I got\u00a0this\u00a0photo, awhile back, of a Japanese bowl that has clearly been broken at some point in the past, and the pieces put back together. But instead of using crazy glue, like I would have done, in hopes that the cracks would be unnoticeable, this has been mended with gold and lacquer so that the shining veins encircle the bowl like a vine growing. I’m still trying to get my head around it.<\/p>\n
The caption described the custom originating in the 15th century, and the legend accompanying it of the ruler (sometimes an emperor, sometimes a general) whose favorite bowl was dropped by a careless servant. But whatever mix\u00a0of practicality and\u00a0artistry inspired\u00a0kintsukuroi<\/em>, it is the philosophy behind\u00a0the pottery that sticks\u00a0with me. When household objects show the wear of age and use, and even when they crack right open, they are not discarded as useless. In the hands of the Japanese artists, mending makes them whole and beautiful, and stronger than before. I can appreciate that perspective, because most of my home is furnished in handed-down furniture and antiques. But when it comes to my own life, it definitely doesn’t seem it should be\u00a0that way. Some days my life feels like it’s nothing but cracked refuse–\u00a0shabby and worn and ordinary, and beyond usefulness.\u00a0All I can see are the cracks, and\u00a0if I could\u00a0mend them quickly\u00a0and never think about\u00a0them again, I would be\u00a0perfectly happy with that. Spotlight them in gold? Yeah,\u00a0right.<\/p>\n But there is that old pottery piece in the picture, and the gold looks like a living river of light running through.\u00a0I would not be the first to see the spiritual symbolism in kintsukuroi <\/em>pottery. The parallel is clear between clay pottery and people, between gold and the power of the Cross, between human artists\u00a0and the Creator. What takes my breath\u00a0is the\u00a0reasoning: that cracks and chips aren’t flaws…brokenness isn’t failure…aging and imperfections are not loss. Their marks\u00a0are history and meaning and time spent. They are a visible proof\u00a0of presence\u00a0in this world, the result of fragile pottery impacting its environment in some small way. All these losses, the bangs and dents that I tend to mourn in life, seen as beautiful simply because they are<\/em> life. “They are not something to conceal or be ashamed of because they remind us what it means to be human.”\u00a0<\/em>The simple caption almost makes me weep. To be human means to be flawed, and bound to break, and longing for wholeness in this very temporary life. And I know that the only reason the broken even could<\/em> be beautiful\u00a0is because the Creator\u00a0picks up the pieces\u00a0and mends it with His own hands. The cracks are an opportunity for something more than clay to enter in and change the way things are…all these flaws\u00a0visibly filled in\u00a0by\u00a0His own shining glory.<\/p>\n It is exactly what Paul was talking about in his own life when he said “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.” (2 Corinthians 12:9b-10)<\/em>\u00a0If you look up content <\/em>in the dictionary,<\/em> it does not only mean\u00a0to satisfy or fulfill.<\/em> It also means\u00a0to hold in, to contain, to limit oneself in desires. <\/em>And I can see how\u00a0Paul’s joy over\u00a0his brokenness\u00a0has more to do with what he wants than what he has. When you can say in complete honesty “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians\u00a03:8)<\/em> then you will treasure anything that brings Christ near, even the hard things that batter and press. Narrow down your human desires and dreams to this one thing,\u00a0and it is easier to be fulfilled:\u00a0“…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in his death.” (Philippians 3:10)<\/em>\u00a0This is the proper use for a fragile piece of pottery: to show the marks of a real and ordinary life, and all its flaws to be made beautiful by the Great Artist. I can hear Jesus promising the crowds following Him:\u00a0“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)<\/em><\/p>\n As one writer noted of the kintsukuroi\u00a0<\/em>bowl from\u00a0legend:\u00a0“One might almost say the true life of the bowl …\u00a0began the moment it was dropped.” (Christy Bartlett, A Tearoom View of Mended Ceramics)\u00a0<\/em>And here I sit, the pieces of my\u00a0life held up to You, with amazing grace flowing down all around.<\/p>\n ~~~~~~~<\/p>\n “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)<\/em><\/p>\n ~~~~~~~<\/p>\n “All these pieces,<\/em> Amazing grace,<\/em> Oh I can see it now…<\/em> \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I got\u00a0this\u00a0photo, awhile back, of a Japanese bowl that has clearly been broken at some point in the past, and the pieces put back together. But instead of using crazy glue, like I would have done, in hopes that the … Continue reading
\nBroken and scattered,<\/em>
\nIn mercy gathered,<\/em>
\nMended and whole.<\/em>
\nEmpty handed,<\/em>
\nBut not forsaken,<\/em>
\nI’ve been set free,<\/em>
\nI’ve been set free.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nHow sweet the sound,<\/em>
\nThat saved a wretch like me.<\/em>
\nI once was lost,<\/em>
\nBut now I’m found,<\/em>
\nWas blind but now I see.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nOh I can see the love in Your eyes–<\/em>
\nLaying Yourself down,<\/em>
\nRaising up the broken to life…”<\/em>
\n(Broken Vessels, Hillsong)<\/em><\/p>\n