man of sorrows

"Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer before entering into his glory?" (Luke 24:26)

The 'cup of sorrows' and the 'cup of joys' cannot be separated. Jesus knew this, even in the midst of his anguish in the garden, when his soul was "sorrowful to the point of death" (Matthew 26:38).

Our cup is often so full of pain that joy seems completely unreachable. When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become. The sorrow overwhelms us, makes us throw ourselves on the ground, face down, and sweat drops of blood.

Then we need to be reminded that our cup of sorrow is also our cup of joy and that one day we will be able to taste the joy as fully as we now taste the sorrow." - Henri Nouwen, Can You Drink the Cup?