From What Cup Are We Drinking?
Good Morning Friends,
There are many cups and vessels mentioned in the Word of God. Typically it is a real cup of water or wine or oil or milk and honey. But almost just as often they are symbolic cups that deal with the judgment of God, with the blessing and fellowship of the saints, or the reward or punishment to those who side with evil. In today’s reading from the lectionary we make the connection from the abstract to the literal for those at work in ministry. Today we contemplate this question: From What Cup Are We Drinking?
Scripture: We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks; your name is near. People tell of your wondrous deeds. At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity. When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,” and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn; do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with insolent neck.” For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up; but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed; he will pour a draught from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs. But I will rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
Psalm 75 (NRSV)
Now the wife of a member of the company of prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.” Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.” He said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not just a few. Then go in, and shut the door behind you and your children, and start pouring into all these vessels; when each is full, set it aside.” So she left him and shut the door behind her and her children; they kept bringing vessels to her, and she kept pouring. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” But he said to her, “There are no more.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your children can live on the rest.”
2 Kings 4:1-7 (NRSV)
“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
Matthew 10:16-25 (NRSV)
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.”
Luke 22:42 (NRSV)
Message: In Jesus’ day, there was a real danger of being killed for preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God. In our Gospel reading Jesus, sent his disciples out to preach the Good News. And Jesus knew that this would result in conflict. He knew there would be those who would accept their word and there would be those who would not accept their word. And Jesus realized that when the disciples ran into inevitable opposition and rejection, they would be afraid and worried. And so Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not fear.” With that in mind we begin to make the connections in today’s lectionary readings for our lives and realize that we too may face what seems like desperate situations in our ministry work. Your see, the widow of a prophet in the text from 2 Kings is facing a worried situation too: the agony of husband’s death, the large amount of loan and the possibility of losing her two boys to the lender was her conflict. She came to the Prophet Elisha for advice and she found that she could reverse her tragedy into miracle. She like the disciples had a choice and discovered that her emptied cups could be filled to overflow with the joy of having debts paid. So in a way today’s message deals with us being borrowed empty vessels used to help keep people out debt. It deals with not being fearful. And it is here I hope you see the linkage of these stories with those in ministry and our introductory topic. Friends, there is a cup of judgment, a cup of salvation and a cup of blessing presented to those in ministry. And so today we face up to the reality of the cup of suffering in ministering to others and an economic and spiritually divine response to solving the problem and avoiding a judgment on debts. Friends, sometimes we get to choose from which cup we will drink and sometimes we as Jesus must accept God’s will. Here thanks to Jesus, as we work in ministry, we realize the blessings of being debt free both economically as well as spiritually. Friends, do not fear. Our debt has been forgiven so that today we drink from the cup of life and share the Good News.
Pray we are prepared for the tragedies of life. Pray we do not blame others for our situation. Pray we realize that God can use little things to start great things. Pray we empty ourselves of pride. Pray we empty ourselves of bitterness. Pray we empty ourselves of sin. Pray we believe on great things and act for great things and keep preparing for great things. Pray we keep hungry for God. Pray we keep thirsty for the Word of God. Pray we offer our hands in service. Pray we keep reaching to help the empty souls that are searching for God. Pray we be passionate spiritually and productive economically. Pray we realize that God has purchased our salvation so we might enjoy the blessings of God. Pray we share the Good News.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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