Our focus today is on the potter
No, not Harry Potter …..
but the Biblical image of the craftsman who works with clay.
Jeremiah was a major Hebrew prophet who lived and preached in Jerusalem area during the fall of the kingdom of Judah about 600 years before Jesus was born. He goes to the house of a potter and what he sees there reminds him of God's work in this world.
Jeremiah sees that the potter is working on a lump of clay, and something goes
wrong. The potter does not throw the
twisted clay away but continues to work on it until he is satisfied with the
result.
Jeremiah sees God as
an artist with our lives displaying that creativity. To work with clay is an
ancient activity but also a modern one. Artists all over the world still search
for good clay, prepare it, center and shape it over and over on the wheel, dry
it, and fire it in kilns producing beautiful and practical pieces of art.
Let's take a trip to the potter's house and see what we can
learn about ourselves and about God.
First thing we would notice is that the potter becomes immersed working with the clay. You become splattered with dirt from head to toe. There is a close relationship going on
between the potter and the clay. The Pueblo Native Americans in New Mexico
have continued their centuries old tradition of creating pottery. When they speak of making pottery, they say
they are “talking with the clay” ...
and that their hearts are “ right
there with the clay.”
In an intimate way, the one who shapes the clay tries to
understand it, and reveal its' true
nature. Potter is in conversation with
the clay to discover what the clay might be. The artist may have one idea for
the clay, and the clay reveals a different direction. Part of the joy of being a potter is being
surprised by the end result!
In such a way, we are in relationship with God and God is
invested in our lives. Like a
potter God works with attention and with
great care listening to us, encouraging and guiding. God is not distant but involved with our
lives and with our world.
Second thing that we would see is that the potter works to
discover what this lump of clay is like
because each is different and unique with many different qualities.
Potter evaluates the condition of the clay.
A young artist said
when you hold a piece of soft clay there is “so much potential and possibility”
which I believe is God's outlook also
towards us.
Reality is that hardly any clay is perfect ; most have impurities
and lack a needed component.
Nevertheless a master artist can coax wonders out of the clay. Our reality is that
all of us have our imperfections, our weaknesses, our sins.
Heather Kopp writes a very honest blog about her Christian
faith and her addictions. (Sober Boots) She posted this week about feeling
badly about herself because of how she had treated her husband. In the midst of
her self-hatred, she felt God's compassion once again. She writes” How come I
can't seem to get this through my head? No matter how hard I try. I'll never
get beyond being human.”
We are the clay. God realizes our condition and limitations,
and yet is willing to accept and love us. One of the Pueblo potters said: You
don't destroy a pot because it has an imperfection. You love it as much as you
would a perfect pot.”
Third thing we would see there is that the potter does not
rush to make the pottery but knows that it requires persistence and
patience. If you try to throw a pot too
quickly it will collapse. Potter attempts to center the clay on the wheel, and
then shapes and reshapes the clay to bring it into harmony.
To turn a lump into a bowl, cup , or vase, the clay has to
be opened. The potter
presses into the center and opens the clay. (Left hand on outside- right hand presses
into top of clay.)
It requires trust
on our part to allow ourselves to be centered in God's will, to not depend
solely on our own understanding. We make
the choice of being shaped in ways that are for the good, or whether we will be
misshaped by all that would harm us.
My father in law centers himself and is shaped every day by
a habit he has had for many years. No matter how early he had to be at work, he
began his day sitting in his chair reading from his Bible and the Upper Room in
the darkness and quietness of pre-dawn. That faithful image of him will always remain in my mind. It was this
practice that helped him face the day. What centers and shapes you?
Fourth thing we see is that the potter leaves marks on the
clay. This could be in the form of fingerprints
or a special marking on the finished product. Some pottery is distinctive enough that you would know
that it was made by a particular artist because of the style or the glaze.
In Edgefield ,South
Carolina in the early 1800's there lived a slave who went by the name of Dave.
He became a potter and made many pieces in his lifetime. He also learned how to
read and to write which was illegal and dangerous for a slave. Dave the potter
did something very unique: he signed many of the jars and jugs that he made. He
even wrote lines of poetry that are still visible on the pottery. Even though he was bought and sold over and
over in his lifetime and regarded by his owners as a piece of property, he had
such a yearning to claim the pottery
that he had made. He wanted to leave
his mark upon it because he took delight in his creation.
We are made in the image of God, and there should be
something about us that reflects our creator. We are an expression of God's
heart and will., and we are marked by God's touch. God's delight is in us!
Final observation is
that the potter does not give up on the clay.
No limit as to how many times clay can be molded. While throwing the
clay on the wheel, if the clay wobbles
then the potter begins again.
Diana Glyer has expressed this well: “Unlike the human
potter, the Divine Potter is never finished but always brings about something
new. In us. And though us.”
We may not always realize God's presence in our lives, but
God's work is constant and his hand stays upon us.
God wants to reshape, refine, our hearts, our church, our community, our
nation , our world. God has visions
that we will be living vessels of service and love and justice; jars that will hold life giving water, bowls that will feed the hungry, lamps that
provide light.
There is judgment but
also promise for the world in Jeremiah's vision.
To the potter there
is always the possibility of a miracle. God is not finished.
As long as we are
still in the care of the master potter, there
is hope!
In this grace filled relationship with the potter, where are
you?
Are you being challenged to say “yes “ to God's work in your life?
Do you want to be more centered in God's will, and more open
to his guidance?
Has your life taken a turn you did not expect and yet you
are trusting in God more than ever?
Are you humbled by how tenderly God has taken the broken
pieces of your life and made a mosaic that
you could never have imagined?
We are all God's treasures in jars of clay.
All of us are works in progress.
All of us are beloved and signed by the potter.
No comments:
Post a Comment