There’s a post I saw on social media recently called, What’s In Your Cup?
***
It shows a picture of a man standing in a hallway by his office at work. Somebody must’ve bumped into him, spilling the hot coffee from his cup onto his pants and shirt.
His reaction – like his coffee – was bitter.
***
The point of the post was to remind us, that when we get bumped by inconvenience, bad news, or bad days, our character spills out.
For example, when stuck in traffic, some yell, scream and cut people off. Others are patient, considerate drivers.
When we we’re given an opportunity to serve, some take it. Others don’t.
When our faith is tested, some turn to the Lord for strength. Others ignore him.
***
This is why Jesus rebukes the Pharisees in today’s Gospel.
He challenges their faith – and sees they’re filled with “plunder and evil.” They’re bitter men, like bitter black coffee.
***
So, what’s in my cup?
What is my character – and my faith – like? When I’m bumped by trial or inconvenience, how do I respond?
***
In this Eucharist, may the Lord give us the grace we need to face the day with love and kindness. Amen.
John Stephen Akhwari was chosen to represent Tanzania in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
Though his chances of winning the marathon were slim, they dropped to zero after he was nearly trampled to death by a group of other runners jockeying for position.
In a matter of seconds, Akhwari fell to the ground, smashed his shoulder, and dislocated his knee.
After receiving emergency medical treatment, he pushed the doctors away, got up and continued the race.
Almost an hour after a winner was crowned – and nearly every spectator left the stadium – Akhwari stumbled across the finish line.
***
When asked why he didn’t quit, Akhwari said, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”
***
***
Like Akhwari, Saint Paul is running the race of life – and he’s been knocked down hard; he’s writing from prison!
But, as he says in our second reading, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
For Paul, “all things” meant enduring long nights in prison; being stoned by angry mobs; shipwrecked; abandoned; and left for dead.
But “all things” also meant preaching the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean; baptizing converts; establishing some of the earliest Christian communities; and co-authoring half of the New Testament.
Whatever God intended him to do, Paul knew he’d have the strength to do it all – day by day, step by step.
***
What’s particularly inspiring about Paul is the fact that he was always at peace.
Whether his sermons angered or inspired; whether he converted crowds or was thrown out of town; whether he was poor or had plenty; alone or in the company of friends; shipwrecked or safe; imprisoned or a free man, Paul was at peace.
“In every circumstance and in all things,” he writes from his cell, “I have learned the secret.”
How could he be at peace in prison? What was his secret?
***
***
Christ was enough. Even when Paul was stripped of everything else, no one could take away his faith.
Sharing his love for Jesus wherever he was – whether he was in prison or in public – gave Paul a deep sense of meaning and peace.
Prior to his conversion, he spent his life persecuting Christians. But after the Risen Lord appeared to him, Paul understood the meaning of life – and religion.
Christ came to save us. He conquered death for us. Paul knew eventually he’d finish the race – his earthly life would end – but he pressed on, knowing he’d live again.
This knowledge of the resurrection gave him an explosive amount of energy.
As he later writes, “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? … No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.”
***
So, what might Paul say to us today?
***
Jesus is enough.
After being knocked down by this pandemic, we will get back up. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
This is true for the millions who’ve been crippled by unemployment, underemployment, or the virus itself.
It’s true for those who feel isolated; for those striving for sobriety; for single parents struggling to raise their family; for spouses struggling in their marriage; for people from all walks of life discerning their future.
Like Saint Paul, we can run this race of life to the finish and keep the faith, because the Lord is with us. No one can take him away.
***
So, how do I find my strength in Christ? Through prayer? Reading Scripture? Meditation? Attending Mass?
And like Saint Paul, how can I share this strength with others?
***
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
At times life knocks us down, as Paul reminds us from his prison cell.
But like Paul, and John Steven Akhwari, we can always get back up. God intends for us to finish the race.
In a matter of pages, we encounter demons, lepers, prostitutes, murderers, and even Satan himself.
At first glance, many of us are probably glad we didn’t live back then. Satan seemed to wreak havoc on people’s lives, leaving Jesus to clean up the mess.
***
But is our world much different today?
***
The mark of evil is division. As Jesus says in the Gospels, “A house divided against itself will fall.”
And by extension – a family, a community, a nation, a world – divided against itself will fall; it falls because its members fight against each other.
It’s an uncomfortable question to ask ourselves, but how often are we responsible for sowing seeds of division?
***
For example, when we gossip about other people; when we nurse a grudge or refuse to forgive; or when we post negative or hate-filled images online, we sow division.
***
Jesus, on the other hand, seeks to unite us. This was his final prayer on earth before his crucifixion and death: “That they may be one, Father, as we are one.”
How can we counteract the forces of division around us, and answer Christ’s prayer for peace, instead?
***
Perhaps we need to answer that individually.
But, we can all pray the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, who said some 800 years ago:
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.”
Be like Christ. Plant a seed of unity in the soil of America today.
