There once was a family who was part of a large Catholic parish.  This parish was a flourishing center of faith and fellowship, highly attended every weekend and host to many ministries and activities during the week.  Of all the gatherings sponsored by the parish, the most popular by far was the weekly Community Dinner offered every Friday night.  People young and old, from all walks of life, eagerly filled the parish hall to partake of the feast, freshly prepared and served by parish staff and members of the social ministry committee.

This family was among the many who came each week to eat and enjoy the camaraderie.  Curiously, it seemed that as often as they dined there, at least one of their cups had a leak, and needed to be refilled more frequently.  Week after week, the family ate with friends and neighbors just the same, but the food servers noticed how often one of them would ask again and again for more water.  Soon, the staff began to muse among themselves.  Was this family more careless than their neighbors?  Was the water being spilled?  Were they greedier than the other families?  Was there something wrong with one of them, that they drank so much water?  After a few more weeks, the staff started asking these questions directly of the family, who replied honestly that one of their cups seemed to have a leak, so their water needed filling more often.  The servers grumbled impatiently once back in the kitchen, wondering why this family could not use cups like everyone else did.  They speculated that the family might be purposefully doing this for attention.  Maybe they needed to be shown the proper way to use cups, or should learn not to ask for more than their allotted portion.  Eventually, the staff began to refuse this family water refills.  One or two even thought it might be in the best interest of the community to ask this family to not attend the dinners – at least until they can learn better manners, or, at the very least, show some gratitude.

Finally, one Friday, the pastor himself was helping prepare and serve the food in the kitchen, and overheard the talk begin about the family with the leaky cup.  As one of the servers scoffed that it was not possible for this to be a random problem week after week, the pastor spoke up in agreement.  “You are right,” he said.  “This can’t be happening by accident.”

The servers were pleased that the pastor noticed the problem too, and asked what he planned to do about it.

“Nothing,” he said.  “I am the one who gave them that cup.”

Taken by surprise, the servers were at a loss for words.  The pastor continued: “It is very easy to become complacent with what we do in the name of service… and so, to make sure we keep the elements of solicitude, compassion and hospitality at the front of everything we do, I asked that family if they would be willing to take a very special cup I’d set aside for them to use, week after week.  I call that particular cup, ‘the cup of kindness,’ as it brings us to the very brink of human need each time the holder asks in humility for it to be refilled.”

The kitchen staff looked down and said nothing.  The pastor added, “Since it’s just water, I didn’t think anyone would begrudge the family a few extra refills.  They have been very gracious to keep the one with the leak for me.  I’d asked around before I found a family willing to regularly use a cup with an imperfection.  Most people said they are here to enjoy a meal, not to have any extra hassle.  I finally found a family with the foresight to see that this cup was good to use at any table, and would in fact be an avenue for blessing and grace for the entire community.”

The pastor excused himself, noticing the food was nearly ready to be plated.  The servers were unusually quiet for the rest of that night, but as they brought plates and poured drinks, they found themselves focusing less on the cups and dishware and more on the people using them.  And thus it was that the leaky cup brought more to the banquet, exactly as it was, than anyone ever imagined it could.

How do people respond to your leaky cup?