Kintsugi: the art of precious scars

 

FRI EP Reflection 073120 (Matt 28:1-10)

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Today’s Gospel reading is almost like those scenes in those movies made by marvel! At the end of them, we can always expect something more! The stage is set from the last Chapter of the Gospel of Matthew: It describes a scene early in the morning, the two Mary’s are on their way to the tomb as it is custom for Israelites, whether it was to continue the Jewish burial rites or just to mourn, we are unsure what the real purpose was. The scene gets unreal with a great earthquake. An angel appears that look like lightning, all dressed in white! The guards of the tomb are knocked unconscious from the shock, and the women are told: “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him. This is my message for you.…” He quickly tells them he is a messenger!

What a sight it must have been, and how profound were those words: Go in and look, He is not there.! Not something you see every day! This is the vision that Jesus kept talking about at every opportunity he got. Jesus kept hinting that he would die and rise again three days later. He explained in great detail how his Kingdom was not of this earth, He explained how His Father loved him and consequently loves us because we love Jesus His only Son. He is Lord of Lords, Lord of life. He is the way, the truth, the Life. We know this because of his word. Remember at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, Jesus ordered him out. He is the divine word that creates. His word becomes action. He is the word from God, the word of GOD. We are privileged bearers of this word to the world around us, especially when others meet your kindness and generosity, they are indeed meeting the word of God in that way.

For Jesus to rise from the dead on the first day of the week is of a great significance to us, the church: God began creation on the first day of the week. What happened? God commanded the light to shine out of darkness. On this day therefore Jesus, the Light of the world, did shine out of the darkness of the grave. Jesus rose again on the first-day, that’s why it is called the Lord's day (Rev. 1. 10) Let’s recap the chronology: Jesus’ ordeal of his passion began in the night; when he hung on the cross the sun was darkened; he was laid in the grave in the dusk of the evening; but he arose from the grave when the sun was near rising, for he is the bright and morning Star (Rev. 22: 16), He is the true Light. Those who pray early in the morning, they follow this example of Christ, and that of David, “Early will I seek thee”.

These women teach us a great deal about following Jesus. They were there: at all those difficult moments of Jesus; they made the decision to trust and follow Jesus no matter what. Jesus has a special relationship with those living with brokenness. I heard that the Japanese people have a way of mending broken tea pots and use powdered gold. It’s called Kintsugi: the art of precious scars.  After it is repaired, the new tea pot’s unique appearance is like one in a million! I think it’s the same with us. Could it be that you are that unique one that the lamb of God came to redeem?

Today we celebrate the life of Ignatius of Loyola. One thing that touched my heart was to hear about his journey of following Jesus. He knew that being in the service of God required him to be fully dedicated. So, he served the poor as if he was also one of them, even if he was born a noble. He labored towards this service to God, he sacrificed quite a bit. He heeded Christ’s call that says: “Whoever wishes to come with me, must labor with me.” He sought to find God and do all things for God’s glory. What an example! Just like those women, following Jesus wasn’t only when things looked great and cozy with their teacher, but they followed Jesus even in his dark hour. He was their healer and their Lord, and now having witnessed his body being broken, they now had an opportunity to witness the new resurrected body with the scars still there for their contemplation. For our contemplation.

Let us trust in Jesus our Lord!    Amen.