take and drink
for J and L
His cup was filled long ago
the fruit of humanity fallen
fermented
He waited for the venom to rise to the top
and then drank
others have since held His cup
pressed their lips where He pressed His
drinking in the bitterness
shuddering at the taste
(for though the poison is gone
it is not sweet)
and now the cup is passed to you
communion with thousands: raise it to Him
take and drink
for this too is grace
sar 2006
posted by Simone R. @ 4:06 pm
3 comments
3 Comments:
The picture this paints is wonderful and fascinating - particularly the idea of the similarity between the "cup" Jesus drank and the cup we drink in the communion. That'll give me something to think about for a while.
The final line is interesting too. I've often heard people talk about communion/baptism etc. being "means of grace". I think I understand the Zwinglian/low view, but can someone give me help in understanding what this higher view of the sacraments means.
Always interesting to hear someone else's take on your poem.
I submitted this (amongst others) for my poetry course last week. I gave it a longer subtitle - "for J and L as they are handed the cup of suffering"
Does that make any difference to your interpretation Daniel?
Yet there is still a connection between the cup of suffering and the cup we drink at communion.
The higher view is that through drinking it, God blesses us. For example, our faith is strengthened.
But it's also a cup of celebration and expectation. We proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. It's a foretaste of the Marriage feast of the Lamb.
But it's also nourishes us down here on earth, in a world of suffering.
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