Psalm Meditation 1330 ¶Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudette) ¶December 14, 2025 ¶Psalm 38 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2038&version=NRSVUE ¶The helpful lesson from psalms like this one is the focus on God. While the psalmist is convinced that God is contributing to the current pain it is still God who is being called on for help and comfort. Even though it is God who has inflicted some of the foul and festering wounds, the psalmist knows that the most helpful relief will come from God. Friends who are willing and able to help are at a loss of what kind of help is needed so they stand back, still willing while feeling helpless. ¶God stands as the one who is willing, able, and knows what we need and how to offer it to us. It may be direct help, though it is just as likely that help will come in the form of one who says or does the right thing at the right time without knowing that they have done so. An awkward word at an awkward time may be the right thing to say in that moment. An act of care and concern can be life changing when God is in that act. That God can act through our awkward discomfort is a gift that is given to the giver and the receiver. ¶Whether we are the mediator or receiver of an act of God, we can give thanks for God’s presence in and around us. We will certainly go through times of woundedness and pain that seem insurmountable. And yet, God continues to be with us, offering us healing and wholeness in the face of our deepest wounds. ¶December 8, 2025 ¶LCM