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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 Corinthians 4:6-7)

School starts again today!  A ray of light in the darkness that says: this lockdown won’t last forever!  It’s certainly something to rejoice about, especially for those of you in school and probably for your parents too! 

But, at the same time, this wee bit of reopening is not the kind of hope you can ground your life on.  There’s always a threat hanging in the air that it might not last.  Vaccines are delayed.  Variants of the virus are swirling about.  The horizon of hope seems uncertain indeed, even if today we find ourselves breathing just a little bit lighter.

That, I think, is why Paul’s reminder in 2 Corinthians is a helpful one.  Our hope—the light of the gospel of Christ—is not something of our own doing.  It’s not something that shines forth because of human ingenuity or intervention.  Can it shine through those things?  Sure, but it doesn’t originate there.

Our hope shines forth from Christ.  The power is God’s.  What belongs to us is the jars of clay that are our lives, our bodies, and our world.  Fragile vessels that always teeter on the verge of brokenness.  We’ve likely never been quite as collectively aware of that fragility of our lives and society as we are right now.  All the grand things we have, are, and do as individuals and even as a society are little more than fragile vessels, jars of clay.

But for those of us who follow Christ, what we hold in our little jars is no small thing at all.  We hold the life and light of Christ.  The hope of new life and a world restored.  The all-surpassing power of forgiveness and healing. 

In our little clay vessels, we carry with us the immortal, invincible treasure of the Good News of Jesus Christ, and with it, the hope that one day there will be no more disease to cripple our bodies, plans, and society.  No more sadness or anxieties to weigh down our hearts and minds.  We carry with us the hope that far better news is yet to come than just schools reopening.

It’s not from us or because of us.  We are naught but jars of clay.  But from God in Christ comes this glory and hope that fills our jars with something real, true, and solid.  Thanks be to God.