Jeremiah 8 Try again...and again...and again

photo by Swapnil Dwivedi on unsplash

There are a few stories in Jeremiah about how an everyday occurrence gave Jeremiah an idea about God’s message for the people.  In Chapter 18:1-11, he saw a potter shaping clay.  The vessel didn’t turn out the way the potter wanted it to so he shaped it into a ball again, threw it onto the wheel and started over.  I had some conversation about this passage on Sunday with a few of the youth who came to church.  They didn’t like the image of God smashing them up and shaping them again.  This iconic passage has a troubling aspect for me as well.  It occurred to me that in this image the clay is completely passive.  The image of God renewing my life, shaping it as a potter working with clay, might work on an individual basis (if one has really screwed up) but when it comes to reshaping the world, I think God expects us to do more than passively spin around on a wheel. We need to the potter's instrument, hands of God/Christ actively working to shape a better life and world.  However, there is some comfort in the idea that God does love us enough to try again (and again and again) to shape us and our world into the loving, just, peaceful, sustainable place it has the potential to be.  How would your life change if you were content to let God shape it?  What changes would God make to your vessel at this time?  What changes do we need to make to the world?

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