Sermon On Rejuvenation

Life is not always kind to us, just as precious pottery can become broken, so we too can experience a similar fate and suffer accordingly. Without God's help and guidance our life would be difficult to restore to normal. When pottery repairs are undertaken using the Kintsugi method, a new life of enchantment and rejuvenation is often established. Items may appear to have even more beauty and strength than they previously had.

There is a legend that in the fifteenth century, a Japanese shogun broke his favourite Chinese bowl. He decided to send it away to China for repair. When it was returned, it was full of unattractive staples, which held the repaired item together. In his disappointment, he commissioned a Japanese craftsman to undertake a more aesthetic restoration which resulted in the birth of Kintsugi.

As children of God, Our Lord wants to heal our troubles and restore the quality of life wherever possible. He wants to remove the hurt from within us, dry our eyes and comfort us. We can re-emerge much stronger from the difficult time endured. It has been stated that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what do you do with the remaining broken fragments of life, if we have an existence without God? Psalm 147:3 reminds us: "He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds." Just as broken pottery relies on Kintsugi to restore and enhance its original beauty, we need to rely on God. He is the formula for our rejuvenation. Psalm 71:20-21 confirms: “You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.”

Amen.