Later, after they had feasted, Jesus turned to face his coming doom. He walked to the garden of Gethsemane, where his grief grew like a womb. He cried aloud to the star-flung sky. Take this cup from me. I don’t want to die. God incarnate howled in fear, yet he held the cup and let the Spirit steer. He swallowed death whole and drank every last drop of sin and shame and abuse. Full stop. The cup he swallowed is what has brought us near. For that is the riddle, the paradox, and the art of God’s kingdom coming true—drinking the cup of grief is what makes us new.
