“The faith of a child”

Meditation on John 6:1-21

July 26, 2015

***

      “After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.  A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’ When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, got into a boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land towards which they were going.”

***

    We tried something new with Camp in a Van this week at Ebenezer. This is the second summer we have partnered with Clearwater Forest Presbyterian Camp to bring the Christian camping experience to our community, drawing children nearer to Christ. The new “thing” was feeding the children supper each of the five days of the program, along with feeding the children and their families on the Wednesday night “Family Program.” Last year, we provided snacks and found that the children, after 5 or more hours of non-stop activities, were going home hungry at 6:30 or 7 at night. Then the parents would have to cook them a late supper and the family routine for some would be thrown off. The Christian Education Committee saw an opportunity to bless young families when they decided that it wasn’t too much work or expense to feed the children a full meal each day at Camp in a Van.

    I was thrilled to hear this! I am all for us eating together as often as possible! When we share a meal, no matter how simple, we also share our joys and burdens and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord. Relationships blossom and ministry happens when we eat together! And it is one more opportunity to invite Christ to be with us and the Spirit to work in us when say grace with our meals together. Finally, it is an opportunity for people to serve the Lord by sharing their gifts, time and energy by cooking, serving and cleaning up after the meals.

    The challenge with offering meals each day of Camp in a Van is that we don’t know how many children will come, especially on the first day. How much food do we need? Will there be children with special dietary requirements? Peanut allergies? Vegetarians and such?

     But we had faith. And God was faithful! We wanted to bless the children and God supplied what we needed. Even when it may have seemed like we had underestimated the crowd, such as on Family Night, we never ran out of food. In fact, we always had food left over! Hot dogs, barbecues, pizza hot dish, macaroni and cheese, vegetables, and dessert! We had more than enough!

   What did we do with the leftovers? None of the food was wasted; it went home with families and fed, in some cases, people who had not even attended Camp in a Van! This ministry, by the grace of God, went beyond the church walls! We nourished and blessed people that we didn’t anticipate feeding and blessing when we decided that the Lord was calling us to feed the children with the Bread of Life (God’s Holy Word, Jesus Christ) and with actual bread of life, small b, little l.

***

   Unlike our Camp in a Van suppers, for which volunteers had time to plan ahead, and enough money to shop for what was needed, the feeding of the multitude in John 6 is completely unplanned, on the part of Christ’s disciples. Jesus, however, has a plan. He wants to test and strengthen their faith--in this story and the one that immediately follows, when Jesus walks on water. In the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus also wants to reveal another “sign” of God’s love, power, and compassion to a multitude of people in need. This isn’t a private miracle, like when he and the disciples are at sea. When Jesus sees the crowd coming toward him after they have seen and heard of his healings, he expresses his desire to feed them when he asks his disciples, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”  Philip doesn’t answer Jesus’ question of “where.” He reveals the surprise and perhaps dismay of some of the disciples that Jesus would suggest such a thing when they very likely have barely have enough bread for themselves. He says what committees or sessions might say if someone suggested attempting a compassionate ministry that the congregation had never tried before--a ministry that would require more funds than they have ever spent--maybe more than they have ever taken in through a whole year’s worth of offerings, a ministry that would touch the lives of more people than they have ever touched, all at once!

     Philip says, in essence, “You’ve got to be kidding! We don’t have the money!” We get the idea of how much money is needed when he says, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” Philip cannot yet think beyond what is humanly possible, despite witnessing Christ turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana in John 2 and healing the royal official’s son in John 4 and the man at the pool by the Sheep Gate, who had been sick for 38 years, in John 5.  But one disciple, Andrew (Simon Peter’s brother), reveals a glimmer of faith. He says in 6:9, “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.” How does Andrew know that a “boy” has some food? The child, an unnamed stranger, must have overheard Jesus and Philip talking and, being moved to share his food, perhaps enough food for his whole family, he approaches the disciples. This, to me, is the first miracle of the story! This child has more faith, compassion and generosity than all of the disciples, for even Andrew reveals his doubts when he adds, “But what are they among so many people?”

   Jesus doesn’t answer Andrew. He gives a command to all his disciples. As I read this, I can’t help but wonder why Jesus doesn’t just tell everyone to sit down himself. Did you notice this? He doesn’t really need the disciples’ help! But then I realized this is Christ’s way of inviting his disciples to share in the miracle and demonstrate their own faith, a faith they didn’t have until Jesus commanded them to use it. Then, the disciples commanding the people to sit allows the crowd to demonstrate their faith in Christ’s power as they obey, expecting another miracle. About 5,000 people sit down on the grass, believing something good is going to happen! Then miracle number 2: they eat until they hunger no more! These are poor people who had probably never had the feeling of being “full.” Then Jesus tells his disciples to gather up the leftovers, “so that nothing may be lost.” He intends to feed more than those gathered in that place. Just as God loves the whole world and desires all to be saved, Jesus sees the needs beyond the immediate crowd of 5,000.

      The leftover bread fills 12 baskets! Miracle number 3.

***

    Just as I expected, when we decided to offer a full meal each day at Camp in a Van, God provided more than we needed--the first miracle of our feeding ministry. And the second miracle was that ministry spontaneously happened as we gathered downstairs to eat. On Thursday, the girls at my table were sharing what they wanted to be when they grew up. One wanted to be a brain surgeon or a hair stylist, if that didn’t work out. The others agreed it was good to have a back up plan! Then the counselor asked, “If you had one wish that could come true, and you couldn’t wish for more wishes, what would your wish be?”

     The conversation unexpectedly turned serious. One girl, around 12 or 13, said she wanted to find a cure for cancer. She had a friend with cancer for whom our congregation has been praying. Another, 13 or 14, said she would wish for a million dollars to give to her parents so that they would never have to worry about money again. The third thought for a moment and said she would wish that she would never die. The counselor and I were so surprised that a little girl as healthy and happy as she seemed would be worried about death, that we didn’t have an answer ready for her.

    But it didn’t matter. God had other plans. He had fed the children all week with the bread of life--small b, little l. And He had fed them all week from the Bread of Life--God’s Holy Word, Jesus Christ.

    The second girl answered without hesitation, “Oh, you don’t have to worry about dying! You’ll go to heaven!”

     She had a smile on her face.

     And I thought: the faith of a child!

     Miracle number 3.

Let us pray.

Loving God, thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, the Word of God and the Bread of Life who nourishes us to new and abundant life. Forgive us for our many sins, especially when we, like Christ’s disciples, lack faith in your miracles and compassion for people in need. Thank you for your provision for us every day and the way you guide us and provide for us when we seek to minister in your name and walk in your ways! Thank you for the children in our community with growing faith who joyfully share the Good News of your love and grace with their family and friends. Help us to be more like them! We pray their faith would kindle the hearts of others in our community so that more would come to know your Holy Name. Thank you for the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who seek to raise up their families in the faith. Stir us to be more grateful and generous, like the boy who shared his bread and fish, and did not hold back. Strengthen us so that we, too, have the courageous faith of a child, assured of our salvation, with no worries or fears for our life in this world or in the world to come. In Christ we pray. Amen.

“Come away with me to a deserted place”

Meditation on “Mark 6:30–34, 53–56”

July 19, 2015

    ‘The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things….When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.’

     ***   

      Tomorrow, we will be hosting for the second year in a row the Camp-in-a-Van program at our church. I am excited for our congregation, that we have been blessed with the means and the desire to host this program of Clearwater Forest Presbyterian Camp. I give thanks to God for the opportunity we have set before us to reach out to the children of our community with the gospel of Jesus Christ in such a creative, energetic, and engaging way.

     The program sends well-trained, college-age camp counselors to lead our children to Jesus through games, motion songs and prayers, Scripture and skits, friendship and stories, crafts and snacks. Last year, the program at Ebenezer inspired children and adult volunteers alike. During those 4 or 5 days, we experienced such joy—until it came time to say goodbye to our three counselors. Then we felt as if we were bidding farewell to members of our family. Tears of gratitude sprang to our eyes.

    But there was one problem with last year’s program. Only a few children attended. And few children from other area churches came, though we invited all the congregations in the ministerium. We are worried that this could happen again this year. So few children have been registered so far! Will another opportunity to nurture the children of our community in the faith just slip by us…again?

    Will we be left wondering “why?” as we were last year? Will we be asking ourselves, “What went wrong?”

***

   In today’s gospel reading in Mark, the apostles return from their teaching and healing mission, and they can’t wait to tell Jesus all they had done. For they have done just what the Lord had taught them—and commanded them to do. Earlier in this chapter, the people in his hometown synagogue who had known Jesus since he was a boy do not believe in him. Their lack of faith prevent Jesus from doing any “deeds of power,” except laying hands on “a few sick people” and curing them. He leaves his town “amazed at their unbelief.”

    Afterward, his disciples follow him as he goes from village to village, teaching in the synagogues. But then it is their turn. Jesus “calls the 12” –commissions them for ministry—and sends them out “two by two,” so they might help one another and work together.  He gives them his authority over “unclean spirits” and teaches them to call people to repentance, cast out demons, anoint people with oil and heal them of disease. We know that the disciples do as Jesus commands because Mark tells us in 6:12 and 13, in his brief and to the point style, “So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”

   Now they are back with Jesus, and we have a different image of our Lord taking shape; beginning in verse 31, he is not just “teacher,” “preacher,” or “healer” but loving “shepherd” for the world. His gentle response to hearing the good things that the disciples have done is, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile.” But he doesn’t mean, “all by yourselves;” he really means “come away from the world to be with me.” The disciples are tired and hungry, as verse 31 finishes, “For many were coming and going”—meaning many people were coming to them and receiving help—and “they (the disciples) had no leisure even to eat.” Mark repeats the phrase, “deserted place,” in verse 32, emphasizing the disciples’ need to be away where no one else lives—out in the wilderness--to spend time with the Lord so that they may be refreshed, renewed, and equipped to minister again.

   But when they try to get away from the world and be alone with Christ to be nourished and experience God’s rest, what happens? The world--and all its cares--finds them and presses in, begging for help and healing. The word translated “beg” in verse 56, parakaleo, is a gut-wrenching cry, the same one the leper who interrupts Jesus’ ministry uses in Mark 1:40; the same the man possessed by demons uses in 5:10, and the same word Jairus, the synagogue leader, uses when begs Jesus to heal his daughter, for she is at the point of death. And Jesus feels “compassion” for them in 6:34, though the word “compassion” is perhaps too weak to convey the depth of Jesus’ feeling for the people in need. The Greek word refers to a “churning of the gut.” Jesus feels sick inside because the crowd are “like sheep without a shepherd.” The phrase, “like sheep without a shepherd,” echoes Moses’ cry in the desolation of the wilderness in Numbers 27:17, when he yearns for help, a successor to lead the Israelites.

     What happens immediately after the Lord is moved to compassion is, unfortunately, left out of our lectionary passage, which jumps from verse 34 to verse 53. We will discuss this in detail on another day, but just know that we are missing a significant piece of the story, including two miracles-- the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water after he goes up on a mountain by himself to pray. The emphasis in both of these miracles is on the disciples lack of faith, while the people in need—the crowds who have only heard about Jesus and the things he has done but don’t actually know him—are the ones with a strong faith. The marginalized, outcast, poor, sick, demon-possessed, lame and blind are the ones with hearts and minds open to see the power of Jesus and believe! They pursue Jesus for miles and days. Their faith in Christ’s healing power is so great that they beg to touch just the fringe of his cloak. And all who touch it are healed!   

 ***   

    Our gospel reading this week, brothers and sisters, speaks to us of the importance of faith--and underscores the appalling lack of faith of Christ’s own disciples, despite all the miracles they had seen and all Jesus had taught them to do. They lacked faith, despite their successful mission, when Jesus sent them out two by two, calling people to repentance, casting out demons, anointing people with oil and healing them of their disease. The disciples also lacked compassion--the “churning of the gut” feeling that Jesus felt when the crowd follow him and beg to be healed. And although he and the disciples are tired and hungry and seeking out a deserted place to be refreshed and nourished for continued ministry, Jesus reveals the love and mercy of God for our broken world when he stops and cares for the people, seeing “they are like sheep without a shepherd.”

    Our reading today also reveals Jesus the shepherd inviting his beloved followers to come away with him to a deserted place--away from the world and its cares pressing in. We can conclude from this that time alone with the Lord and one another--a holy Sabbath--is necessary for the physical, emotional, and spiritual demands of ministry. Seeking to meet the needs of others can be draining. Ministry is physically and emotionally tiring. And when we are tired and overwhelmed, we lack compassion, and we lack faith. We have to go back to our source--Jesus Christ--and be refreshed and renewed for ministry, once again.

   Like the disciples, we often lack faith in God’s provision and power, even as we plan outreach activities such as Camp in a Van, wondering if anyone will come--and doubting the power and presence of the Holy Spirit among us and Christ’s desire for all children to come to him. When we have been away from church for a while and away from the Word of God and worship with our brothers and sisters in the faith, we may also lack compassion for people in need. We can “forget” about the needs of the poor--and that Christ calls us to meet those needs. Our lives become less about serving Christ and more about concerning ourselves only with the needs and desires of our own families.

    Friends, if we care about the children, as we say we do, and we want to be followers of Christ and reach out with the gospel of hope to our community, then we should not forsake gathering for worship with our brothers and sisters on the Sabbath. For it is our worship, our time alone with God and one another--that builds up our faith and compassion and equips us for fruitful ministry to the children and families of this community. And then, when the Word and Spirit have equipped us for ministry, we can’t just worry that programs such as Camp in a Van won’t be well attended. We all have to do our part in reaching out to individuals and families, seeking to share the love and grace of Jesus Christ, so that hearts and lives may be touched and healed. We must repent from our lack of hope and faith in the power of Christ, like the disciples, and turn back to God in prayer. We need to pray for the families of the community who aren’t committed to following Christ and seeking out worship with Him. And we need to pray that God would refresh, renew and equip us for ministry and stir us to want to minister, not just to one another, but to the community and world.

     Friends, let us seek the Lord together for wisdom to know how to move forward, especially with children’s ministry. Let us ask the Lord to change our hearts so that we would be compelled to act and so that we would have compassion for strangers in need. May we would be moved to see them as Jesus saw the crowds, as sheep without a shepherd, but with great hope and faith, begging to touch even the fringe of his cloak so that they might be healed.

    Jesus is inviting us right now to come away with him to a deserted place, to draw nearer to God’s heart and be strengthened by faith.

    Let us pray.

Father God, Good Shepherd, we thank you for your invitation to come away with you to a deserted place, away from the cares and distractions of the world that weigh us down. Nourish us with Your Word and Spirit. Help us to honor the Sabbath and take time for rest and prayer and meditating on Scripture every day. Thank you for your love for us and urging us to repent and return to you for help, hope and healing. Forgive us, Lord, for our lack of faith and compassion for the community. Stir us to care enough to invite people to our outreach activities, such as Camp in a Van, and even offer to give rides and stay and help. Move us to volunteer as Sunday school teachers and assistants, though we may never have taught or assisted before. Empower us to make new friends and build up existing relationships so that more hearts and lives may be touched and healed in Jesus’ name. And we pray you would bless the counselors, volunteers, students and families who participate in the Camp in a Van program. Thank you, Lord, for giving us this opportunity to change the world by reaching out to children with your love. May we all be changed by your Spirit--refreshed, renewed, and equipped to do your will. Draw us all nearer to your heart. In Christ we pray. Amen.

Living for God's Glory and Praise

Here's the video link to this sermon:

Pastor Karen Crawford July 12, 2015 https://vimeo.com/133301979 "Pastor Karen's sermon from July 12, 2015"

Meditation on Ephesians 1:3-14

July 12, 2015

      “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

      In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 

     In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 

      In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.”

***

      We had just finished our lunch last Thursday and were sitting around a table in a conference room at the nursing home. Pastor Dan Bowman, Pastor Tom Evenson, and Pastor Joseph Kim and I were gathered for our monthly ministerium meeting. Our only actual agenda item was to discuss how we might move forward with our community benevolent fund, a project that we have been working on for at least 6 months. Our vision is to establish an orderly system for helping people in crisis through vouchers for gas, groceries, and other essentials, funded by donations and administered by local police. It was Pastor Joseph’s last meeting with us, and it was unfortunate that our Catholic and Methodist colleagues were not able to join us. The atmosphere was, unexpectedly, like no other meeting we’ve had before!

       Pastor Joseph is leaving his congregation next month to begin a doctoral program in Iowa. Although he has been with us three years, we seem to have always been too busy to spend time just getting to know one another as brothers and “sister” in the faith-- since I am the only female minister. But on Thursday, we shared stories from our personal lives. We didn’t try to hide in any way our true selves from one another, and we were filled with a spirit of joy. I laughed so hard at one point that tears were streaming down my face!

     Pastor Dan grew up in Japan, the son of American missionaries, and is notoriously frugal. He told one hilariously detailed account of how he put together a machine to print his own checks so he never has to buy checks from a bank ever again. Then he told the story of the first and only car he ever bought new years ago -- a Toyota Corolla diesel. He was determined to get 300,000 miles on it and get his money’s worth. The car had some issues with rust. Eventually it needed some new doors. He drove to a junkyard and found doors that fit, but they were a different color. He had them installed. Later he went to another junkyard, found 2 more doors that fit and had them installed. They were yet another color. Eventually, Dan named the car, Joseph, for the biblical Joseph whose father, Jacob, gave him a coat of many colors.

    I asked Dan why he didn’t just paint the car one color after he had the junkyard doors installed? That elicited more giggling because, of course, Dan didn’t want to spend the money. He launched into a description of the many things that were wrong with the car -- and the story of how the car finally died. He was driving to still another junkyard looking for an additional part that was needed. He turned into the junkyard driveway, the struts went, and Dan literally drove the car into the ground.

   Appreciative laughter all around.

   Then Pastor Tom -- or maybe it was Pastor Joseph -- asked, “Did you make it to 300,000 miles?”

   “Yep,” said Dan. “Made it to 328,000 miles.”

   We giggled again.

   After each of us had shared from our personal experiences, Joseph marveled that he had learned things he had never known before--especially about Dan, who told most of the stories. Joseph wondered if Dan’s years in Japan had made him more reluctant to share personal things, just as Joseph, a Korean American, learned through his culture to be more reserved.

     Pastor Dan grew serious. “I am broken,” he said, without hesitation. Then he taught us a lesson about grace. He told the story of an ancient Japanese art of repairing broken pottery--not so the break would be invisible, as we do, but so the broken place would be accentuated. Gold is added to the bonding material, and the broken pottery becomes a work of art, more valuable than before. This is called kintsugi.  The philosophy of kintsugi is similar to the Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi, embracing the flawed or imperfect.

      Hearing about kintsugi reminded me of our scripture last Sunday, in 2 Cor. 12, when Paul says he will boast of his weaknesses, for when he is weak, he is strong. Paul had appealed to the Lord to remove the “thorn in the flesh” that God had given him. But God said, “My grace is sufficient for you! For my power is made perfect in weakness.”

    Dan’s story of kintsugi also stirred thoughts of how the broken pottery repaired with gold is a marvelous image of what God has accomplished for us through the blood of Jesus Christ, poured out for our sins. We are made whole, more beautiful and valuable than ever before. But the broken places do not completely disappear, and we should never try to conceal them. For in the attempt to cover up our flaws, we hide the love and grace of our Redeemer.

***

    The message in our reading in Ephesians, much like last Sunday’s reading in 2 Corinthians, is all about grace. In today’s epistle, we are assured of our redemption through Christ’s shed blood. Our sins are forgiven by the riches of God’s grace “lavished on us.” But unlike Paul’s simple encouragement to boast of our weaknesses in 2 Corinthians, for God’s grace is sufficient for our sin, we learn that God’s grace isn’t randomly bestowed or universally received. That while God’s love extends to the entire world, God has chosen certain people for a purpose, before they are even born; in fact, “before the foundation of the world.”

     In the Presbyterian Church, we talk about this choice as “election.” This is part of the mystery of God’s love, the “mystery,” says the writer of Ephesians, “of God’s will.” We are not told this so that we will be arrogant about being “chosen,” for it is an honor that we have not earned. We are not told this so we can look around at other people and wonder if they are God’s chosen, too. The passage is, however, meant to be comforting to believers gathered to worship and listen for God’s Word. We are encouraged and lifted up by the knowledge that we are predestined to be God’s “adopted” children or, more literally, predestined for “adoption as sons.” The emphasis is on God’s initiative in salvation; this is God’s choice--not ours! The Greek word translated “adoption as sons” is also found in Romans and Galatians and comes from Greco-Roman law (Andrew Lincoln, Word Biblical Commentary, 25). A well-to-do but childless adult who wanted an heir would adopt a male, usually older than an infant and often a slave, to be his son and heir. Paul applies this legal term to the “privileged new relationship believers have with God” in Jesus Christ.

     But I want to make sure you hear more than the message of our being “chosen” for redemption and our “privileged relationship” with God through the Son. Listen to the reason why you have been redeemed! The grace that has been “lavished” on us provides our redemption AND “all wisdom and insight”--all that we need to know--to understand and live according to God’s purpose for us, according to God’s will. What is this purpose? What is God’s will? In verses 11 and 12, we read: “In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.” We find God’s purpose articulated in verses 5 and 6, as well, with the focus more specifically on God’s grace. “He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.”

 ***

    Yesterday, Pastor Dan told me that he had been thinking about our conversation on Thursday and was writing a kintsugi catechism. He plans to share the hope of Jesus through the story of the broken pottery, repaired with gold mixed with the bonding material to accentuate the flaws, rather than attempt to hide that the pottery was broken. He wanted me to tell him again what I had said when we talked--how our redemption is like kintsugi.

    We are like the broken pottery, redeemed by the blood of Christ, the “gold” that accentuates and fills our broken places and makes us whole. We are more beautiful and precious than ever before! But we must not try to hide our broken places, lest we also conceal what our merciful God has done for us--Christ’s shed blood for our sakes.     

     Beloved, you are redeemed for a purpose! You are destined, from the foundation of the world, to share God’s glorious grace! You are chosen to be God’s adopted children, living for God’s glory and praise!

Let us pray.

Holy One, thank you for choosing us for your redemption by the blood of Jesus Christ and for a special purpose. Thank you for your grace that you lavish on us. Forgive us for not sharing your love and forgiveness with the world and not always responding to your Great Commission with joy. Help us to live not for ourselves and our own interests but for your glory and praise. Lead us to share the hope of salvation with all we meet by revealing the broken places in us that never completely heal, much like the Japanese pottery repaired with gold, to accentuate, rather than hide, what has been broken. Transform us by your Spirit so that we may be, more and more, the image of your humble Son, through whom we pray. Amen.