My Cup Runneth Over

I went to a funeral. Given my work as a hospice chaplain and years spent working in churches, I would guess I attend many more funerals than the average person. I went to this funeral not because I was leading the service. I went because I wanted to hear that this person was at peace. I needed to hear the familiar words of comfort.

This person’s story is not mine to tell as happens in the work I do. I will share that I have never met someone before who so wanted to believe that God loved him and had forgiven him for “everything”. He wanted to believe and could not fathom despite all reassurances that God loved him and God forgave him. So together we wrestled with these big concepts. We prayed together. I brought him communion. He said he trusted in God’s love. And on my next visit, the same questions came up.

Over our time together, there were moments of peace for him. He felt like he had a purpose and could understand God’s plan for this time in his life. And then those doubts would creep in again. He would ask me to pray saying he didn’t know if he could say the right words. So I would pray and reassure him that there are no right words and God doesn’t ask for words at all.

The last time I saw him I reminded him of our conversations and God’s love and forgiveness. I let him know that God was ready to receive him and he could ask God all the questions with which we had wrestled.

I went to his funeral to hear the words of peace he had so longed to believe. And in the 23rd Psalm, I heard “my cup runneth over”. This image of his cup running over was what I needed. I felt like the amazing abundance of God’s goodness which was hard for him to comprehend here on earth was now real and those words were the reassurance I needed to hear.

Faithful One, open up our awareness so we may realize the ways you communicate with us. You take our doubts and show us your goodness. You take our worries and provide us comfort. You take our sadness and sit with us where we are. When we pay attention, you remind us that our cups runneth over. Amen.

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