MAY 11
Read | Psalm 56
Be merciful to me, my God,
for my enemies are in hot pursuit;
all day long they press their attack.
My adversaries pursue me all day long;
in their pride many are attacking me.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
All day long they twist my words;
all their schemes are for my ruin.
They conspire, they lurk,
they watch my steps,
hoping to take my life.
Because of their wickedness do not let them escape;
in your anger, God, bring the nations down.
Record my misery;
list my tears on your scroll—
are they not in your record?
Then my enemies will turn back
when I call for help.
By this I will know that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can man do to me?
I am under vows to you, my God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
Respond | Joey Dearduff
In the final book of the Harry Potter saga (no spoilers), Severus Snape catches his own tears in a vial so that Harry can pour them into the Pensieve to hear the story they tell. Our own tears, whether we do or do not understand why they fall in a particular moment, are themselves a story as to who we are and what we are becoming. We cry in rage at the world around us; we cry in mourning for those we’ve lost; we cry with laughter at something gut-splittingly joyous; and we cry unexplainably when we’ve encountered something beyond beauty. Our tears tell a story so important that God does not let so much as a single tear drop to the ground. God, as v. 8 captures, catches our tears into a bottle, like Severus Snape does of his own, because they tell a story too important and powerful to go unheard and unheld. And even if no one ever hears the story we cry, God nonetheless holds our tears in a bottle; even if no one else listen, God forever will.
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