Psalm 80:1-7

“Hoping Through the Tears”

The worse things seem, the more we need hope.  Imagine how the Psalmist’s community must’ve felt, lamenting having been sustained only on the bread and drink of tears.  And they cried out together for God to “shine.”  Maybe joy and sorrow work together that way.  Our own common meal, The Lord’s Supper, is at once a memorial of a somber prelude to an atrocious death AND a festive celebration of hope fulfilled.  In the midst of the worst, we long for the best.  What do we bring to this moment?  How will we look for the shining presence of God even in the midst of our tears?  How will we mirror that shine for others?