The Holy Grail

There are few sacred objects that are so sought after as The Holy Grail. The Ark of the Covenant is a close second, but the Graal has always been the stuff of adventures. In the Middle Ages tales arose of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table searching for The Cup of Christ. It was considered the quest of all quests and is recorded in The Lancelot-Grail Cycle in four volumes, and usually centers around Sir Percizval or Sir Galahad being pure enough in heart to find it.  In The Lancelot-Grail Cycle the holy angels tell Lancelot he was suppose to find The Grail, but his affair with Guinevere made him unworthy, there is a very said moment when Lancelot weeps realizing he gave up his calling for the carnal lusts of the flesh. The angels then let him see the Grail in a vision due to his contrition, and it reminds me of Moses being able to see The Promise Land but not enter in. It is then Galahad, Lancelot’s son from his wife who replaces him and finds the grail. 

Lancelot’s tragedy is a painful reminder that we can abdicate our great call, that God may have us on earth to find whatever grail we are purpose to find, but we can instead choose lust, addictions, and sin over that upward call, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14). Lancelot looked back, Galahad kept his eyes fixed on Jesus, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2). How many of us feel like Galahad? A son who must take their father’s mantel or place because he abdicated? How many of us are like Lancelot before angels hearing what we gave up for the lusts of the flesh? 

The Holy Grail itself is purported to be the cup Jesus Christ our Lord used at The Last Supper, and some claim its also the cup at his crucifixion filled with his blood by Joseph of Arimathea. Earlier depictions of it was bowl or dish hence grail (sangreal), but in time it evolved into a chalice. By our Protestant sensibilities, the searching for a relic like the grail and its mystical powers seems like magic and even idolatry. However, it is undeniable that the queste del sainte graal (quest for the holy grail) is exciting, the idea of something Jesus our Lord used being a treasure worth facing any danger to acquire is neat. The fact Christian knights took up the call to find The Cup of Christ, revering it because of its connection to the Lord is sweet. Who doesn’t love an adventure? And to learn virtues and lessons along the way, the grail legends serve as parables from a time when anything associated with Jesus was sacred. How I wish people today treated the things of God with such reverence, albeit without branching into superstition & possible idolatry. 

The Holy Grail remains a relic that even modern storytellers can not ignore. The irreverent Monty Python  and The Holy Grail is one, another is Spielberg’s Indiana Jonas And The Last Crusade. Who can forget the scene when Indiana Jones must choose the real grail from among the false grails and hear the Templar Knight say, “you choose wisely.” The Last Crusade is a sort of love letter to Grail Legend, and will probably be one of few encounters newer generations will have with the adventures to find  The Chalice of Christ. 

The Grail did exist, Jesus took it up and proclaimed a new covenant, “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20). But what happened to it? Well Scripture tells us a rich man provided the Upper Room and utensils, “tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.” (Luke 22:11-13). Thus the graal most likely remained in that man’s possession and was reused. I do not believe the apostles took it or hid it. There is no Scriptures that indicate the Disciples preserved the true cross, crown of thorns, or chalice. They were too busy fearing for their lives and scattering (Mark 14:50-51), then waiting around for Resurrection Sunday (John 20), and many of them went back to old occupations like fishing (John 21) and then later they became preoccupied with Pentecost (Acts 2) and preaching and building the church. There simply was no time save the grail or any relics, they were in whirlwind of fear, despair, hope reborn, miracles, and persecution. The Holy Grail most likely remained in the man who had The Upper Room, and is more likely to be discovered by an archaeologist in Israel than be any of three ‘claimed’ true chalices in Catholic Churches & Shrines.  

Regardless if the Holy Grail is lost to history, its legend remains enthralling to believers and nonbelievers alike. There even was a rather good video game called The First Templar (2011), an Assassin’s Creed like game only instead you are Templar Knight named Celian looking for The Holy Grail. At the end of game you gain the Cup of Christ and must decide to keep it or destroy it, since like in The Last Crusade it affords immortality: you never die. Depending on what decision you make, you get a different ending, one emphasizes that man needs eternal life after death not immortality in this life, that such a power as immortality will lead to corruption because men are sinful. The other ending emphasizes those knights who have the grail live on through centuries watching over mankind. The fact such a video game was made proves the potency of the grail legends, that we still enjoy the quest for the Cup of Christ. 

Perhaps there will be new grail tales, even movies or other media. That will depend on the hunger for the sacred in an era of hedonism and upheaval.  What I can say is as Christians we can enjoy the grail legends, and perhaps learn something from the messages in them. It also is a good opportunity to discuss superstition, sacred objects, and when does something verge into idolatry? The Holy Grail was a prop of our Lord Jesus, it is He and his sacrifice that instituted The New Covenant and ransomed us from all sin. It is Jesus who is holy, the grail is a cup He used, and it is not to be worshipped. It is important, just as The Cross was important, but it was Jesus who is Sacrificial Lamb who saved us.; the props or objects used matter but it was He who used them that is most important. The balance between revering and acknowledging the importance of something God used and becoming obsessed with a relic and looking to it as a means power, sacred transference, superstition, & etc is a fine line. The objects are sacred because of Jesus, alone they mean nothing. The grail matters because of what Jesus said and did with it, apart from Christ it is just a cup. Our eyes must fix on Christ (Hebrews 12:2), if the grail legends help you do so, inspire you in your love of Christ then they are useful, but if they instill Medieval Catholic mysticism and its bondages in your life, causing you to see relics as instruments of grace instead of the truth that Grace comes from Christ alone (Acts 15:7-11),  then the legends could be harmful. So thus it depends on each person, whither the sangreal is an aid or ailment; a inspiration or idol. Amen.