Throughout this season of Lent, our Peace Fellows will offer weekly reflections that will guide us as we confess our complicity, reject the temptations of power, and move toward one another in love. Watch for those reflections, delivered once a week on our blog throughout Lent and join the conversations on Instagram and Facebook.
I love the Japanese artform of Kintsugi, which takes broken pottery and repairs it with golden lacquer. Rather than discarding what is broken or seeking to cover up the cracks, Kintsugi highlights the fractures and draws out new beauty that is only possible through restoration. It’s a hopeful image. But how do we hold onto hope when we’re anticipating brokenness and grief?
I’ve had this image of a vase teetering on the edge of a table. I can see it begin to fall, but I can’t stop it from crashing to the floor. I so badly want to prevent the pain that is sure to come, but I feel powerless. And so I wait to see what the damage will be. I wait to pick up the pieces. I try to hold onto the small glimmer of hope that restoration will one day come. Somehow it doesn’t seem to be enough.
Jesus spoke to his disciples of anticipatory grief. He warned them of devastation that was imminent. Not only would they witness his death, but they would also see their temple destroyed, their family and friends killed, and their people torn apart by deception and division. They would be tortured and experience great suffering. How could they hold onto hope that one day redemption and restoration would come? How could they trust that God had not abandoned them?
In the midst of these questions, Jesus calls his disciples to wait, but it is not an idle waiting. He calls them to wait with intention. He tells them to stay awake and to be ready. He warns them not to be led astray by false prophets who will claim to bring salvation. He cautions them to be on their guard against greed. He reminds them what God’s kingdom looks like and implores them to do the same good works they saw him do – to feed the hungry, to welcome the stranger, to clothe the naked, to care for the sick, to visit the prisoners (Matthew 25:35-36).
Similar to Jesus’ disciples, we look around at the suffering in our midst and anticipate more to come. As we cry out, “How long, O Lord?” joining in the anthem that has resounded throughout the generations, Jesus’ call to us is the same. Stay awake. Wait with intention. Don’t let your love grow cold. Follow me in the way of peace.
As we wait, we trust that God is working even when we don’t see it. We discern how God is inviting us to join in. And when we don’t know how to hold onto hope, we can know that God’s steadfast love holds unto us.
As you consider the theme of waiting, I invite you to spend some time reflecting on the questions below…
- What does the idea of waiting stir up in you?
- What are you waiting for?
- How might God be inviting you to wait with intention?
Vanessa Stricker is a Jesus-follower, a stumbling peacemaker, and a recovering perfectionist, who is learning what it means to live on the side of grace. She is a spiritual director in training, a part-time Business Manager, a full-time wife and mom, and a struggling-to-find-time writer.
You can find Vanessa’s writing at onthesideofgrace.substack.com.
Vanessa is a Global Immersion Peace Fellow and a 2022 Leadership Cohort alum.