The Return of the Cooking Pot

Sermon on Ezekiel 24:1-14

This is a story of how a broken cooking pot fed a multitude of people. Two months ago, Pastor Wilson gave a sermon about a cooking pot.[i] The sermon was based on a prophecy in Ezekiel 11. The Israelites had used the cooking pot as a metaphor. Like a cooking pot holding its contents, the city of Jerusalem was their protection against foreign invasion. But Ezekiel turned the metaphor of protection into a metaphor for destruction. The Israelites would be trapped and besieged within the city of Jerusalem. They would be killed like cooked meat in a cooking pot. It was a bad day. Though, I am not sure how exactly the exiles in Babylon took to Ezekiel’s message, it certainly was not happy news. One guy even died on the spot during the prophesying. It was a bad day. But they did end up with some cooked meat in the cooking pot to share. I guess for most people that’s never a bad thing.

Since that prophecy from Ezekiel, three years had passed. One fine day, Ezekiel brought out that cooking pot once again. It was the return of the cooking pot, Ezekiel’s cooking pot. Those with good memories were understandably wary of what Ezekiel was trying to do. It was a bad day with that cooking pot three years ago. Then again, it was the copper cooking pot. Seeing the appearance of that cooking pot was enough to draw in the crowds. Dear modern listeners, you may be forgiven for overlooking the significance of a copper cooking pot. But those were the days where “the average household cooked with clay pots”[ii], and such copper pots were only for special cultic purposes. A copper cooking pot meant it was a time of festive eating. In modern terms, it means campfire party time. As a priest, Ezekiel was one of the privileged few to own such a copper pot. That day, Ezekiel brandished his cooking pot. The crowd approached with excitement tampered with caution. Was it really going to be a good day? Or was it going to be a bad day like three years ago?

I guess the restraint from the people was somewhat warranted. Ezekiel did not really have a reputation for fun and joy. If you had been paying attention during the sermons, Ezekiel was a doomsday prophet often with a doomsday message. One time he went out with a smile, many failed to recognize his face. They then went to buy the lottery. So while the copper pot was displayed in plain sight, it was wise for them to avoid raising their hopes too high.

But soon they found Ezekiel singing a cooking song. This confirmed for them that it must be a good day. After all, Ezekiel was in a mood for singing. A cooking song is often sung to signify a time of gathering and cooking. It riled everybody into a festive mood, ready to celebrate the occasion. I lament that we don’t really have a good cooking song these days, so the younger generation is unfamiliar of how affective it can be. The best you can get is perhaps a fun pack song. But in my time, we had cooking songs. When we have a chocolate party, many would know the recipe of chocolate balls because of this cooking song.[iii] *play song*. You can tell that the music and the lyrics get everybody into a joyous eating mood. There are other songs about food. Allow me to showcase another song from the Uncle Daniel era. [iv]

i http://www.jubilee.org.sg/sermons/?sermon_id=286
ii Daniel Block, NICOT, p 775
iii http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_Salty_Balls
iv http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKOEsBPm8hA

So the crowd gathered with the allure of Ezekiel’s cooking pot and cooking song. This must be a good day. *singing tone* Put on the cooking pot. Pour water into it. Put in the best meat. The leg and the shoulder. Put wood beneath the pot. Boil and cook it. And the crowd slaughtered the best of the flock, and put the best parts into the pot and began cooking. Then, they waited patiently before Ezekiel, and soon the aroma of kambing (lamb) soup filled the air. They motioned forward to serve the meal, but Ezekiel held them still. “Too impatient”, they quietly chided one another. “It was better to let it simmer and tenderise the meat further. Ezekiel knows best”. But soon the meat was disintegrating from the bones, yet Ezekiel gave no indication to start eating. “This is a true master-chef at work”, some whispered knowingly. “This is no soup, it is a thick broth.” But the precious liquid eventually dissipated away, and a burnt smell slowly replaced the previous aroma. Now was the time to save the food from burning, but Ezekiel bellowed “let the bones be charred!”

As they watched all that choice meat turn into soot, they realised that there will be no food served that day. Some may have hoped that this was Ezekiel’s secret recipe. But most of them knew Ezekiel too well. This was yet another of Ezekiel’s sign-acts, a message in a dramatic form. Instead of food, Ezekiel would dish out his judgments again. It was going to be a bad day. “Alright, Ezekiel, you made your point. What is God’s message this time?” But Ezekiel was not finished. “Take out all that meat. The meat is impure.” They removed the burnt meat, but still, Ezekiel was not done. The empty pot continued burning in the fire. “Add on the coals. The pot is also impure.” All day long they burnt the copper pot. Until it was hot. Until it was glowing and melting. Until it was completely broken. It was a bad day, even worse than three years ago.

And when their spirits were just as broken as the broken cooking pot, Ezekiel spoke his message. This cooking pot was the city of Jerusalem. On that very day, far away in their distant homeland, Babylon had begun its siege on Jerusalem. And the destruction will persist until everything is destroyed, just like the fate of the cooking pot. The news of the siege of Jerusalem will eventually reach these Israelites who were in exile. So prophecy of the news was not Ezekiel's main message. On that very day, it was important for Ezekiel to tell them two things. One, who was destroying Jerusalem? And two, why the destruction? Firstly, who was destroying Jerusalem? God was destroying Jerusalem. The Babylonian forces were merely an agent of God’s divine will. Secondly, why the destruction? It was because of impurity. The inhabitants of Jerusalem were tainted by foreign values. There was bloodshed from all the violence and oppression when they did not obey God’s laws. They were tainted by foreign gods. They had not kept to their covenant with God. They were tainted by foreign powers. They acted like prostitutes satisfying every temptation that came by. Because of all the impurities, on that day, God began his cleansing. And his cleansing fire would not stop until all the impurities were removed. From the defiled meat to the pot itself. From the inhabitants to the city of Jerusalem itself.

For the crowd listening to Ezekiel, there would be no feasting that day. But they left Ezekiel that day fed with a fulfilling message. The burnt broken cooking pot was there to show them that God fulfiled his word. God was absolutely committed to his cleansing, so that what was impure may be purified once again. Through the burning of the meat and cooking pot, they were fed with a sign of true divine action. They were fed with a display of absolute divine determination. God saw the injustice and unfaithfulness of this world. And God unleashed his righteous judgment upon them. After hearing the message of Ezekiel, the exiles were fully satisfied that God had indeed fulfiled his word. The crowd departed without food, but make no mistake, it was a good day. On that day, a broken cooking pot fed a multitude of people.

With the hindsight of history, we are fortunate to witness the repercussions of this message. The city of Jerusalem may have fallen under the military forces of Babylon, but the exiles understood this was the purposeful cleansing of God. This cooking pot had to be destroyed so that it could be transformed. In time, Jerusalem would be rebuilt by the exiles led by Ezra and Nehemiah. It would be further revived by the Pharisees with a return to God’s word. But the ultimate restoration would came, when Jesus entered Jerusalem to finish his mission, and when the Spirit multiplied the people of God starting from that very city. On the surface, Ezekiel’s audience ended with a broken cooking pot. But we now know it was a cooking pot cleansed by God’s fire. The destruction was necessary so that transformation may be complete.

At the end of today’s passage, we are also left with a broken cooking pot. Though you leave here empty-stomach, please do not go empty-handed. Let this imagery of the cooking pot be a timely reminder for you. It should remind us of the importance of purity. When the church speaks of purity, we often think about sexual purity, but actually purity means so much more. Purity is single-mindedness. Purity is absolute devotion to God. Like, the ancient Israelites we are often lured by other things that draw our devotion away from God. These are like stubborn stains that are not easily removed. They have to be destroyed bit by bit so that transformation can be completed. This is why our old self has to die, so that Christ might live in us. For me, I have my bondages to pride and envy, I have my wilfulness and rebelliousness, I have my social inhibitions and fears. I stick to my comfort zone. I hold on to my tried and trusted methods and values. I am a stumbling block when I sin. But God is determined in his cleansing, and he is committed to it even if it means destruction, even if it means death. So every once in a while, through circumstances or deliberations, part of me dies, along with the stubborn stains, so that I may be renewed with more Christ-likeness. I hope you see me always changing for the better, and I hope to see the same in you too.

In my reflection of the broken cooking pot, I wondered about the state of our church. What kind of cooking pot is Jubilee? I think about the parts that were burnt. I await the parts that would be renewed. Some of us may be fearful of change. Destruction may be unpleasant and always painful. But Jubilee is more than a century old. The parts that are rusty need to be purified. The parts that are stained need to be cleansed. It is better that we restore ourselves, than for God to resort to extreme measures. In worship, we remove portions that have turned lifeless and mechanical. In doing so, we challenge ourselves to relate to God in fresh new ways. In fellowship, we detach ourselves from our comfort zones. In doing so, we befriend newcomers and revitalise our community. In discipleship, we discard out-dated paradigms. In doing so, we learn to embrace a deeper and stronger theology. In service, we relinquish our bias and preconceptions. In doing so, we infuse new ideas and contribute more to one another. In mission, we forget our successes. In doing so, we are reminded that God's vision is always greater and more glorious.

We have a calling as saints and the church has a calling as the body of Christ. In comparison to the perfection of our calling, I believe we have much to be destroyed, so that we may be purified to full maturity. “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)