Irenaeus that is an expression of God, our Creator’s intimate, loving touch! It is an invitation to keep our hearts soft, open to listen and to keep the conversation going!

It is not thou that shapest God
it is God that shapest thee.
If thou art the work of God
await the hand of the artist
who does all things in due season.
Offer Him thy heart,
soft and tractable,
and keep the form
in which the artist has fashioned thee.
Let thy clay be moist,
lest thou grow hard
and lose the imprint of his fingers.