Can You Drink The Cup?

Readers will recognize in the title the question in the gospel story, put by Jesus to the sons of Zebedee: "Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" (Mt. 20, 20-23). Nouwen focuses on the cup as the centerpiece around which he builds a reflection appealing in its simplicity and delightful in its symmetry. He highlights three basic images: holding the cup, lifting the cup, drinking the cup. Elaborating on the meaning to be drawn from each of these simple gestures, he crafts a finely honed meditation on a spirituality of discipleship. Three foundational disciplines emerge as essential to any serious quest: silence, word and action.