Psalm Meditation 1276 ¶First Sunday of Advent ¶December 1, 2024 ¶Psalm 130 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+130&version=NRSVUE (NRSVUE) ¶There is a tendency among adults to make light of the suffering and despair of teenagers. Everything seems to be high drama of crisis proportions. And that is because it is—to them. They have never gone through this particular experience of suffering, so to them it is the worst that has ever happened. As adults, we may forget how devastating some of the teenage experiences can be. Our memories are colored by the rest of our own experiences. In the light of those, teenage problems seem mild. ¶The psalmist is crying for God out of whatever depths have been reached so far. We may be tempted to compare the psalmist’s depths to our own, however, that is unfair. We have no idea how deep anyone else’s experiences have taken them. The best we can do is honor their experience, even without knowing the full extent of it. By doing that we take them, and their despair seriously. When we take other people seriously we stand with them on the side of God. ¶On the side of God, we find hope; for ourselves and for each other. We anticipate that we are not alone, and neither are those with whom we choose to identify in suffering. In the presence of God we find forgiveness, patience, hope, steadfast love, and redemption. From whatever depths we cry, from whatever depths those around us cry, we can rest assured that God is with us. Together we stand watching for the morning and the newness that comes with a new day. ¶November 27, 2024 ¶LCM