The Cup

The Cup

“Put your sword back in its scabbard; am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:11)

Jesus has now come to the supreme moment of crisis, the moment of decision.  He knows what his Father expects of him at this hour.  But there are other voices suggesting he takes a different approach.

In all of life-threatening crisis, we face the same temptation.  There is always more than one way:

• The way of “the cup that the Father has given.”


• The way of “the sword” for rapid victory or solution.

Every good general understands that for every battle, there is a corresponding and appropriate weapon.  It is an over-kill to kill an ant with a hammer just as it is useless to face a motorized armored division with one on a horse back.  Deep prayer, similar to the one Jesus said in the Garden of Olives gives us the spiritual freedom to make the right choice.  Without this support from God, the temptation to adopt the way of “the sword” will be overwhelming.

When we face a crisis, we should aim to discover God’s way of responding.  We can discover this, only through prayer and subsequent gift of spiritual freedom.  

“Lord, what is your will in this?  I seek your will and not my own.  Show me your will.  Amen”