I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
—Psalm 31.12
From a lectionary reading for Palm/Passion Sunday: Psalm 31.9-16
Reflection for Thursday, March 29 (Day 32 of Lent)
In her book Everyday Sacred, Sue Bender tells of seeing a beautiful Japanese tea bowl that had been broken and put back together again. “The image of that bowl,” she writes, “made a lasting impression. Instead of trying to hide the flaws, the cracks were emphasized—filled with silver. The bowl was even more precious after it had been mended.”
For this Lenten day, I offer you this blessing:
Blessing for a Broken Vessel
Do not despair.
You hold the memory
of what it was
to be whole.
It lives deep
in your bones.
It abides
in your heart
that has been torn
and mended
a hundred times.
It persists
in your lungs
that know the mystery
of what it means
to be full,
to be empty,
to be full again.
I am not asking you
to give up your grip
on the shards you clasp
so close to you
but to wonder
what it would be like
for those jagged edges
to meet each other
in some new pattern
that you have never imagined,
that you have never dared
to dream.
—Jan Richardson
2016 update: “Blessing for a Broken Vessel” appears in my new book Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons. You can find the book here.
[To use the image “Like a Broken Vessel,” please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com. Your use of janrichardsonimages.com helps make the ministry of The Painted Prayerbook possible. Thank you!]
March 29, 2012 at 12:41 PM |
Very beautiful words that give me hope that dispite the cracks in my life – life will be made more precious when I come through the storm.
Each painting gives special meaning too.
March 29, 2012 at 12:50 PM |
……such thoughts – aka blessings – to ponder; wonderful.
March 29, 2012 at 1:38 PM |
http://www.petermayer.net/music/ Jan, you must listen to the song Japanese Bowl on this Peter Mayer CD, if you’re not familiar with it. The single download is available on Amazon as well. Peter is an amazing folk musician. Somehow the universe has inspired both of you beautifully on the same subject * thank you.
March 29, 2012 at 6:00 PM |
Isn’t that just how the church began…as a vessel of God’s love…and to think of how broken it is now…I say this as an Episcopal priest no less…would that we could wonder at the marvelous new thing that we could make if we would just put those jagged edges together…..I am also a writer…thank you for this beautiful image…
April 1, 2012 at 10:15 PM |
I had a bad accident 2 years ago shattering my femur. A blow for one who is already handicapped. I felt like a shattered piece of glass. Was not able to return to work which shattered my psyche. Am slowly mending into a new pattern that I would never have imagined or dreamt. God is leading me into new places. This poem speaks to me. Thanks
April 3, 2012 at 9:29 PM |
Friends—Thank you all so much for your words. They are a gift on this Lenten path. @Margo: Thank you for reminding me of this Peter Mayer song! Really appreciate his work, and I enjoyed revisiting this song. @Katy: I wish you deep blessings of healing in body and soul. Gratitude and peace to you as you mend into a new pattern.
March 23, 2018 at 10:45 PM |
That passage from Sue Bender’s book is one of my favourites – and off and on over the years, I’ve looked for such a bowl.
This blessing adds so much – and provides great comfort at a time when I often think longingly of ‘when I was whole’. Thank you for the reminder that the emerging me brings gold and beauty that the previous me couldn’t access.