His Chalice

There's a hymn that we sing at church that contains the phrase, "here we will drink the wine of compassion." While the lyric refers to the Communion Cup, I think that we limit ourselves if that's all we see.  It is the nature of compassion to overflow - it isn't something that we can keep to ourselves. So, while this prayer acknowledges that we will be touched by Divine tenderness when we drink the Cup, it is only so that we may, in turn, become a Chalice through which the people in our lives taste the compassion of God.

To be compassionate is to understand another's need and meet it, to be supportive and not judgmental, to be lenient, empathetic and full of mercy. All of this is what we hope for from our God; all of this is what God hopes we offer to one another. Jesus said "love one another as I have loved you." How did Jesus love? He supplied bread for the five thousand and wine for the wedding guests; He healed the blind and the lame and comforted the sorrowing by raising the dead; He absolved the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, Zaccheus and Matthew the tax collectors and forgave all of humanity at His death on the cross. This is what it means to love as Jesus loved.

This is a seemingly impossible task except that through the Holy Spirit who lives within us we receive the very gifts that we are to pass on to others. Galatians tells us that the presence of God brings with it love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. We are not asked to do anything more than pass on what we have already received by grace. If we find our personal well running dry at times, all we have to do is ask for more.

I like the idea of being called to be a Chalice and quenching another's thirst for understanding and consideration. To be a cold glass of water on a hot day - how cool is that!