Cooling Coffee

Over a year ago I wrote a blog and an article for SNDUSA which told of my practice of holding up my coffee cup and addressing God with “Cheers!” I still often do that; however, the coffee prayer has cooled in starting my morning praise. I wonder whether it’s too familiar an address. Of course, this is impossible for our God who loves familiarity. But a potential pitfall is thinking when I begin to read the day’s lectionary readings “I’ve heard this before. I know the end of the story.” Cynthia Bourgeault in Wisdom Jesus prefers that we are shocked by the well-known, almost memorized stories. Bourgeault recommends “a raw immediacy of presence.’” Would a better way for me to start prayer be bracing for shock? We sense loving familiarity in many ways—verbal expressions, facial features, choice of gift, and dozens of other ways that no one else except close friends and family will notice. I need to be open to the dozens of ways I can be open to shock: noticing a word that changes the meaning of the Scripture passage, reading a commentary that digs deep, and reorientating myself to expect hearing a voice and receiving a miracle.