A Chalice and a Horse
As I unpacked the camper from my recent time away, it was like Christmas all over again as I remembered the things that I purchased along the way. I unpacked maple syrup from Vermont, rocks from a beach, a T-shirt from Maine, playing spoons from Nova Scotia, and sea soap from New Brunswick. But maybe my biggest treasure of all came from my Mom’s house on the tail-end of the trip.
A young lady in my first congregation made a communion set and my mom had been keeping it for me all these years. And it’s no ordinary chalice and paten. It’s made out of pottery and she incorporated horse hair into the process. I didn’t even know that was a “thing”. I wonder who came up with: “Hey, let’s throw some horse hair on this and let it burn into the clay and it’ll leave these cool carbon marks once it comes out of the kiln!”
This unique way of transforming clay into a beautiful work of art, points me to our God who continues to transform us in many and unique ways. We have different personalities. We are different shapes and sizes. We have different tastes. Yet God shapes and molds each of us in a unique way to become vessels of holy grace and love. Or as we hear in 2 Corinthians 4:7, 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.
How creative is our creator? Creative enough to mold us into God’s image, send us out into the world in unique ways, and stir us in proclaiming Christ by what we say and what we do.
Horse hair and all. Thanks be to God!
Pastor Derek
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