April 17, 2016, Easter 4C

Today let’s look at verse 5 of Psalm 23.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

I especially want to look at the words, “my cup overflows.”

It is like a banquet hall. I am sitting at the head table as the honored guest. My enemies, perhaps competitors, are there also, and they are all jealous that I been so honored. Maybe it is some sort of promotion, signified with the anointment of oil, which might be like being given a laurel crown of victory. The dinner is delicious and the wine is abundant. In the Bible, wine is a symbol of an abundant harvest, luxury, celebration and blessings by God. It is a symbol of the “goodness and mercy” of God that he will give me for the rest of my life and even forever more.

The overflowing cup is like an old Japanese custom when serving sake rice wine at a red lantern restaurant or street vender. The empty glass is set on a saucer or in a small wooden box. Then sake is poured into the glass until it overflows into the saucer or box. It is a good feeling to be served this way because, first, you feel like you are getting the full serving so you are getting short served, but also, what spills over into the saucer you can drink, so you are getting a bonus, too. It is a feeling of luxury, of abundance, of a generous host. God is our generous host who lavishes us with goodness and mercy and love.

When we read Psalm 23, is it a picture of the future in heaven: green pastures, quiet waters, overflowing cup? Or is it a picture of our life with Jesus now: a restored soul, safety when walking through life’s valleys of the shadow of death, and a happy life with goodness and mercy? Or is the reality of life that we are “in want,” that our life is brown and barren and dry; that we fear death and pain and troubles every day as we journey through life; that it seems that the rod and staff of God are beating us and goading us; that our enemies and competitors are laughing at our failures; and that our cup is either empty or overflowing with grief and pain and misery; or that we do not have a decent house to live in?

And so, often we Christians feel that this Psalm is only about heaven. Our lives seem so different than the heavenly picture presented in the Psalm. The cup does contain some happiness, of course, but in this life it is mingled with bitter problems, also.

Jesus Christ had a cup; he had two of them. There was the cup at the Last Supper when he said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.” This cup has been overflowing with covenant salvation promise for Christian believers ever since. And later that evening Jesus had another cup in the Garden of Gethsemane. This time he said, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Mt. 26:39). This bitter cup was the cup of suffering and death of Jesus. As in the Psalm, he drank it in the presence of his enemies. They even gave him wine-vinegar to him when he was thirsty on the cross. That cup overflowed until his death. And then it stopped—because our salvation was complete.

It is the greatest comfort to Christians to know that Jesus is always with us, especially when faced with danger and the problems of life. When our cup of life is bitter or sour, he drinks it also. Because Jesus is our Good Shepherd, we have hope and do not despair or give up. That is because our cup is overflowing with the love of Jesus. And what do we do with that extra love and goodness and mercy? We give it to others who need it when their cup is not full. There is the old philosophical question about the glass of water. Is it half full or half empty? Let’s answer this way: There is room to add more love. People need to hear and receive from us the Gospel of God’s love and forgiveness and guidance and peace. We need to lead them to the green pastures and quiet waters of salvation. For them we need to become good shepherds.

Finally, during the distribution of the Holy Communion, if I ever put too much wine into your individual communion cup and it spills on your fingers, I am sorry for making a mess. Please lick your fingers or dry them off on the cloth napkin and remember to thank Jesus for his overflowing love for us.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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