Advent and Intergenerational Hope

Recently, I was working my way through the Psalms, looking for passages that address the Advent themes of hoping and waiting. I came upon a fascinating passage in Psalm 78. It’s one I’d read many times before, but never from the perspective of Advent. Moreover, with my deep interest in things related to the third third of life, I saw truths in this passage I had never seen before.

The passage to which I’m referring is Psalm 78:5-7, which reads:

[The LORD] established a decree in Jacob,
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children;
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and rise up and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments.

This passage is strikingly intergenerational. Notice that the ancestors are to teach their children, who teach their children, who teach their children, and so forth. The older generations have a responsibility to pass on their covenant relationship with God to younger generations. By implication, this generational passing on of faith should happen over and over again, without end.

Notice the result of this process: “so that [the children’s children’s children] should set their hope on God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments” (78:7). When those who are older pass along their faith to those who are younger, what happens? According to Psalm 78, the first thing that happens is the younger folk will “set their hope on God.” The intergenerational hope envisioned in Psalm 78 is something we ought to value at all times, but especially in the season of Advent when hope is so essential, and especially in a time when so many from the rising generations are struggling with hopelessness.

The intergenerational hope envisioned in Psalm 78 is something we ought to value at all times, but especially in the season of Advent when hope is so essential, and especially in a time when so many from the rising generations are struggling with hopelessness.

A Pandemic of Hopelessness

As I thought about the vision of Psalm 78, the picture of older adults helping younger adults to hope in God, I did some research on the state of hope among young people in the United States today. What I found was disturbing.

First of all, I came across research that pointed to an overall lack of hope among Americans of all ages. For example, last year the Brookings Institution issued a report with this disturbing title: “America’s crisis of despair.” In this report, they observe, “The problem [in our country] is a crisis of despair and associated premature death among significant parts of our population. Our challenge is how to reduce despair in places and populations where hope has been lost.”

One of the places and populations where hope has been lost is the American youth. In April of 2022, the Centers for Disease Control published the results of research focused on high school students in the U.S. between January and June 2021. This research found that 37.1% of those studied experienced “poor mental health” during the time of the study. Additionally, the CDC study found that “during the 12 months before the survey, 44.2% experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.” Given that the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in the U.S. in March 2020 surely explains in part why so many young people were feeling sad or hopeless. (I might add, however, that you didn’t have to be young to feel that way! I’m well into my third third of life and I felt plenty of sadness and hopelessness as COVID-19 ravaged our lives.)

But even before the pandemic, young people in our country were experiencing a “pandemic” of hopelessness. Dr. Kathleen Ethier, Director of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, the group responsible for the report on student mental health, observed in an interview, “We’ve known for a while that mental health among young people was going in the wrong direction. Prior to the pandemic, we were seeing increases in persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness” (emphasis added). So, though the pandemic made things worse, teenagers were already in a downward spiral when it comes to feelings of sadness and hopelessness.

How Might Intergenerational Relationships Inspire Hope?

When I consider the tragic lack of hope among so many young people in the U.S., I wonder what we might do to address this problem. In particular, I wonder how those of us in the third third of life might help younger people develop genuine and resilient hope in God. This is certainly a pertinent question in Advent, a season in which hope is central.

Psalm 78 encourages us to instill hope in members of the rising generations. We learn in verses 5 through 7 that God “appointed a law in Israel” that required those who were older to teach their children, who would teach their children, who would teach their children, “so that they should set their hope in God.” God’s ancient intention that adults teach children so that they might have hope surely remains true today. Those of us in the third third of life can’t simply stand back and lament the hopelessness of our youth. We need to get involved in helping younger people know how they might have hope even in a time when hope is elusive, especially for their generation.

Those of us in the third third of life can’t simply stand back and lament the hopelessness of our youth. We need to get involved in helping younger people know how they might have hope even in a time when hope is elusive, especially for their generation.

How to Pass on Hope: Guidance from Psalm 78

1. Hope in God

Psalm 78 helps us learn how we might pass hope from generation to generation.

First of all, we should note that the hope we pass on is “hope in God” (78:7). We’re not talking here about generic hope. Nor are we talking about the hope that things will get better in our country or the world. They may or may not. But this is not the main concern here. Rather, Psalm 78 reminds us that the hope that matters most, the hope that is resilient even in hard times, is hope in God. It’s confidence in God’s character and activity. It’s believing that God is at work for good both in our lives and in the world, even if we have a hard time seeing what God is doing. Christian hope is always pointed toward the future, to the time when God’s kingdom will come in all of its fullness, bringing “endless peace,” “justice,” and “righteousness” for the whole earth (Isa 9:7).

2. Hope Based on God’s Works

Second, Psalm 78 shows us that we can help younger people have hope in God, not by exhorting them to be hopeful or berating them for their hopelessness, but by helping them to “not forget the works of God” (78:7). Hope in God is based upon how God has been revealed to us, both in words and deeds (see, for example, Psalm 119:114; 146:5-7). Therefore, we older adults can inspire hope in the young by sharing with them what God has done in history and in our own lives. We can tell them about times when we struggled with hopelessness and how things worked out. Mainly, we can share how we have experienced God’s grace and faithfulness, which enables us to have hope even in times of widespread despair.

Mainly, we can share how we have experienced God’s grace and faithfulness, which enables us to have hope even in times of widespread despair.

3. Hope Nurtured in Community

Third, Psalm 78 envisions a community of people in which older people are in meaningful relationships with younger people. In the context of these relationships, those who are more mature in age are able to teach those who are less mature.

But this is only part of the story of community and hope. As it turns out, hope grows in young people, not only when they are taught by others, but also when they are in relationship with others. The CDC study I mentioned earlier found that high schoolers who “felt close to persons at school” had significantly less hopelessness than those who lacked such closeness (35.4% vs. 52.9%). Moreover, the study showed: “The same pattern was observed among students who were virtually connected to others during the pandemic (i.e., with family, friends, or other groups by using a computer, telephone, or other devices) versus those who were not.” Even virtual connection with other people made a significant difference in the mental health of high school students who were otherwise isolated because of the pandemic.

The impact of community on the hopefulness of the young suggests to those of us who are older that we can instill hope in younger people, not only by teaching them but also by being in community with them. Intergenerational relationships— in families, churches, schools, and neighborhoods—can help folks from the rising generations to “set their hope on God.” They will be inspired, not only by our words but also by our lives, by our example of living with resilient hope in the Lord.

One Experience of Help When I Felt Hopeless

My reflections on Psalm 78 have stirred in me memories of times in my life when older adults helped me to have hope when I was feeling hopeless. For example, when I was in my third year as senior pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church, I faced quite a bit of opposition to my pastoral leadership. I became discouraged. Hopelessness was growing within me. I began to wonder if I was ill-suited to pastor the Irvine church, or any church for that matter.

In my funk, I reached out to an older pastor in a nearby Presbyterian church. I had great respect for Dr. John Huffman and thought he might be able to advise me. We met on a weekday afternoon in his office. John asked me what was going on and how I was doing. He listened attentively, every now and then asking questions of clarification. He didn’t lecture me or make me feel foolish. Rather, he expressed empathy and support as I shared my predicament.

When he understood what was going on with me, John shared his own pastoral experience. His stories had consistent themes: I’ve been there too; I know how you feel; Yes, it’s tough sometimes; Opposition is to be expected; There were times I wondered if I could make it. As John talked, I felt encouraged. If a pastor of such wisdom and stature had gone through his own seasons of opposition and discouragement, then perhaps I could make it through my hopeless season too.

John also offered several pieces of helpful advice, for which I was grateful. But what mattered most to me was his willingness to come alongside me in my despair, to understand empathetically, and to share openly his experiences that were so much like mine. His example of resilience helped me to believe that I could also hang in there. As we concluded our meeting, I appreciated how John prayed for me, reflecting his care and his hope.

But what mattered most to me was his willingness to come alongside me in my despair, to understand empathetically, and to share openly his experiences that were so much like mine. His example of resilience helped me to believe that I could also hang in there.

I remember leaving that conversation with John feeling lighter. For the first time in weeks, I felt hope, not only in my potential to be a good pastor, but mainly in God. I trusted in God’s ability to help me serve my congregation with wisdom, humility, and love. When I got back to work, things didn’t instantly get better. I still had my critics. I could still become discouraged. But I sensed God’s presence in a new way. I ended up remaining as pastor of the Irvine church for thirteen more years—years that were some of the best of my life.

If you’re in the third third, I expect there are people in your life whom you can encourage to grow in hope. These may be your children, your grandchildren, your neighbors, the folks who serve you at the local restaurant, your pastor, and so many others. Ask the Lord to show you whom you can serve in this way. Let your eyes, ears, and heart be open to how God will use you to help folks from the rising generations develop deep and resilient hope in God.

Banner image by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash.