For God, who said, “Let
light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the
light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to
show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. - 2 Cor 4:6-7
As I
looked at the Christmas tree this year I noticed the lights strung neatly on the branches, the little ornaments that adorned the tree, some holding messages of
hope, joy, peace, and love. And I noticed the presents wrapped under the
tree, each a temporary container treated carefully because it would be the little vessel by which a
treasure would be revealed on Christmas morning. My son was especially excited about unwrapping a set of old steel strings because it conveyed the promise of a 5-string acoustic bass hidden in the other room. After gifts are unwrapped in my husband's family the kids head outside and form a bonfire out of all the wrappings...in a weird way, it has become a family tradition. I mean really, keeping the wrappings would seem silly, right? After all, they've served their purpose of conveying a treasure to someone.
A treasure and it's vessel....hmm... I'm challenged as I considered what
I hold
sacred? Things are sacred because something special has come from them. Like a present wrapped under the tree, "sacred" things are the little vessels by which we encounter certain treasures. So I may hold a date night with my husband “sacred” because it allows me to spend meaningful time with him. The same would be true with regard to my kids. When they were young, tucking them into bed felt sacred because it brought the treasure of being with them during that time. My kids are much older now and tucking them in at bedtime would just be strange! To encounter the treasure of time spent with them now, has required the vessel to change.
The same can hold true for our spiritual life. Vessels are good because they lead us to the treasure,
which is a living encounter with Christ.
However, vessels are not the treasure themselves. They are only as good as their ability to
lead us TO the treasure. sacred? Things are sacred because something special has come from them. Like a present wrapped under the tree, "sacred" things are the little vessels by which we encounter certain treasures. So I may hold a date night with my husband “sacred” because it allows me to spend meaningful time with him. The same would be true with regard to my kids. When they were young, tucking them into bed felt sacred because it brought the treasure of being with them during that time. My kids are much older now and tucking them in at bedtime would just be strange! To encounter the treasure of time spent with them now, has required the vessel to change.
I find it easy to invert these two things. I’ve done it
plenty of times and I bet you have too.
It may be a particular style of music in church, a certain family/faith tradition, or even a church program. All of
which are meant to lead us to the treasure of personally encountering God and
they do! For the Israelites it was the tabernacle, for
Moses it was a burning bush, a pillar of fire and a hovering cloud, for Paul it was a walk to Damascus, during the 1960’s
and 70’s in the United States it was The Jesus Movement, for me it was summer
camp, and a particular song. All have been vessels by which someone has encountered the living God. In the
right season these things seem sacred because of the treasure they carry. But vessels change as God brings
a new treasure of himself into our midst and if I am not open to the new ways
in which I may encounter Him, I will miss Him altogether. when I hold the vessel too tightly I will end up majoring on minors and minoring
on the major because I’m compelled to preserve the wrong thing – the vessel. Without the treasure the vessel is useless and empty.
When we major on the minors we do things like get angry,
even mean, as we try to protect something we've grown attached to. We may become demanding, insisting things happen a certain way – a way that puts our vessel front and center. The problem is that when our sacred vessel is
front and center, Christ is not. Vessels and our responses to them, can become great distractions from the real thing. Perhaps there is a certain Sunday School program through which many came to find Christ and thinking back on that season seems like the "glory days" of church to you. What was sacred was the Christ encounter, but it would be easy to make the Sunday school program "sacred" and want to keep it preserved just the way it was; when in reality it was merely the vessel God chose at the time to bring His presence.
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Vessels play a vital role in in our ongoing
relationship with God, but those vessels may change over time. If we
hold them too tightly we will lose the treasure of being with God. That treasure will evade us because our ability
to find Him becomes limited to the deteriorating walls of an old vessel. 
"Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."...Jesus' words in Matt 9
Christ was preparing the people to encounter Him and His kingdom in a new way.
How have you encountered Christ in the past? What made it meaningful?
Are there vessels you've held onto that are no longer serving their purpose?
How have you worked to maintain or protect them (perhaps holding on too tight :))?How is God inviting you to a new "wineskin" vessel so He can pour His new wine presence in you?
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