[1]I recently
visited a primary school and noticed an array of student assignments lining the
school’s main hallway. Attracted by the bright colors and creative handwriting,
I decided to take a closer look. What I saw was a collection of students’
answers to the question: What
do you want to be when you grow up? I smiled as I read some of the
kids’ responses—predictable ones, like doctor and astronaut, along with some
surprises, like aeronautical engineer and toothpaste inventor. As much as I
enjoyed seeing the fun stuff these kids imagined, I couldn’t help but feel a
bit troubled by the whole thing. Of course, getting kids to think about what “could be” sparks creativity and
imagination. It plants seeds of inspiration, but I can’t help but see the other
side of this well-intentioned exercise: It sets the tone for expectations,
expectations of self and expectations of others. It can lead to a life spent
wishing and wanting. The expectations may become fruitful of full of disappointment.
Seems to me, we might want to be careful what we wish for.[2]
I found James and John’s question of
Jesus very interesting. “Teacher,
we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” (Mk
10:36) It sounds like a question a child might ask another child even a parent,
hoping for blind consent. Jesus volleys back with his own challenging question,
“Can you drink the cup that I drink?”
(Mk
10:38)
In his book “Can You Drink the Cup?” Henri Nouwen remembers vividly
the day this reading asked the question. Surrounded by members of the Daybreak
community he remembered how this question pierced his heart. He realized if we
take this question seriously, it would radically change our lives. The question
has the power to crack open a hardened heart and lay bare the tendons of the
spiritual life.[3]
In our common experience of the Mass,
we see and hear in the Eucharistic prayer the priest prayerfully lift, show, and
invite us to “Take this,
all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice (the Cup) of my blood,
the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and
for many (all) for the forgiveness of sins.” and one of
the appropriate responses from us is, “When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death,
O Lord, until you come again.” This Chalice, this Cup, we desire
to share, is the Cup of Salvation.
It’s been a while since we’ve been
able to drink from this communal cup. I’ve been questioned often about when we will
return to the distribution of the precious Blood and I’ve heard the desire of
many to receive the Blood of Christ. Fr. Ivan, in his most
recent Facebook live session, addressed the timing for restoring the Cup acknowledging,
“typically the first thing to go, is often the last thing to
come back.” Yet, I can’t
help but feel, we must be careful what you wish for. With the Cup, comes the walk
with Jesus. The Cup, is more than something we consume, it speaks of expectations.
Expectations of self and of others and expectations of the Church and of God.
When the privilege of the Cup
returns, the piercing question become real, can we drink the Cup? In other words, do we live our
lives in such a way that we can hold the Cup of life in our hands? Do we desire
to taste all the sorrows and joys contained within the Cup? Can we lift it up
for others to see and can we drink it to the full?
To drink this Cup asks, are we willing to walk with Jesus? Fully
aware that His path is the way of the cross. The Prophet Isaiah tells us this
is a path of sorrow, a path of suffering, and that “through this suffering, he will justify
many.” (Is 53:11) The way
is hard; it is the cup of sorrow he drank fully for us.
In our desire to drink the Cup, do
we know what we are asking? If we answer, yes. Just as Jesus told James and
John, he tells us too, we surely “The Cup that I drink, you will drink” (Mk
10:39) despite all our weaknesses. We have a high priest who is able to
sympathize with our weaknesses. Jesus, who always walks before us, was tested
in every way that we are, he “gets” us because He has experienced, in every way,
human weakness.
The question, therefore, is NOT
about our seat in heaven. It’s about our time on earth, about living our lives
fully. It’s about loving God with our entire being, surrendering completely to
His will, and living our faith in a way that draws others to God’s merciful
love.
May our desire to hold, lift, and drink the Cup move us to be the missionary disciples God desires, in word and deed, for the salvation of all his children.
[1] New American Bible, Isiah 53:10-11; Hebrews 4:14-16;
Mark 10:35-45
[2] Psychology Today, “Be Careful What You Wish
For” by Denise Founier Ph.D.
[3] Can You Drink The Cup, by Henri J.M. Nouwen ©
2006.
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