Frail pots of clay
19th September 2019
Meditations for the Feast of St Matthew.
2 Cor 4:1-6
Therefore, since it
is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.
We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practise
cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we
commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even
if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case
the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them
from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of
God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and
ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let
light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in
clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power
belongs to God and does not come from us.
Meditation:
I’m slowly clearing
my late parents’ house. Lots of us have
had to do that. And we have sort of
begun on our own house because – well – it’s really not fair to leave THAT much
chaos to the kids!
And of course, we’re coming across all those mended and repaired bits and
pieces. Do you have things around the
house which are “past their best” but still completely useful? (And I’m not asking about partners!). Or do you feel that a cracked or mended piece
is better replaced?
(Someone must hold that view; after all, exactly how do all those mugs
and tea-towels at the National Trust shop find a market?)
I have a beloved mug, kept in use by the best Araldite repair I can do on the
rim; a pair of secateurs with one wooden handle, a grass rake with two tines
replaced with wire coat hangers; a coffee filter, bought thirty or more years
ago which has had a broken flange for perhaps 20 of those years, but which
means it now fits the coffee pot even better….
What do you have? And what does this say
about us and the object?
Clearing my late parents’ house set me to thinking about what value means; and
today’s first reading reinforced those thoughts.
“But we have this treasure in clay jars,”
What do you think of when we read, “in clay jars”? Here are some words that might apply to Clay
jars
Plain, “Ordinary” / decorated;
Rustic, Ugly / Elegant, functional, Short lived / ancient. Fragile / strong
Fragile…. Are we fearful of using fragile things because they may get broken or
damaged? Are we fearful of putting ourselves
forward because we may get damaged?
If I think of myself as a jar, I think of an earthenware jar, material rather like an old plant pot. I’m cautious about being roughly handled;
I would rather sit at the back of the shelf, thank you, and let others be used
before me. I may not be very attractive
as jars go, but I am at least intact, and I have survived in this way for a
long time. Please don’t pull me out into
the rough and tumble of action; if you do, I’m frightened that those hairline
weaknesses might spread and then…. Then….
The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is infamous for his work with ancient vases. In the 1990s he bought a number of these
relatively commonly found, 2000-year-old, ceremonial urns from farmers who had
unearthed them on their land. Little was
asked by them, and he paid little for them.
In 1995 he chose one of these urns as the subject of the famous photographic
tryptic “Ai Weiwei dropping a Han dynasty ceremonial urn”.
It can be very upsetting to see such a precious piece destroyed. But Ai was out to remind his critics about the evils of the Mao regime, and the photographic artwork is powerful in both cultural and symbolic value.
Weiwei makes a crystal-clear illustration of what the Communist regime was doing to the “elites”, belittling and destroying them in an overwhelming race for control. He countered the outrage at his action by using Mao's own words:
“The only way of building a new world is by destroying the old one”.
And as a political statement
against that dogma by Weiwei, it is powerful and arguably valid. Smashing the pot, destroying the old world,
is wanton; “See what you imply” says Ai Weiwei….
But is breaking something
ever justified? How about the delight
released by the children breaking a pinata at a birthday; or the nutrition released
by breaking an egg?
Ai Weiwei’s destruction of the pot reminded me of the story of Gideon’s army,
who concealed burning torches in clay pots and smashed those pots to reveal the
lights inside and to win a great victory,
And I was reminded also of Luke, Chapter 8 v 16, “No one
lights
a lamp
and covers it
with a jar or
puts it
under
a bed.
Instead,
he sets it on
a stand,
so
those who
enter
can see
the
light”.
“If I think of myself as a jar, I’m cautious about being handled; please don’t pull me out into the rough and tumble of action; I’m frightened that those hairline weaknesses might spread and then…. Then….”
Do we hold back from action because we think ourselves flawed, full of
hairline weaknesses or worse?
In this society that celebrates seeming perfection and drags down anything
less, do we fear to step forward, fearful of what our past – or present – might
reveal?
But we are ALL flawed; fear of breaking leads only to inaction. Sometimes
letting ourselves be vulnerable, even to the point of breaking, reveals the
light inside.
Leonard Cohen celebrates cracks in ”Anthem”. Why not
take a minute to listen to him …
“Ring the bells that still can ring,
forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack, a crack in everything;
that’s how the light gets in.
That’s how the light gets in.”
But maybe, just maybe, “That’s how the light gets out”…
Because all of us have chipped, bent, discoloured and otherwise less-than
perfect items around the house which we would be reluctant to dispose of. “It works, why throw it away?” “It reminds me of….”. “It was my father’s favourite….” We know the importance of those things,
imperfect as they may be.
What do we think God sees when he looks at us; all those cracks? All that drab surface? The fragility?
All of us ARE chipped, bent, discoloured and otherwise less-than perfect.
There is a Japanese pottery tradition of Kintsugi – repairing with gold. Kintsugi speaks of the emotion invested in the piece by the owner and celebrates and recognises the history of a piece. It also recognises its continuing beauty and even usefulness.
It struck me that Kintsugi is a beautiful image for us in Christ. Christ acknowledges that we are flawed; broken even. And he binds us up. Not only that but by grace he makes the repair beautiful. Restored, healed, forgiven, mended, splendid even. Christ brings us from the back of the shelf where we have been hiding to be fitted to work for him.
Matthew:
Matthew had really put himself at the back of the shelf. The tax gatherers were freelance agents of Rome in an occupied country. Provided that they returned the required amounts to the Empire, no-one was going to ask how, or how much more, the tax was collected. He would have been despised and feared by his fellow Jews as a collaborator and bully-boy.
So much so that Jesus’ keeping company with Matthew and other, less “proper” citizens rapidly came to the attention of the scribes and the pharisees;
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.
‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ they said.
All over the world we hear judgemental tones; “I’m right and you are so wrong”. We see people rejected and cast aside because
of race, because of social status, because of orientation, because of past
mistakes.
Jesus says, “I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
Let us therefore celebrate our brokenness; and go forward in Jesus, resplendent in our Kintsugi repair, shining with the gold of his Grace; to his work and his glory.
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