A common theme throughout all of scripture is God working to make us new, despite the brokenness of humanity and creation. God is always working to bring about salvation. One of the best modern illustrations I’ve heard of this concept is the Japanese art of kintsugi–translated in English to mean “golden joinery.”

Kintsugi artists will take broken pieces of plates, bowls, and other items and repair them. Instead of hidings the cracks or smoothing them over, they fuse the broken pieces together with gold. The philosophy behind kintsugi is that even though brokenness is part of an object’s past, it can still yield a beautiful end result.

Check out these examples of “golden joinery” kintsugi artwork.

This artistic idea is a powerful theological example that Christians can use to understand how God treats us. We are all broken in one way or another. But God doesn’t throw us away. Instead, he is faithful in working to repair and refine us to purity and completion. Through having a relationship with Christ, we can experience God’s powerful renewal. God picks up all our broken pieces and makes us into something beautiful and redeemed.

This redemptive promise is found all throughout scripture. Here are a few bible verses illustrating God’s work of repairing and “joinery”…

• Isaiah 43:19- “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
• Isaiah 65:17- “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”
• John 10:10- “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
• Ephesians 4:24- “Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
• Revelation 21:5- “Behold, I am making all things new.”

We also saw a great example of this on Sunday with the timeless story of Dorcas. She would use scraps of cloth to sew together new garments for the world’s most vulnerable people–abandoned children and widowed women who had no one to care for them. The early apostles admired Dorcas’ commitment to righteousness and she even had the honor of being included in the legacy of church history with the Book of Acts. Dorcas took broken pieces of cloth and made new things–just like how God does with us!

And in addition to Dorcas’ clothing ministry, the lowly manger in our nativity scenes also points to God’s use of ordinary things. Mangers weren’t glamorous things. They were placed in stinky places to feed animals. Mangers often reminded people of their own poverty–having to care for animals and even living under oppressive Roman rule.

But God used the simple, broken manger to bring about Jesus. God always makes things new and takes the broken parts of life to turn them into something beautiful.

Mary the mother of Jesus can teach us a lot about motherhood. It was pretty remarkable Mary said “yes” to God and God’s plan for salvation! God’s plan for us often doesn’t go according to our own expectations. This was certainly the case for Mary. Yet despite the challenges and ups and downs of caring for Jesus in the womb, Mary realized God’s true nature and sought to praise him in how she lived her life.

But motherhood is not just limited to a handful of biblical examples. It might sound surprising to some people, but God is actually described as a mother in many passages from both the Old and New Testaments.

We often pray to God as “Father”–think of the Lord’s Pray and how we say “Our Father, who art in heaven.” Jesus also referred to God the Father in the Gospel of John quite often. But a more holistic way for us to think about our relationship to God is that God is our heavenly parent. God is both a mother and father figure for all humanity. God is a loving parent to us.

God is like a father to us in many ways (and we explored a few of these last week when we discussed Jospeh!).

God is also like a mother in how God cares for and nurtures us. Here are several verses and passages that point to God’s motherly love.

• Hosea 11:3-4 God described as a mother “Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I who took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.”
• Hosea 13:8 God described as a mother bear “Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and tear them asunder…”
• Deuteronomy 32:11-12 God described as a mother eagle “Like the eagle that stirs up its nest, and hovers over its young, God spreads wings to catch you, and carries you on pinions.”
• Deuteronomy 32:18 God who gives birth “You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.”
• Isaiah 66:13 God as a comforting mother God: “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
• Isaiah 49:15 God compared to a nursing mother “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
• Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 God as a Mother Hen “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”
• Luke 15:8-10 God as woman looking for her lost coin “Or what woman having ten silver coins, is she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

When we think about motherhood, it is important to consider people like Mary in the nativity story. But most importantly, it is important to think about how God is the ultimate parent. God’s love provides a timeless example of how a mother’s love ought to be–caring, compassionate, nurturing, protective, and tender.

At the Tucker prison ministry, I hear a lot of tragic stories about broken homes. Many of these inmates came from single-parent households, abusive environments, and/or dysfunctional families. Generally speaking, however, many guys in the program tend to admire their mothers and mother figures. They usually believe that a mom, grandma, or older sister really wanted the best for them and so they feel bad for the decisions they’ve made to land themselves in prison.

On the other hand, when it comes to fathers it usually is a much more different and tragic story. This isn’t the case for everyone (for instance, several inmates I’ve met had abusive mothers as young children), but it does seem to be a general characteristic of the group. Broken fathers obviously had a lasting impression on many of the men in the program.

I’ve heard of stories about fathers who appeared to be community leaders, but behind closed doors were violent towards their children and struggled with substance abuse. Other inmates have a difficult time with holidays like Father’s Day, simply because they never knew their own dad. Many have seen their moms beat up or even killed by their own father. One tragic story that will always stick with me was hearing about an inmate whose dad made him and his brother fist fight for entertainment… until the father passed out from drinking too much alcohol, or one of the sons was knocked unconscious.

I share this to highlight a major point: Fathers can be very broken in our world, and the effects can last a lifetime.

Dads are often told that the only thing they are good for is a job to pay the bills. Instead of investing in a child’s life, it is usually the case that our society assumes childrearing is only a mother’s job. You’ve seen iterations this assumption in our world, from workaholism among dads, to children feeling distant or lacking a strong, healthy male presence in development.

This also points to a broader issue about masculinity and manhood. Men are taught not to be too emotional. So instead of discussing matters of faith with children, men oftentimes shy away from deeper conversations. In the most extreme and tragic cases, this leads to fathers believing that physical violence is a better way to handle problems, instead of resolving conflict by talking through issues.

With the story of Joseph, it is clear that God provides many profound examples of fatherhood with biblical characters. Instead of abandoning Mary and Jesus, Joseph followed God’s direction to care for both of them during a tough couple of years.

We don’t read about many other stories of Jesus’ youth or Joseph’s backstory–this is probably because Jesus was the main character of the gospels, so the authors did not dive into these secondary characters all too often. But Joseph does provide a great example of fatherhood through a few things. I preached yesterday about some of these teachings, and here are a few points teased out a bit as it relates to the example of Joseph being a dad. Here are three things Joseph can specifically teach men of faith:

1. Joseph developed his own relationship with God. He paid attention to God’s messengers. Fathers nowadays ought to do the same. How are you listening to God and deepening your relationship with Christ?
2. Joseph looked out and provided for those in need. He cared for Mary during  her pregnancy and did not leave her. Even after the birth of Jesus and the escape to Egypt as refugees (from Herod’s genocide of infants), Joseph assisted in protecting the young mother and her precious child. How are you protecting and providing for the people in your life?
3. Joseph spent time raising children. Fathers are oftentimes distant to kids, simply because they feel like “nurturing” is somehow a feminine quality. Kids needs parents to provide healthy examples of how to live. Joseph did this as he raised the young Jesus. How are you involved in your child’s life? How do you care for the kids of Concord, too?

Like many of the folks I’ve gotten to know working at Tucker, you too may have had a troubled past with fathers and father figures. If that is the case, know that God gives to us the perfect example of parenthood in how God treats us–God is our heavenly parent and will never let you down, give up on you, or abandon you. God can provide healing if you’ve faced that kind of broken relationship in life. And God gives us many examples in scripture about what true fatherhood looks like. Joseph embodies this kind of Godly character in how he cared for Mary and Jesus.

And perhaps most importantly it is worth reiterating this timeless message for men. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you are called to follow the example of people like Joseph in how you father other people. And above all else, work to live out the grace, compassion, and understanding of God, our heavenly father.