CLOTH AND CUP

Luci Shaw, a Christian poet, wrote,
“Sometimes a life seems to be
working so well. And then
something tears, and even
though mended, wearable,
is flawed, a scar in the cloth.
Then there’s the cup with
the stained crack. Your favorite.
Unique, a tender blue, hand-made on
a wheel that soon enough slowed to a finish.
Fired forty years ago, it still
works. Every day you pour water on
the teabag, careful to avoid
a scalding spill, adding honey.
As you drink, (a chip in the rounded
edge against your lip), you ponder
your fondness for it. Like you, it’s
a survivor, flawed but familiar.
The wheel is still there, gathering dust.”
“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Jesus