The Overflowing Cup

Scripture Passage: John 12:12-19; Psalm 23

John 12:12–19 (NLT)

12 The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors 13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: 15 “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.” 16 His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him. 17 Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. 18 That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. 19 Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”

Psalm 23 (NLT)

A psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. 6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Focus Statement

We can’t overflow with God’s grace if we are filled with ourselves.

Point of Relation

I remember a time when I was my youngest daughter’s age.

She’s now 18, a Senior in High School, and preparing to conquer the world...

As hard as it might be for her to imagine, I was her age at one time too...

Though, admittedly, I did not do nearly as good as she has done in High School…which makes me very proud of her for sure.

But, I know, she is looking forward to stepping out the front door and into the next chapter of her life...

She’s almost to that point…and once that point comes…there’s no turning back…barring unforeseen circumstances.

I can remember wanting to leave my home…to be independent…to be self-reliant…to MAKE MY OWN DARN RULES, ya know?!?!

I am sure most, if not all of us, longed that freedom at some point.

And eventually all of us attained that freedom.

I can also remember a time when I was my oldest daughter’s age…Katie is now 21 going on 22.

At her age, Bernadette and I were about to be married and in June of 2000 our little Katie was born...

But you know what, I was still a kid at that time…and I was still trying to have my independence...

To be seen as an adult…as some one who was self-reliant and able to raise a family.

And Bernie and I made it work…for a time.

She finished nursing school…while I worked as an Iron Worker

After which, I went to Chubb Institute and obtained a diploma in Web Development and Programming...

as well as got hired by a Home Automation Software Company…

FINALLY, I had got myself right to where I WANTED to be.

That’s right, ME…I got there…and that is true. I did.

But within 1 year, that company went belly up because it had been mismanaged and took risks that it wasn’t prepared to take.

And I…Was…Without…A...Job.

All of that self-reliance…all of that hard work…down the drain...

And I was forced to stay at home and take care of the house and kids...

And rely on my wife to earn an income and pay the bills.

THAT WAS VERY HARD FOR ME…why?

Because I had to realize that I wasn’t self-reliant…it had all been an illusion…

All the success and security I thought I had achieved…and would continue to achieve...

HAD ALL BEEN AN ILLUSION...

and I didn’t know how to accept or handle that at first.

Things to Consider

It is a common experience to want to feel secure and, in many cultures,

the message is sent that the way to achieve security is by relying on oneself.

For instance, we work hard, even become workaholics,

to make as much as we can and save as much as we can

so we can have financial security.

Or we go our problems alone,

including our sins and addictions,

because we don’t want people at church to think we’re sinners…

or that our lives aren’t as perfect as we display them to be on Facebook.

As Americans we advise people to...

Keep your problems to yourself.

We say that

when the going gets tough, the tough get tougher...

We say that...

In order to succeed one needs to pick THEMSELVES up by the bootstraps.

We say that “Idleness”,

which could be another word for relaxation…or downtime…leads to laziness.

Because of these messages, because we are told we need to “pull OURSELVES up by the bootstraps” and to “keep our problems to ourselves”

we often feel pressure to things it by ourselves...

ONLY to wind up realizing that we are completely in adequate at “FIXING” things...

Left to our own devices, we usually just make things worse.

What Scripture Says

The pronoun “I” is all over the 23rd Psalm

yet every reference ties to gratitude and trust in God.

The overflowing cup of blessings in verse 5 is a beautiful and commonly used image...

(think KJV: “My cup runneth over.”).

For the psalmist, this overflowing cup only comes as part of a life that relies fully on God –

for provision, rest, restoration of the soul, guidance in how to live, and protection from evil.

The psalm does not portray a person who is blessed beyond measure as a result or reward of self-sufficiency;

it portrays someone who is blessed beyond measure by relying on God.

I would like you to imagine a cup and then imagine filling it with all the things you do to feel secure.

Now, imagine Jesus coming along with a jug of blessings.

He tries to pour blessings into your cups

but you are already filled with all the ways you try find security in yourselves.

To be open to receive God’s blessings, our cups must be empty of ourselves.

Jewish tradition says that this psalm was written while David was on the run from King Saul.

The tradition says that when David was near death in the dry Judean wilderness,

he was miraculously saved by God who “nourished him with a taste of the World to Come.” (3)

(3) - https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3832324/jewish/Psalm-23-L-rd-Is-My-Shepherd.htm

This Psalm is recited on days of rest to express trust in God and gratitude for all our nourishment.

While this psalm is popular in the Christian tradition,

it is often associated with dying and death as a funeral passage

or something recited in the last moments of life.

What would it look like not to save this psalm for the end of life

but instead look to it now as a regular prayer or meditation

to form us as people of trust and gratitude

rather than people of self-reliance and anxiety?

What This Means for You

How do we encourage and hold each other accountable to trust in the possibility rooted in God?

I want to pause for a moment right now and invite you to identify an area in your lives where you are trying to do it alone.

[Pause]

Okay, now that you have that moment in the forefront of your head now...

“How can you allow God into that aspect of your life?”

Remember some of the ways you might do this ...

For example, read Scripture closely to see HOW God speaks to people and works in and through them.

Also…PRAY…PRAY…PRAY

AND…and this is a HUGE AND...sometimes allowing God in means

allowing other people in to help as agents of God’s love.

What This Means for Us

Let us think of the ways our church might rely upon God and express trust and gratitude even more.

We could move forward on planning ministries…and trust God will aid us in them.

We could step up in roles of leadership knowing that God will not leave us alone and powerless to lead.

We could simply volunteer more and trust that God will help us manage our time.

Perhaps this also involves thinking outside of the box and taking chances in how we minister to folk

instead of “playing it safe” or worrying about institutional survival.

Perhaps this involves shifting from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance.

It is so easy for us to see how little we have...

ALL THE WHILE ignoring the abundant blessings and resources that God has poured out upon us.

Let us, as Christians, move forward together, emptying our cups of our own ways...

And allowing them to overflow with God’s grace, assistance, and blessings. Amen? Amen.