Scripture – Psalm 130 NRSVUE
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the Lord; my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
From Rev. Heather Leffler
Last Sunday, someone asked how they might support a friend grieving the sudden death of an adult son. The mother was angry with God.
I was reminded of a woman I once visited in Clifford. Not long before, she had lost both her husband and her son. She sat with her Bible open on her lap and told me how much the Psalms meant to her.
The Psalms hold the full range of human experience – songs of praise and thanksgiving, yes, but also cries of sorrow, fear, guilt, and anger. These are the Psalms of lament.
In Psalm 130, the psalmist cries “out of the depths,” pleading to be heard and daring to hope in God’s mercy. This is not polite or carefully worded prayer – it is raw, honest, heartfelt prayer, the kind of prayer we are all invited to bring.
Even Jesus, in his anguish on the cross, reached for the words of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Scripture reminds us that God does not turn away from our grief or anger. The Holy One receives it. The Spirit holds us in it. Just as Jesus wept with Mary and Martha at Lazarus’ tomb, God meets us in the depths – and waits with us for the morning.
Contemplation and Conversation
What do you want or need to bring to God today?
Prayer
Holy Mystery, you are wholly Love.
You hear us when we cry out from the depths – our grief, our anger, our fear, and our longing.
Give us courage to be honest with you, and patience to wait for you,
trusting that even in the longest night, your light is coming.
Hold all who are hurting this day in your compassion,
and remind us that nothing we carry is too much for your love. Amen.
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