The Ultimate Cup of Kindness

In the famous song Auld Lang Syne, which is about the good old days, the first line asks the question, “Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?” But the question is really would that be proper to forget those we’ve met long ago? And the song answers that question by rousing us to drink a pint of kindness in their honor. So does that mean that Old Lang Sine is just an old Scottish drinking song? Well, it may have started that way but the sentiment has caught on and grown into something more. Remembering the past over brew or bubbly has become a time for pastimes; a way of putting the best to rest in order to welcome the new into the clear blue of now. New Year’s Eve is that odd moment when what has been meets what will be, when the experiences of the past teach us what resolutions we should make today for the sake of tomorrow. This twilight time of now which lies between yesterday and tomorrow may be somewhat akin to eternity because it is an ever-present now. It’s that eternal now-ness if you will, which the Lord draws us into with His celebration and sacrifice. When at the Last Supper Jesus took the cup and asked us to share it in remembrance of Him it was more than just a request to recall the good old days, it was a command to continue in His presence. In a way, to drink of the cup of His blood is to drink from the cup of the ultimate kindness, since He who is goodness itself gave His life in order to fill it.

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