God as the Potter - April 2
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; PM Psalm 119:121-144; Jer. 18:1-11; Rom. 8:1-11; John 6:27-40
One of the most powerful images that I have found in Scripture comes from the book of Jeremiah and is later echoed in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Jeremiah 18 begins:
“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”
Life can change in an instant—a cancer diagnosis, a text message, a decision from an employer, or a sudden swerve on the road can alter everything. Part of being faithful means trusting that God is with us, sustaining and supporting us no matter what happens. We experience God’s presence through the compassion and hospitality extended by others during our times of pain and loss.
Many of us have gone through these kinds of upheavals. And often, what we find on the other side is resurrection and hope. It’s as though God has taken us—God’s clay—and gently reshaped us, helping us grow through pain and loss. A faithful response to suffering might be to cling to the image in Jeremiah, trusting that God still molds us to become hopeful and faithful agents of divine love. Or, as this past Sunday’s epistle reminds us: “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Lately, I’ve been finding hope in believing that this promise applies not just to our individual lives, but to our shared life as well. For most of us, we can’t control most of what happens in the world. However, we can grieve, we can lament, and we can choose to be compassionate and loving toward those most affected by change. And we can advocate for the world we desire and dream for while working to create that world. This is where our agency lies.
Jeremiah was writing in the late 7th to early 6th century BCE, during a time when Judah was under threat from the Babylonian empire. He called the people to repentance, offering the promise that God could reshape them, like a potter working with clay.
This is the ongoing story of our faith—that God is making all things new, that resurrection is the central motif of divine love transforming the world. God’s work is not finished. If we have experienced this within our own life and in the life of others, we can live with hope that it is true for all.
We’re not promised a perfect world. In fact, Scripture and history continue to reveal just how broken the world has always been. And yet, there is always the promise and hope that God is still shaping something new.
May we hear Jeremiah’s words not just as a challenge to our present lives, but also as a hopeful vision of what God is preparing to bring forth.
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: In what ways is God shaping you to be a new person? How are you living into this change? How can you be a part of God shaping this world?