Reflections on a Cup Half-Full

     I’ve recently seen a number of social media posts reminding the reader about a cup half-full – that however you look at it, the important thing to remember is that the cup is refillable.

Yes!

I’ve spent some time thinking about these metaphorical cups.

Another perspective to consider is the size of the cup… when we’re children, we drink from smaller cups, and so the process of re-filling takes less. As adults, our cups tend to be larger, so the same amount of filling would not provide the fullness that we seek. The faith that filled our spiritual cups as children is great; but we need more as we grapple with the increasing complexities of our lives. Our theology grows, our spirituality matures, our needs also increase – and thus our opportunity to identify and seek that spiritual nourishment also should increase.

Sam Lefkowitz also reminds “when asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty, my only response is that I am thankful that I *have* a cup.” It’s great to be grateful for the starting point – not just of having a cup but of the filling process already being present. And what a privilege to be sufficiently aware that not everyone has a cup, not everyone wants a cup, not everyone could even articulate the purpose of a cup.

And, of course, I go to the cup of scriptures. The cup of blessing, the cup of connection, the cup of community. The cup of psalm 23, which in the BCP “shall be full” (p. 357) and in the BAS “is running over” (pg. 731). The cup that God is continually filling for us, that we may drink from it, and be sated.

The same cup, however, is the cup that Jesus drinks deeply from in Matthew 26, that he asks God to pass from him – not as an avoidance of the bitterness of his situation, but as an acceptance of it. And, as N.T.Wright explains, as a means of ensuring that the cup would be refreshed only with new wine for those who would come after Jesus. The cup was for the community, and the person of Jesus drank deeply of what was presented.

There’s a lot to consider about the cup. May the cup remind us not only of our own individual connection with the cup, but of our connection to one another and to God through the offerings of the cup. And may we drink deeply of all that God is offering, that we may grow through it.