Mold Me, Make Me

I think the last time that that I made something out of clay was when I was in grade school. In fact I still have some of those items that my mom gave back to me. I have a Christmas tree that is painted green with white snow tips and a yellow star on top. I don’t know if you could tell that from looking at it, but since I made it I know that’s what it is. I also have a jack-o-lantern that amazingly looks like one, but it also looks like one that you left on the front porch too long because it looks like it’s sagging and collapsing.

Let’s just say that I am not skilled at making pottery objects. Perhaps I could have been better had I spent more time and taken classes but I never did. Is there anyone who works or has worked with pottery in the past? I think it’s incredible to grab a glob of clay and to be able to create a beautiful and useable item. I still have a piece of pottery my brother made for me and am in awe of how he did it and how much time he spent making it. The closest thing I do nowadays is help the girls with their play-doh creations.

I am really good at making snakes when Madi asks for them. I am also good at using the molds that we have so I can easily make Olaf or a Troll from the Frozen set that we have. Anything else and it doesn’t look too different from the creations I made when I was 8 years old. The one thing that does bug me is when I am making something out of play-doh is finding that in the middle of the object I am creating is a hard piece that has dried out. At that point I either have to pull it out and hope it doesn’t mess with what I’m making or I have to pull it out and start over. Which is what the potter does when Jeremiah visits him in his workshop.

The word we see today for the clay is spoiled and in the Hebrew it can also mean corrupted, ruined, flawed, or wasted. Whatever word we go with we see that there is something wrong with the clay and that the potter basically starts over and makes it into something new and different from what he was making before. Perhaps it was a hard chunk like the play-doh or maybe it was a discolored or just needed to be kneaded more so that it would be able to be worked into a useable vessel. What do we don’t see is that we don’t see the vessel being destroyed or thrown out. We don’t see the potter throwing a tantrum that it didn’t come out the right way. The potter patiently worked the clay into something new that seemed good to him.

I don’t know about you but I think there are things in me and in my life that could definitely be reworked by God into something that would seem good to God and hopefully me too. The reason I say hopefully for me, is that I know that change is hard and I know that some of the things that God wants us to let go of so that we can be reworked, are things that we may have a hard time letting go of, or dare I say things we don’t want to let go of. It’s not easy to let go of a habit or an addiction of any kind, even if we deep down know that is what is best for us and our relationship with God.

The Israelites need to be reworked. They are following other gods and giving the LORD lip service. We saw that last week when we started this series on Jeremiah. God is willing to rework them and has been patient with them just as the potter was with the vessel. But there needs to be a willingness for the rework in their hearts not just their bodies. We see in Isaiah 64:8 Isaiah call for God as the potter to work the people as a potter does to the clay. This part of Isaiah comes from a prayer of penitence or repentance. So even though God is the potter and can rework the people there is an indication that it is up to the people of what they want to do and have done. In other words we have the free will to decide. Will we decide to stay spoiled or to be reworked by the potter?

Even though this passage seems like a pronouncement of judgement, it is more of a plea for the people to be reworked by the LORD. The very last line God pleads with them to turn from their evil ways and again we see the phrase we saw last week for the people to amend their ways and their doings. God may be working on the exile of the people, but the LORD is continuing to try to change their hearts and their minds so that God can change the plan that are being set into motion.

All of this talk about being molded and reworked brings my mind all the way back to Genesis when in Genesis 2:7 we hear the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed life into his nostrils and he became a living being. The entire creation story is a story of our Potter creating the most beautiful piece of art that is not just for viewing or using to eat or drink out of. God’s art is this world that we have to enjoy each and every day of our lives. Not just to enjoy but to realize that we too are a part of this great masterpiece. Created in the image and likeness of God. That you and I are wonderfully and beautifully made just as God created you and me. In fact the word potter literally means shaper which is the same word used in Genesis 2:7 that we just talked about.

The question ultimately becomes for Jeremiah, his people, and for us today is: are we wiling to let the Shaper, the Potter continue to mold us and make us the way that is a reflection of the love that God has for us? Our very life and breath is the work of God’s very hands. We are more precious than gold and silver. We are the very center of attention of God. Can you imagine that? Really imagine that? That God is willing to continue to shape this world into something even more beautiful than it already is? And that our work as Christians is to share that love that God has. To reflect the beautiful work that God has begun in us. Working with the gift of the Holy Spirit to share how wonderfully made each and every person is by the Potter’s hands.

We thank the LORD for God’s patience, for God’s love, for God’s divine artistry in each and every one of us and that through Jesus we are a new creation, reworked into a beautiful vessel that cannot be broken. We can constantly be reworked so that we can continue to reflect the love of God that we have first received but never destroyed. For our image, for our forgiveness, and the love we receive each day we give thanks to God. Amen.