Reflection - Cup of Life

By Steve Hall

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072520.cfm
II Corinthians 4:7-15
Matthew 20:20-28

At the beginning of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians he makes reference to the evils that have come his way during the years he has pursued his ministry. Nevertheless, at this point he is somewhat reserved about enumerating his hardships and sufferings. However, a few chapters later he will be far more specific.

“Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.” (11:24) “Three times I have been beaten with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been adrift at sea;” (25) “on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from amy own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren;” (26) “in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” (27)

Not all of Paul’s hardships followed from persecution for his Christian faith, such as when he was beaten with rods or stoned. Many of the afflictions were part of the normal circumstances of life such as shipwrecks or hunger. These facts are important to know not only because of how Paul has responded to these matters, but also because of the implied advice he gives to the Corinthians and to us.

“afflicted but not constrained;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always dying, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested.”

As is typical of Paul’s writing, the message needs to be studied to be fully appreciated. But within the text is an Old Testament reference which offers some clarity to Paul’s message. It is found in a few words we might easily pass over as the Scriptural reference is probably unknown to us: “I believed, therefore I spoke.” The words are from Psalm one hundred and sixteen.

A single verse from this song, a verse which is given as a question, has always moved me even though I had limited understanding of the answer given: “How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me?” I have, in the past, understood the verse simply as a question of showing gratitude for the blessings of life. It is much more. That’s the question; the answer we will get to later.

The Psalm opens with words of celebration and thanksgiving; but it quickly moves into the reasons for the Psalmist’s jubilation.

“The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
I was brought low.
My soul [approached] death.
My eyes filled with tears.
My feet started stumbling.”

This was the Psalmist’s circumstance; and, like Paul, his tribulations were not just connected to the physical. He suffered distress and anguish. So why does he celebrate? The answer is also in the Psalm.

“The LORD . . . has heard my voice and my supplications.
He inclined his ear to me. . . .
I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I beg you, save my life! . . . . "
I was brought low, he saved me. . . .
Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. . . . ”

While the Psalmist was writing before Jesus’ time and Paul was writing after, their message is the same. The Psalmist speaks of his personal, yet universally common suffering. Paul speaks of the same but in the context of his ministry. So, because he follows Christ he will speak of “the life of Jesus’ [suffering being] manifested in our mortal flesh.” And he will follow that, as the Psalmist did in his own language, with words of consolation: “we too believe and therefore speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus. . . .”

It is here that we begin to glimpse the rationale for the Psalmist’s celebration. It is the same as Paul’s. It is the same as what Paul suggests for us. It is the same as what Jesus promised for the Apostles in the current Gospel passage: “Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink? My cup you will indeed drink.”

The sufferings of the Psalmist, the sufferings of Paul, the sufferings of each one of us — all are the sufferings of life. So too was the suffering of Jesus. “For your sake he became poor.”(II Corinthians 8:9)

And so the Psalmist, recognizing the sheltering hand of God in the midst of all his afflictions poses his question: “How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me?” How indeed! His response is one which we all need to hold firmly in our hearts: “I will take the cup of life. . . “ — the cup which Jesus Himself must drink, the cup which He says will be the cup for the Apostles, the cup of suffering which will necessarily come our way, the cup which is so intricately part of this life. I will take that cup “And I will call upon God’s name!” For in doing so I will be ...

“afflicted but not constrained;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always dying, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested.”

“The LORD . . . has heard my voice and my supplications. He saved me. . . .”

SUMMARY