Let Us Drink
My Dear People,
The other day I made my first visit to "Ellwood's Coffee" in Carytown. I highly recommend it, all the way around: the feel of the place, the coffee and food, the service, the whole package.
While there I had some "Honest Tea," which I love. As you may know, each "Honest Tea" bottle cap--somehow "bottle cap" sounds very 1950's, come to think of it--has a quotation on the underside. Usually a mix of wisdom and cheeky wit. The quotation from my Ellwood's visit certainly fit that bill:
Some say the glass is half empty, some say the glass is half full, I say, are you going to drink that?
While I don't know who she is, Lisa Claymen is to credit.
It is a fun line, no doubt. That said, there's something about it that still remains in touch with the serious content of the original quotation.
I think of Jesus in Gethsemane, the night before his Passion, "Father, remove this cup from me," he prays.
Whether the cup is half empty or half full, it is ours to drink.
To drink the cup we are given: Will we drink it? Or will we deny it?
We must drink it, of course.
Not to drink it is not to live. Not to live the life we are given, that is.
As the Jews say, L'Chaim, my friends.
To life, my friends.
Let us drink.
Let us drink, trusting that, as Archbishop Tutu says, "Good is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death. Victory is ours, through him who loves us."
Your brother in Christ,
Wallace+
