About drinking the cup...

When arrested in the garden and Peter the apostle cut off a soldier’s ear Jesus said, “Put your sword away. Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” Jn 18:11

We pray lots of prayers and go to church every Sunday. But when it’s offered to me thru some relationship issue, health problem or life situation ~

Shall I not drink the cup?

It all leads up to that. I’m not 20 yrs old anymore nor new to the Catholic life. If I can’t actually drink the cup then it’s all talk.
Jesus knew what was going to happen but being fully human it must have hurt him terribly to have his friend apostle Judas betray him. Jesus’ response was the return of an embrace to Judas and the question,

“Shall I not drink the cup?”

* When my to do list is longer than the hours in a day
* When ‘a friend’ turns on me or gossips about me
* When my health or that of a loved one moves beyond regular aches and pains into something more serious
* When expenses go up but my paycheck doesn’t

Each answer should be “Shall I not drink the cup?”

Jesus left His Word in the Bible so we’d know what to do and how to act. He did that so we could follow His example. Knowing we can’t even do that without His help and grace~ let’s each go on our way today abandoning our independence and self will armed with his grace to drink the cup we are offered today.