| Today's first reading from Deuteronomy is breathless with excitement over the presence of God in the community of believers.
"Did anything so great ever happen before?" we're asked. "Was it ever heard of? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live? Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation ... which the Lord, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?"
In the second reading, Paul tells the church in Rome that God loves them like an "Abba" or "Daddy" loves his children. In today's Gospel reading, Jesus sends his followers to "make disciples of all nations," and reminds them that "I am with you always, until the end of the age."
The God who rescued Israel from Egypt is with us always, and loves us like a Father loves his child.
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On this Trinity Sunday we are reminded at every turn that God loves us with a passionate, personal commitment. God the Father was there for the Israelites, Jesus the Son of God was there for the first disciples, and God the Spirit was there for the church at Rome.
We're reminded of the awesome truth that God has promised to love and care for each one of us and for all of us as a community. It is an important reminder --- one that is easy to lose sight of for some reason. Maybe it's because it doesn't always seem like God is continuing to speak to us and guide us, especially when we are confronted with pain and suffering in our world and our lives. These are times when God seems far off or even to have completely disappeared. 
In the 1971 song "American Pie," Don McLean lamented that "the three men I admire most, the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, they caught the last train for the coast, the day the music died." When hardship strikes, it often feels as though God has abandoned us. Today's readings declare that God never abandons us. But in times of trouble, we may abandon God.
I don't always feel like God is with me. Especially, in times like these, as we endure unprecedented social and economic change and uncertainty, it is very easy for me to believe that I need to rely on myself for survival. I have to work harder, spend less, give less. Only after exhausting my own resources, and experiencing the futility of doing so, am I inclined to turn to God and ask for assistance. Usually that's when something positive finally happens.
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit have not left for any coast. They are here for us and ready to give us all that we need to live in joyful communion, regardless of the circumstances of our lives. The God who rescued Israel from Egypt is with us always, and loves us like a Father loves his child. If we do not experience this presence, it is unlikely that God is the one who has moved. Bill Peatman writes from Napa. He may be reached at bptidings@yahoo.com.
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