Raku
James Cathcart
June 01, 2017
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1 Peter 4:12-14
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
Suffering for Being a Christian
12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
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6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lionlooking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Our theme for June is Swept Away. We are thinking about Pentecost and the sweeping creative power of the Spirit. We will explore the ways God can use our brokenness to allow us to become the ones who bring health and healing to others. Like a potter, God sweeps up all the broken pieces, and folds them back into creation, making something new.
Being ‘swept away’ has many associations. It can be wonderful but it can also be tragic. Someone can be swept away in a loving embrace, but something shameful can be swept under the carpet. You can be swept away looking at stars stretching out as far as the eye can see - and whole neighbourhoods and livelihoods can be swept away in a terrible storm.
The unpredictability of life can sweep us away, causing misery and anguish but we follow a God that can reclaim what has been lost, what we thought was wasted or ruined. Our God brings renewal and new life.
God does not want us to suffer, but when we do suffer he can use our suffering as a process of re-creation. The ‘fiery ordeal’ in the passage referenced above makes me think about Raku pottery. In Raku, rather than letting it cool in the oven, the piece you are making is removed while it is still glowing hot so that it rapidly cools creating unpredictable, unique surface patterns. It has become popular to not only take the piece out from the heat but also to plunge it in to water or your choice of combustible material, like feathers or newspaper, to vary the colour, pattern, and effect.
Dear God,
May the heat and scars
form beautiful lines
in laughter, tears and sighs.
Amen.
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