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The Sacraments of Hospitality ˜ 213
loving or smart. It is because of the mercy of Jesus Christ, who lives among us
and teaches us to forgive each other.
The earthen vessels are very fragile, and so are we. Their only strength
comes from the fire of the kiln, and so it is with our strength. The vessels come
to us as a gift and a reminder: we are not alone. God has not abandoned us. God
comes to us each day through the Spirit and through our homeless and imprisoned
friends. God comes to us through the scripture, through the sacraments,
and through prayer. God comes to us through an amazingly wide circle of
friends who support our work and support us through gifts and shared work,
money, letters, and words of encouragement.
We must often remind ourselves: when things seem the most bleak and desperate,
we are saved not by our own plans or work, but by God’s good grace.
When the confused and hurt disciples walked down the road from Jerusalem to
Emmaus, they had lost their sense of purpose and direction. The stranger who
joined them on the road eloquently illuminated the scriptures, but still they
were confused. It was only when the stranger was welcomed into their home,
gave thanks, and broke the bread that they recognized him. And they jumped
out of their seats: “Didn’t our hearts burn within us”
When our hearts burn within us we usually figure it was the soup. But regularly
we are reminded that in the ongoing work, in what at times seems pure
drudgery—the grimy, sweaty business of cleaning pots and cooking and driving
a rattling car to the prison—we look up only to discover that Jesus was with us
all along.
We come together out of love: love of the poor, love of God, love of each
other. But our love is shallow. It is never enough. We find ourselves too easily
becoming judgmental and haughty and bitter. We turn our backs on each other,
on God, and on the cry of our sisters and brothers who suffer, and we must cry
out again and again to God: “Take away my heart of stone and give me a heart
of flesh.”
The simple earthen vessels remind us of many truths. They remind us that
we ourselves are simple earthen vessels, created for the simple purpose of holding
life and love that come from God. They remind us of the deep connection
between the soup bowls and teacups of our kitchen tables and the pottery bowl
and cup of our eucharistic table. They remind us that community is a fragile gift
from God to be held gently with hearts full of gratitude.