"Can you drink the chalice that I drink?" Jesus' question to James and John confounds me. I respond haltingly, "I hope so." My response has much less bravado than James and John's self-assured, "We can." I write this reflection while recovering from major surgery. I am feeling weighed down by the slow recovery process. I do not feel up to Jesus' challenge to prove my discipleship by becoming "servant and slave" of all. I'm just trying to get through each day. But I write this reflection on Pentecost Sunday. On this particular Pentecost Sunday I am graced with a deeper realization that I am not asked to drink the chalice of my sufferings unaided. I realize that I am invited simply to surrender to God's Spirit and God will give me the strength to drink my chalice -- just as God gave Jesus the strength to drink his chalice. God could give me no greater gift:
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