4-5-2020
“The Cup of Blessing”
(Luke 22:7-20)
“One bread, one body, one Lord of all,
One cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many, throughout the earth,
We are one body in this one Lord…”
This is a popular communion hymn written by John B Foley, and the second line of the lyrics comes from 1 Corinthians 10:16 in which Apostle Paul says, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ?”
Our Lent guide, Joyce Rupp, points out that the term “cup of blessing” is derived from the Jewish Passover rite. The implicit meaning is not only in that the cup is blessed but also that the cup holds a blessing- the gift of life. Furthermore, Rupp hints that “to bless is not so much to ‘make sacred,’ however, as it is to acknowledge the sacredness that is already there.”(The Cup of Our Life, p., 117)
So when we pronounce blessings to each other, it is not necessarily an act of ours to make someone holy. Rather, it is an act of “calling forth” the goodness and beauty that is already there within the person.
“Bless the Lord, o my soul, and all that is within me” (Psalm 103)… including many Psalm passages, we see this significant understanding of blessing in the Hebrew scripture. Today is the Palm Sunday following the liturgical year and the typical text from Matt 21 tells us how the crowds welcomed Jesus into the holy city when he entered Jerusalem riding a donkey:
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (v. 9 b)
As Joyce Rupp says, blessing God for the ancient Jewish people was nothing but “acknowledging with gratitude all that God had done for them” (p., 118) Yes, we can bless God’s holy name with thankful hearts. As the psalmist sings, we can bless God at all times, during the good and also the bad.
On the first Sunday of each month, we usually celebrate the Holy Communion. When we break the bread and share the cup, we not only remember Jesus who offered many blessings to people, but we also remember him – his life, teaching, ministry, and presence that became a blessing for us all. He showed us what love can do by humbly giving himself up to his death on the cross. And when we follow his example, we can be a blessing to others, too. Rupp says, “anyone and anything that brings good or God-ness into our lives is a blessing. To bless is to bring the touch of God, the touch of love …” (p., 120)
I had a number of Zoom meetings since last Sunday’s online worship service. In addition to our church small group virtual gatherings, I had three clergy meetings. After two hard weeks of managing “crisis mode” at every local congregation, we are having more check-in meetings to support the covenant groups and also at the district level.
My Tuesday Zoom meeting was with my colleagues from the Conference Residency Program to nurture and support pastors who are in the ordination process. As the stay-at-home order is extended until the end of April, we were to discuss how we would close our last session of the program that is scheduled for April 28.
The nine of us on the Leadership Team started with check-in – how we have been doing and sharing our lives as we always do.
A colleague told us how challenging it is to maintain a daily routine with five children. I shared my sorrow with the passing of Bud Wischoffer. Another colleague who joined a little bit late talked about his loss of a good friend due to Covid-19. He had been the friend who helped his family settle in Chicago when they first moved in the area. Another colleague shared her struggle with her ministry setting. When our group leader offered a prayer for us and our congregations, I broke in tears.
I guess that I had been holding myself up pretty sturdy until that morning. As a mother and a pastor, I’ve tried to be a non-anxious presence although I was stressed to adapt myself to new changes and patterns under the current circumstance.
From a position to lead and provide care, now I was ministered by another pastor and colleague. When I received her gift of comfort through her prayer, my tension and burden that I had been bearing were released. We all need that safe place where we can be ourselves and share our heavy hearts. My colleagues’ presence, honest sharing, and prayer became a blessing to me that day. They became the touch of God, the touch of love for me.
Among the many email messages that I received last week, this one from one of our church families really spoke to me. I use her part of the conversation with their permission:
“Hello! While this time as shelter in place has its frustrations including us having to cancel a trip to sunny, warm San Antonio, I’m looking at this positively. Prior to social distance/ shelter in place mandate, I was extremely stressed and exhausted physically and mentally. Work had me busy, My husband was gone for a couple of weeks in Africa in February, and I felt pulled in different directions with other things…
As I look back at these last couple of weeks, my stress has calmed down. I feel more relaxed. I’m getting things done around the house that needed to get done. I’m working from home, so no commute time or rushing my girl to get out the door for school… I keep saying this shelter in place is a blessing. It’s God’s way of saying to us, stop, take a break, spend time with loved ones. I try to keep this in focus each day.”
Blessing comes to us through the presence and gifts of others.
Blessing is also disguised amid the heartache, suffering, hardship, and turmoil, and as Joyce Rupp says, “sometimes we are unable to accept the blessing because we are still too hurt, too angry, too grieved, too overwhelmed, to receive it.” (p., 128)
Rupp had her own experience of what that means with the loss of her younger brother. Her brother, David, drowned at the age of twenty-three. She says that it took fifteen years before she found her gift amidst the grief. She confesses that it was her brother’s death which led her to become a writer about loss and grief. She says “I would never say that my brother’s death was a blessing, but I can now say that the insights and spiritual growth that eventually came out of that experience were blessings disguised within the sorrow. Within each struggle, there is a blessing waiting to happen.” (p., 128)
We hear the news of the increasing number of deaths every day. I can’t believe what is happening in New York. People we know and have a relationship with are affected and dying close to our home. As I had my moment last week, we are all dealing with different levels of stress and anxiety.
But friends, can we see a blessing disguised amid this mess and deep sorrow?
On this Palm/Passion Sunday as we enter into Holy Week, I feel the pain and darkness around us heavily in my skin.
This symbol of welcome and victory, palm branches, and the shouts of “Hosanna,” which means “Save us,” will soon turn into the echoes of “Crucify!” and the wounds and suffering on the cross.
As we walk the way to the cross, let us join the pain of our brothers and sisters compassionately through our prayers and acts of kindness and faith.
Let us bless God who is the giver of life and giver of every good and perfect gift, even when we are in the darkest valley.
Let us be a blessing to one another by bearing one another’s burden.
Let us open our spirit to acknowledge the blessings disguised in the midst of suffering.
(Laura Story’s “Blessings” – the piano music and the lyrics on the screen)
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things
‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Laura Story
Blessings lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group