As I’ve mentioned before, years ago when I worked for the government in Washington, D.C., I participated in a weekly ecumenical prayer group that met at lunchtime. Men and women from different agencies came together in the love of God, to witness to their experience of the Holy One, to pray for each other’s concerns and for the world, and to celebrate the Beloved who was described by one of our group as “a prayer-answering God.” Running into the leader in the hall was always a delight. No matter what was going on, his face would be lit up with the biggest smile, and his greeting, without fail, would be, “God is faithful!” Never “hello” or “Good morning” but his personal assurance that the Divine could be trusted in all things and at all times. That seems to have been the experience of the biblical writers we have for today. The prophet Isaiah speaks of “the Lord who is faithful;” the psalmist prays: “Let your love and faithfulness keep me safe forever;” the apostle Paul states: “God is faithful;” and the Baptist testifies that God told him what to expect and did indeed bring that forth in his presence.

Is that your experience? Do you trust God to be there for you in good times and bad, to be ”a lamp to [your] feet and a light to [your] path” (Ps.119:105), to provide just what you need to grow into union with the Divine? Can you recognize God’s hand at work in your life? If not, perhaps it’s because you’re not meeting God even halfway. Maybe you are not expecting the Holy One-In-Three to show up, or you’re not open and available to receive what God has to offer.

God’s steadfast love and mercy is here. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, but our cold hearts can keep us from experiencing it. God is faithful and waits for the smallest opening in our hearts to show us how precious we are to the Beloved. Richard Rohr’s online daily meditation got my attention when he suggested that we “Rest silently in the awareness that you are already and forever, without any effort or achievement on your part, a beloved child of God.” Give God a chance, and see what happens.