Clay


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. ~ Jeremiah 18:1-6
We want to be rid of that which comes between us and Thy vision. Teach us how. We are but little children stumbling in the darkness. Do not reject even our weakness, O God, but accept us totally as we are. Work over us, knead us and fashion us until at last we take on the character which is Thy Spirit and the mind which is Thy Mind… Amen.“ ~ Howard Thurman, The Inward Journey


At my commissioning service, when I was commissioned as an Associate in Ministry for the ELCA (pre-Deacon days), one of my friends sang the song, "The Potter's Hand" by Darlene Zschech. Melt me, mold me, use me, fill me, she sings.

Along those lines, Martin Luther referred to the church as "the Holy Spirit's workshop."

And I love Howard Thurman's description of God kneading us, just like you would knead a homemade, mouth-watering bread.

What does it mean to be clay molded by God? To be worked on by God's own Spirit in God's house? To be kneaded by God's own hand?

It means that God is at work on us, in us, through us, always making us new. Bringing us into being that which we are meant to be. That which we were created to be.

God was not finished molding Israel and God is not finished molding us.

I might make us feel more secure to think we are already where we are meant to be. Change is scary. And we can tend to get comfortable where we are in our faith. 

But God is always pulling us forward. And just like with bread, or clay, or that which is being worked on in a workshop, there is going to be discomfort in the process.

You are going to learn, hear, read, and see things in your faith that challenge you. That make you squirm. That you might disagree with.

But know that when that happens, the Potter has you securely in the palm of his hand.


We want to be rid of that which comes between us and Thy vision. Teach us how. We are but little children stumbling in the darkness. Do not reject even our weakness, O God, but accept us totally as we are. Work over us, knead us and fashion us until at last we take on the character which is Thy Spirit and the mind which is Thy Mind… Amen

Thoughts for engagement:

- What are ways God has molded you over time? What are significant changes that have happened in your faith life?
- What are ways you are still being called toward change?
- There are some great stories of Biblical characters who changed in some way: Abraham, Joseph (son of Jacob), Moses, David, Jeremiah, The Virgin Mary, Peter, Paul. Read one of their stories and see how they addressed the changes God called them to.

Popular posts from this blog

The Gospel of Mark: Women at a Distance

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.  These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem. ~ Mark 15:40-41 Where have all the disciples gone?  What about the crowds? Whose left? Some women. Standing at a distance. These two verses have always been poignant to me. We get so little in any of the gospels about the women following Jesus. But here's what we know about them. First, they paid the bills. And second: they stuck around. They would be the ones to watch Jesus die and the ones to visit his tomb. One of the things I've noticed about Mark is how he is able to say so much about people even by using so few words.  About Judas we know his character despite getting so little about him. About the woman who anoints Jesus, we know her generosity despite not even knowing her n...
Read more

Transformed through Courage: Esther

Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a message for Mordecai, saying,  “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—all alike are to be put to death. Only if the king holds out the golden scepter to someone, may that person live. I myself have not been called to come in to the king for thirty days.”  When they told Mordecai what Esther had said,  Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.  For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.”  Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai,  “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my beha...
Read more

The Gospel of Mark: The Crucifixion of Jesus

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.  Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).  And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it.  And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.  The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”  And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.  Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,  save yourself, and come down from the cross!”  In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himse...
Read more