Broken Vessels
The Hebrew month of Elul is a month that is set aside to traditionally focus on repentance and our need to make reconciliation with others and with God. It is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is the month before the start of the fall feasts.
Jewish tradition points to the name of the month as symbolically appropriate — the letters of Elul form an acronym for the words in the verse Ani ledodi vedodi li–“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” as written in the Song of Songs chapter 6 verse 3. Believing that “beloved” refers to God, the Jewish Sages take this verse to describe the relationship between God and Israel.
In preparation for believers to meet with God during the fall feasts we spend this month looking inwardly and adjusting our life. There is a focus on reconciling relationships with others that we might have hurt throughout the year, and working towards restoration.
The Hebrew word for repentance is “Teshuvah.” It is more than just asking for forgiveness it is the complete departure from previous behavior that has led us to broken relationships, offenses, and do what we can to bring restoration to those relationships.
As we prepare our hearts and look inwardly we want to look at how we get to a place of true repentance and pure hearts.
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
- Mark 11: 25
But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
-Matthew 6:15
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
- Matthew 18:21-22
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
- Matthew 6:14-15
The Bible makes it clear that just as we want our heavenly Father to forgive us of our sins, we must make a priority to forgive others.
When we are born we are like a beautiful vessel being molded by the Father. We are a perfect work. Then comes our first hurt, anger, or pain. A crack occurs in that perfect vessel. A piece falls away and we become broken. We try to put the pieces back together but that crack will always remain. The crack always has the chance of being a source of fear, weakness, anger, or many other negative emotional feelings and thoughts.
As we grow we have a choice, we either put the piece back into place or we move forward with a gap in the vessel. Some of these are generational and we have a choice. We were born into a situation we had no idea even existed. It could have been the sins of our parents, grandparents, or even great grandparents. Over the span of your life we have many gaps, cracks, and holes in that once perfect vessel.
We cannot do anything about being wronged. It is going to happen. We can’t do anything about the sins of our Fathers. For Romans tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We are going to get offended, hurt, and wounded by even the closest of our friends and family. You would think that as believers in Messiah we would have a higher moral and ethical code. Yet according to studies by Baylor University and Focus on the Family Christians have a higher than average divorce rate from individuals who claim no religious beliefs. We do have a choice though. We do get to choose how we will handle being wronged and wounded.
True forgiveness is spiritually, mentally, and emotionally releasing the other party from their offense. It also releases you of that hurt and anger others have caused you. It is by forgiving we come to a place where we can be put back together. The Scripture often addresses repentance, restoration, and reconciliation. One day we will be made new by the Creator and our vessels will be perfect and spotless like He intended us to be.
Kintsugi, or Kintsukuroi is a centuries old Japanese art of fixing broken pottery. Rather than mending the pieces of pottery together with a camouflaged adhesive, the Kintsugi artform employs a tree sap lacquer with powered gold. Once it has cured the broken piece of pottery is now a beautiful one of a kind piece of art. Rather than disguising the fractures and breaks Kintsugi emphasizes the fractures and breaks revitalizing it with a new look and a second life. Our bodies, minds, and spirits are similar to the pottery. Culture for centuries has taught us to hide our brokenness and act like they never happened. The Bible however, tells us that through repentance and Messiah we can be made whole again.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
James 5:16
Repentance is necessary for forgiveness to be granted. Forgiveness is the glue that allows the pieces to be put back together in the hands of our Heavenly Father who is the potter of our broken vessel. God is ever forming us, and molding us if we will only submit to His instructions.
It is common for many to take the mentality that in order for one to grant forgiveness the person who wronged us must be repentant.
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
- Mark 11: 25
But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
-Matthew 6:15
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
- Matthew 18:21-22
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
- Matthew 6:14-15
How God forgives us is often a reflection of our granting forgiveness to another. We have a choice on whether or not we harbor offenses and un-forgiveness. We also know that if we chose to not forgive others God will not forgive us.
An unforgiving person is a toxic person. Studies show that when you harbor anger, guilt, pain you actually cause physical weakness in your body. If your physical body breaks down with those feelings what is happening to the spiritual and mental elements of your being.
How many of us are still dealing with some unresolved trama that we carry with us into Sabbath every week? Some carrying it into their churches, congregations, and bible studies. We have cracks in our vessel that we have not allowed God to heal. So as we hear the word of God, sing praise songs to God the water that should fill up our vessels flows right out of those cracks and we are left just as empty as when we walked in. After a while the inability to be filled up by the word of God and the Holy Spirit manifests itself in gossip, envy, anger and we start lashing out at others causing cracks in their vessels. It is a vicious cycle we like to call “hurt people hurt people.”
If we were to step out of our hurt and being complete logical and rational about situations we would all agree that none of us deserve to be forgiven. We all have sinned and hurt others at some point in our life. We are all broken vessels. As we prepare our life to meet our Messiah we all realize at some time in that journey we need to release others from their wrong doings to us.
As you read this we are certain that you could name at least one person right now who you are still angry with. Someone who has hurt or wronged you. You might even be honest enough to think of at least one person you have hurt or wronged. If we were to venture a guess you most likely unknowingly wronged them and they unknowingly hurt you. Yet there are still barriers you/they have built because of that unintentional hurt. It might have been a parent who has passed on, a friend, a family member, or even a person who you attended a religious gathering with. None of us are made up entirely of those offenses. If we as a ministry were ever responsible for a crack in your vessel please accept our apology. Our intentions are never to harm anyone but to lift up and draw you closer to God.
As believers in Messiah we cannot gather together for the feasts and truly experience the presence of God without repentant hearts. Without offering and granting forgiveness to our brothers and sisters. We cannot ask a Holy and spotless God to meet with us when we refuse to meet with his other children.
As we conclude this article we want to leave you with questions to reflect on during the month of Elul:
Is there hope for forgiveness to those who have wronged you?
Is it really important for you to harbor that anger and hurt any longer?
Is it possible for you to release the offender of their offense?
Is there a person who you need to make amends with?
Yeshua was the only perfect human vessel to live and he was shattered and broken for every person who would come to Him. It was anger, jealousy, hatred, envy, and pride that beat Yeshua’s perfect vessel to the brink of death. Even through that Yeshua willing gave himself so that all of us as broken vessels can be made whole. So that when the last Trumpet sounds and He returns in His glory we will be broken no longer. We can be made new by the hands of the potter. Let’s work together as believers to make each other whole.