What do we find in the emptiness? | Voices of Faith
There is a parable attributed to Jesus that is located outside of the traditional Christian canon of scripture that is referred to as “the empty jar.” It is found within a collection of sayings known as the Gospel of Thomas. And while it is extra-biblical in nature, it is understood by scholars to be authentic of Jesus of Nazareth.
The parable as translated by Thomas O. Lambdin goes like this:
"The kingdom of God is like a certain woman who was carrying a jar full of meal. While she was walking on the road, still some distance from home, the handle of the jar broke and the meal emptied out behind her on the road. She did not realize it; she had noticed no accident. When she reached her house, she set the jar down and found it empty."
There are any number of ways to receive this parable. Bernard Brandon Scott perceives that there is something about the presence of divinity within the absence, and there is great power in this understanding, particularly now. I also wonder about the work of the parable that rests in the response of the listener upon hearing the story and reaching the conclusion. Like the parable of the Prodigal, the story concludes abruptly without satisfaction; the next chapter is yet to be written - it is an invitation from the storyteller.
The woman has traveled far to the market to purchase this grain and is on the way back home to prepare a meal for the evening. The jar handle breaks and the jar tips, releasing the contents ounce by ounce along the road behind her. She arrives home and sets the jar on the floor to discover the reality. Knowing the context, this is a significant matter. There is no going back to the market again tonight, no additional stash of money to buy more, no one else to call on. It’s just the listener and the woman in the beginnings of this tragedy.
I imagine that there were a host of reactions, but perhaps two more common than others. The first that I imagine is the reaction of anger and rage: How could she not notice? Who made the jar and how do we get them? Why didn’t anyone who saw it interrupt and help? The second that I imagine isn’t any thought or word, only a sigh. It’s the reaction from one who has experienced something so tragic before, who has seen and known the fragility of days and life. The first is judgment seeking accountability from one responsible; the second is sorrow for the woman. They both emerge from the story, but one leaves the woman to go and seek punishment or solutions, and the other stays with the woman in the loss.
I am wondering about the grace of this parable now. Many of us will find ourselves in a position similar to the audience: listening. Perhaps it's told from a person who knows of a woman, knows the woman, or is the woman herself. Inevitably we find ourselves in the position of listener, and what is the reaction? What is the response?
It’s not that we must ultimately choose between empathy and accountability. Both are necessary. But how often it seems, that the ego will go first to seek accountability or punishment as a means of attempting to fix what is broken; to redeem what is lost. In the process, we abandon the one who has experienced the tragedy, creating more emptiness. And we fail to listen and hear more from the one who has lost. We try and pick up every piece of grain along a dirt road that is miles long. Loss, unfortunately, isn’t remedied this way.
But to stay with and to care. To honor the loss and the tragic circumstances that took it. To cry out for justice with the one who is holding an empty vessel. It doesn’t return what was lost, but it doesn’t abandon one to the loss either. And sometimes, that is the best way within tragedy.
There will be a time for accountability and remedy; but let us be mindful that this may not be what is needed first. The sacred is present where there is absence and loss. And, while everything loss cannot be reclaimed and redeemed, there is a way forward that leads to a healed future. I imagine that much of it begins with how we react and respond.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What do we find in the emptiness? | Voices of Faith
