The Cup Of Life

Sirach 36:1, 5-6, 10-17
Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13
Mark 10:32-45

“Can you drink the cup…?” - Mark 10:38

Henri Nouwen, in his book Can You Drink the Cup? offers the cup as a metaphor for life. Like the cup, life is to be held first, lifted up, before we can truly drink from it.

Holding: He says, “Just living the life is not enough; we must know what we are living. Half of living is reflection on what is being lived. Reflection is essential for growth, development and change. When we drink the cup without holding it first, we may simply get drunk and wander around aimlessly.

Lifting: Just like when we make a toast before we drink wine, lifting up our life is life offering it as a blessing for others. “When each of us can hold firm our own cup, with its many sorrows and joys, claiming it as our own unique life, then too, we can lift it up for others to see and encourage them to lift up their lives as well.

Drinking: Drinking our cup means making our own everything we are living. It’s like saying, “This is my life,” as well as “I want this to be my life.” Henri says, “True sanctity is precisely drinking our own cup and trusting that by thus fully claiming our own, irreplaceable journey, we become a source of hope for many.”

God willed that our cups differ from one another so that we can be a blessing to one another. “Cheers!” Tess VA.

Reflection: Once in a while, hold and lift up your cup before drinking.

Lord, help me to see the uniqueness of my life, so that I may be able to lift it up and fully drink from it.

St. Ferdinand III of Castille, pray for us.