Two of Jesus disciples come to him apart from the rest to try to acquire for themselves a position of power in Jesus’ inner circle. Jesus uses the image of a cup to illustrate the life he has before him in Mark 10,
35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
36 And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?”
37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
39 They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
Henri Nouwen takes Jesus’ question and turns it into a personal one for his readers to consider,
Can you drink the cup?
Can you empty it to the dregs?
Can you taste all the sorrows and joys?
Can you live your life to the full whatever it will bring?
Recognizing the unique particular nature of each moment allows us to receive it for whatever it brings including joy or pain. I frequently sit with families six months to a year after the death of someone they cared about greatly. Remembering Jesus’ challenge toward “drinking the cup” that is before us, I point out to them the significance of the person who died. Their pain means the person mattered to them. For example, to a family that has lost a father, if their grief is still strong six months later, we focus on the importance of the person they lost and the painful void they left.
I have often been with adults who have lost a parent and grieve over the lack of emotion they felt. They wanted to hurt more. Even this pain is important as it points to what they missed and to what they want to offer others as adults.
Any loss can be painful. Our challenge is to live each experience fully, Rainer Maria Rilke encouraged,
Let everything happen to you,
Beauty and terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final.
Drink Your Cup Fully
