From the Chaplains

 We don’t really like people to know about our brokenness, do we? There are no beauty pageants that ask you to share about your hardships, or make-up-less faces. Normally in job interviews or on your online profile you do all that you can to cover over the unflattering parts of your life; in fact, there is a billion dollar industry devoted to “fixing” our imperfections.  

Recently I have been learning about Kintsugi (‘golden joinery’), also known as kintsukuroi (“golden repair”). Kintsugi’s the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with urushi lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. As vessels were used, they were also broken. Rather than throwing them away, the broken shards were brought back together and mended by liquid gold. 

Such “ugliness” was considered inspirational, as it connoted beauty in broken things. Not only did it enhance the value, but also strengthened the capacity of the vessel – it became stronger and more fortified.  

Behind this is the belief that breakage and repair are treated as a part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise. Not only is there no attempt to hide the damage, but the repair is literally illuminated. These vessels celebrate brokenness and the beauty of being brought together.   

 It reminded me of these quotes:

Ernest Hemingway once said, “We’re stronger in the places that we’ve been broken.” 

Trent Sheldon said, “Never be ashamed about being broken, because strength is nothing but pain that’s been repaired.”  

For those of Christian faith, Easter is a celebration of God who enters into the brokenness of humanity in order to mend it into a thing of beauty- a recreation. As Jesus hung upon the cross, his body was physically broken, knowing the pain of suffering, shame and death.  

Pictured here is the cross we constructed in Senior School, fashioned like a mosaic it is formed of many many beautiful and broken pieces. No two pieces are alike, but they come together to make one beautiful cross. 

The good news of the Easter message is that Jesus did not remain in brokenness. But rather, his body was restored in glory. Though his body still bears his story by its scars, it also bears the victory of his resurrection, a life fit for eternity. To each of us, he offers that same life. 

Notice the gold joins that weave and connect the pieces? Like kintsugi, Jesus gathers our imperfect, broken lives and transform them into something beautiful, a sign of his love for each one of us. It reminds us how Jesus prayed that his people might become one, “brought to complete unity” (John 17:23) and we pray that might be so.  

May each of us know God with us in our brokenness, as we celebrate the healing, wholeness and life he offers us this Easter through his Son, Jesus. Amen.

Reverend Cass Blake

College Chaplain