Whenever our friend, Larry, comes over we spend a little time looking at the latest pieces of pottery that I have brought home from the studio. We did that last night at a birthday party we had for Paul. (Check out the video of Paul and O below).
We also spent some time talking about my blog and the posts on pottery and faith. I use the language of religion and the holy when speaking about pottery. Larry told me that to him, pottery is based in relationship.
When working with clay, there is certainly a relationship that you must have with the clay - but Larry meant something different, something deeper. Pottery for him is analogous to how he is in relationship with others. You must respect the clay, understand it's limits and it's possibilities. This is why he is so successful in being in relationship with people. He knows people's limits and possibilities and he is always respectful. When he enters into a true friendship with someone, he does so knowingly and deeply. When he is potting, he does so deeply and fully. This is reflected in his work. His work is rich and vibrant, it reflects his life very distinctly.
This conversation made me more clearly understand that how I approach my faith is likely drastically different than the way others understand God and Church. While relationship and the spiritual are intertwined, Larry and I have different analogies imbedded in our pysches about pottery. Clearly, others approach the church from similarly diverse angles.
At times, I get so deeply rooted in my understandings and trying to work out God's action in my life, that I forget others have different ways of seeing God's hand at work. We're a nation often divided by religion. This is reflected in the diverse denominational choices a church-shopper has presented to them.
However, there is failure in our country to enter into the the true deep dialogue of understanding that Larry understands so well. We are so willing, as a nation, to accept the 20 second soundbite. We believe, all to willingly, that the two sentence quote from a Rev. Jeremiah Wright sermon represents precisely the point he was making. We need to be willing to spend the time to develop our understandings, our relationships, our pottery and our faith if we have any desire for true growth. Are we willing to get your hands dirty and root around in the mud and clay to understand where the true beauty lies?
2 comments:
This will likely not be my only comment on this post. I imagine I will have other things to say as I think about it today. But what springs to mind first is the Israelites. I've just been reading Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Joshua in preparation for camp this summer (hmmm...I should post about that...). Anyway, there was a lot of wandering in the wilderness. God leads the people out of Egypt via Moses and then they wander in the wilderness for forty years before crossing the Jordan into the "promised land." But it doesn't take forty years to get from Egypt to the Jordan. They are not just wandering because of the distance. They are wandering for some other reason...and this is what I was wondering about. (I wonder as they wander out under the sky...). A lot of what they do as they wander is to establish the rules and customs of the community, and to solidify their religion and how they practice it. I guess what they are doing is forming an identity as a community in relation to their God, and in opposition to other peoples around them. They are on a faith journey more than a physical journey. They can't have the 20 second soundbite version of the journey. They have to have the 40 year version. They had to spend the time to develop their understandings, their relationships, their faith...and perhaps their pottery too :)
But if you ask me...it's all about the journey. Instant gratification is highly overrated.
The last sentence (question) in the post is amazing (simply).
Why do you think we're afraid of the journey in our culture? Or do you even think it's fear? Is it something else? Why do we go for instant gratification? Why must everything be faster? Why do we have to get to the end of everything as quickly as possible? Why do we have to get out of church precisely at 11:15 and not one second later?
I know the journey is not always pleasant. It's often really hard and painful, etc. But it makes you who you are. When you skip it and go right to the end...maybe you don't know what to do with the beauty...or maybe you can't even see the beauty, maybe you think you've found the beauty, but it is not the true beauty because you needed to root around in the mud and the clay in order to be able to identify the true beauty.
Is that like bowing down to false gods/idols?
You mention relationships with others, and suggest relationships with God. What about your relationship with yourself? Does the analogy work there too. (I think it does.) Must we also know our own limits and possibilities? And respect them? (I think you've been teaching me that lately).
Hmmm...what about God's limits and possibilities?
One more thing (before I stop rambling all over the place). "Feet of clay." We talked about that the other night and I told you I'd look it up for you. I didn't even make the clay connection (stupid).
The saying means a weakness or hidden flaw in a person...often a greatly admired or respected person. It comes from Daniel 2: 31-45, where Daniel interprets Kind Nebuchadnezzar's dream about a statue made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and with feet of clay.
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