We Don’t Have to Drink Alone

In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Dumbledore has to drink this magic potion. This is a harrowing experience for Dumbledore, as he is forced to face terrifying hallucinations and horrifying memories dredged up from his past, but it is also heartbreaking for Harry as he has to watch someone he loves go through so much pain. Harry can’t stop Dumbledore from drinking the potion, and he can’t drink it for him, but he can help him drink it. This is a very dramatic scene, but I think it’s so powerful because it hits at some deeper archetypal truths. When Jesus Christ describes His Atonement, the imagery He most often uses is that of drinking a bitter cup. Although no one but He could drink that cup, Christ was neither too proud nor too shy to ask for and accept what help He could receive. He asked His closest friends to stay with Him and watch over Him. He had angels come down to minister to Him. And He never ceased praying to His Father through the whole ordeal. I’m sure those apostles must have ached and wrung their hands and sweated trying to think of something they could do to help Him get through this. There is evidence that the stress of watching their Savior and their Friend go through this pain exhausted them so utterly they could not keep their eyes open. But nonetheless, they were there to help Him drink the bitter cup even if they could not stop Him from drinking it or try to drink some of it themselves. Sometimes, we or someone we know have a very bitter cup in front of us that we have to drink. Our parent or our spouse or our child has died. We’ve been diagnosed with cancer. We’ve lost our job, been in a crippling accident, had a miscarriage, been sentenced to prison, had our reputation destroyed, our identity stolen, become estranged from family members. There are no shortage of bitter cups out there for each of us, but we don’t have to drink them alone. Only we know exactly what we are going through. Only we can put the cup to our lips and drink to the bitter dregs. But that does not mean that we can’t surround ourselves with friends and loved ones. They won’t know what we are going through, not exactly, but they can still hold our hair back when we puke, or clean our house when we can’t get out of bed, or pick us up when we fall down. It doesn’t take the cup away and it doesn’t mean that they really and truly *get* it, but it helps. To switch Fantasy references, one of the most stand up and cheer moments in all of cinematic history comes from The Return of the King. After traveling thousands of miles carrying a burden on his little shoulders that should never have come to him, Frodo collapses almost at the gates of Mount Doom, unable to take one more step. That’s when Sam says, “Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you.” We all have our burdens that we alone can carry. We all have bitter cups that we alone can drink. But we don’t have to drink them alone. Maybe none of our friends and family know exactly what we’re going through, but if they can’t carry it for us, they can carry us. And although it is true that no human on earth knows exactly what our bitter drink tastes like, Jesus Christ does. Into His cup went all of the bitter potions for every child of God that has ever or will ever live. He tasted them all. He does know exactly what we are going through because He has drunk from the same cup. Whether we like it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, we are never truly alone when we are drinking our bitter cup. But if we would truly follow our Savior’s example, we would ask our friends to stay and watch with us while we drink, and to help us in any way that they can.