From Live and Lead, my monthly newsletter to my readers
Dear friends,
Do you have a “cup” you wish you didn’t have to drink in your life right now? We all know Jesus had a cup he begged to pass. We hear his words of agony, in Luke’s Gospel “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22: 42). Luke reminds us that he so fervently begged for this cup of death to pass that his sweat became like drops of blood. The reality is Jesus’ cup did not pass. While God heard his prayer, God did not answer Jesus’ prayer in the way he pleaded with God to do.
Jesus’ prayer in the garden is our prayer. We all have cups we wish would pass. Loved ones are sick or facing their end of life. Jobs are lost. Relationships are broken. Natural disasters happen. Tough times at work, at home, and in ministry come. Financial stresses occur that impact livelihoods.
As a spiritual director, I hear about the cups people wish they didn’t have to drink from for hours each week. It doesn’t matter their Vocation- priests, deacons, religious, laity. All of us are begging now, or we have in the past, or we will in the future, for a cup that we wish was not ours to drink would pass us by. I, too, am begging for my own cups to pass.
These moments can take us to our knees when we find ourselves begging for something to pass us all the while knowing it’s not going anywhere. We must face the reality that we, like Jesus, are called to pick up our “cup” and carry a cross that we did not choose to carry. Like Jesus, our decision is whether we will carry this “cup” alone or allow God to give us the grace to carry the cross together.
How do we drink from the “cup” that does not pass? I think we look to Jesus as our model.
First, like Jesus, we acknowledge the “cup” we did not wish we were holding or the cross we are carrying. We name our real to ourselves and to God. What is your “cup” you are begging to pass right now? Name it.
Second, like Jesus, we get down on our knees and beg for this cup to pass. We can cry, lament, grieve, rage. We can release all emotions to God about how we are feeling. This single act of turning to God with our cross gives God permission to enter this with us. What do you need to say honestly to God today about how you are feeling about what you are carrying?
Third, like Jesus, we can acknowledge our poverty of spirit to ourselves and to God. These types of “cups” cannot be held or crosses carried without utter dependence on God. Jesus was on his knees asking his Father for help. He said my “spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak” (Mt 26: 41 ) Jesus knew he needed help to endure what he was about to go through. In Luke’s Gospel, we see Jesus being sent an angel to strengthen him (Lk 22:43). God, too, will send us what we need to be strengthened to drink our cups. Wisdom will appear. People will support us with what we need. Graces will arise whenever we need them. Words will come. How are you being invited to confront your utter dependence on God in what you are carrying right now?
With his Father’s help, Jesus drank his “cup” that did not pass, despite his begging. We, too, can drink from the cups that we wish would pass. While it does not make the pain of the “cup” go away, it is easier and lighter to drink our cups with the help of Jesus. He will companion us in our suffering. He will not abandon us. He will walk with us every step of the way, if we let him.
As we prepare to enter Holy Week, I invite you to get real with Jesus. Name your “cups”. Beg for them to pass. Acknowledge your own poverty of spirit. Unite with Jesus in his “cup” that did not pass and his utter dependence on God. Together, you can drink your “cup”, even if your flesh is not willing.
May we pray for each other to trust the companionship of Jesus and the providence of God as we drink the cups that have not passed in our own lives. Know I am praying for you and with you!
Peace,
Becky
Photo by Laura Güldner on Unsplash
Becky Eldredge
April 10, 2025