Moulding the clay

Lily Cathcart June 03, 2024 4 3

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Jeremiah 18: 1-6 (NRSVA)

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 ‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 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.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 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.

Something I have found in my short time sitting at a potter’s wheel, learning to shape clay into something new, is that I need to centre myself. Sculpting with something from the ground requires —I should not be surprised to find — grounding.

Who is more grounded than God our Father? God who knows what it is to be at one with the ground, entwined with the roots of the trees, to be in every tiny stone and enormous mountain.

When I have made various pots, of varying qualities, at the wheel, I still have a teacher to help me correct my mistakes. Mistakes which are easy to make as the wet clay spins fast and my tired, inexpert fingers can slip at just the wrong moment.

Whose hands are more confident than those which sculpted a world from the ground up? Hands which feel every notch, bulge and dent in the clay of our lives and, to our relief, have the skill to remould us into the splendid things we can be.

So let us: individuals, communities, churches, take a spin on the wheel of our creative God and see what wonders we can be gently pulled and pushed into.

Prayer:

Dear Father God of reworking

You see our faults and needs

Help us to submit to your gentle care

Raise us up to be what we can be

Sculpt us again and again

Amen