May the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
Every three years, we come across this passage from Jeremiah. It has turned out to be one of my favorites because 12 years ago, it was the very first passage upon which I preached a sermon. At the time, I was given this task as a kind of a test to see if I was truly feeling the call of God to be priest. Jeremiah 18:1-11 happened to be one of the passages the week I was assigned. It took me 6 weeks and many hours in a library to write that sermon. Luckily, I’ve gotten a fair bit quicker now! Each time this passage has come up in the lectionary, I have been in a new parish, which is actually kind of incredible to think about. But it has meant that I’ve gotten many opportunities to review, rework, and revamp this nostalgic sermon. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as others have while also learning a bit about the path I’ve taken to get here.
Jeremiah
was a prophet who didn’t want to be a prophet – at least not in the beginning. He
was only 12 when he received his calling. Like many other prophets in the Hebrew
scriptures, Jeremiah denied his calling. Years following his first contact with
God, he reluctantly accepted the fact that he was to be a prophet to the
nations. In chapter 15, he says, “Your words were found and I ate them, and
your word was to me for joy and for the gladness of my heart.” Jeremiah’s life
work was to deliver God’s word and bring change to the house of Israel.
The
book of Jeremiah is filled with stories of how he lived out his calling of
receiving God’s word and delivering the good news to the people of Israel. The
story today begins with God sending Jeremiah to the potter’s house in order to
receive God’s word.
Pottery
is a collective term that is used to describe anything made from clay, heated
at high temperatures, and chemically changed in order to form useful household
items and beautiful pieces of art. It takes creativity, patience, and the
willingness to destroy previous creations in order to achieve a masterpiece.
As
Jeremiah watches the potter work, he realizes three things:
1. The potter working the clay is as God
working with people
2. A spoiled vessel can be reworked, and
3. The house of Israel is as clay in the
hands of the Divine Potter
My
initial response to “God as the potter” was “Oh! That makes sense! God molds
each of us into the person God intends us to be!” But it’s not that simple. Instructions
from God are not always straight-forward. There are no “do this” or “do that”
statements with an “or else” consequence. Instead, lessons are sent to us
through prophets such as Jeremiah, not simple directives. Rather than telling
us what to do, or who to be, God guides us through stories of love, grace, and
mercy.
We
have heard some of these lessons over the last few weeks as we have been
reading from the Book of Jeremiah. Over and over, Jeremiah spreads God’s word
trying to find different ways of showing the Israelites how much better their
lives could be if they would simply show a little kindness to one another. However,
the people of Israel seem to be set in their ways and have no intentions of
changing. They make the choice not to hear God’s word.
Well,
maybe they heard, but they didn’t listen to the words Jeremiah was speaking.
All God wants is for people to love one another, no matter if the person is
male or female, black or white, rich or poor, healthy or sick. Not much to ask,
I don’t think.
If
you were to take Jeremiah’s stories literally, it sounds as if God has made the
decision to start all over – that God will “pluck up and break down and
destroy”. But I don’t think that’s actually the case…
To
rework clay, a potter would just smash his hand on the clay and start over. Instead
of simply laying a Divine Hand on the clay and starting over, God gives the
people a chance to change – God sends more and more lessons to the Israelites. Rather
than destroying all of creation, God continues to spread love, to guide us, and
to encourage us to love others. God is choosing to gently mold us lesson by
lesson, rather than destroying and rebuilding.
The
story of Jeremiah at the potter’s house has always struck a chord with me as I
feel that it is a reflection of my story. I spent almost my entire life
swinging from all-out believer to apparent atheist and back again. As a kid, I
only went to church to be with my Grandma but once I was there, I loved the
stories and the music.
In
my teens years I got too busy for church plus no one I knew believed in God, so
I decided I didn’t either. However, there were still times when I went to
church – usually during occasions of sorrow, or confusion. I never could
explain my need to go to church, and it certainly didn’t make me go on a
regular basis. But for brief, inexplicable moments, I found peace. I remember at
my first Air Cadet summer camp, finding myself feeling homesick. There was a
call one Sunday morning for churchgoers to gather for service. I found myself
joining them, without completely understanding why.
Then
almost 17 years ago, everything changed. My oldest child was born. Suddenly, it
was very important to me that they be baptized and raised in a church. During
the Baptismal interview, my newly-found minister asked me one very important
question – why do I want El to be baptized? I couldn’t answer that question
right away – I just knew it was something I had to do, something my heart was
telling me to do.
So
the two of us started attending church. My home church had a laid-back evening
service on Mondays that were based more on musical reflection than worship, so
I started with those services. I was very hesitant in the beginning, unsure of
my beliefs and my reasons for being there. I didn’t even take part in communion
the first few times we came.
My
personal turning point came on Maundy Thursday during the Easter season
following El’s baptism. At the last moment, I was asked to read the following
passage from Corinthians:
“For I received
from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night
when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he
broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of
me.’ In the same way he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in
my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as
often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death
until he comes.” (1 Cor 11:23-26)
When
I was asked to read the passage, I had no idea those were the words that were
on the page. I hadn’t read a bible in years so, in my head, they came as a
surprise. I think I hesitated somewhere around “this is my body”. The
realization of the words I was about to speak struck me speechless. The institution
of the Last Supper is such an important part of Jesus’ story; I was humbled and
honoured to be speaking these words aloud. In my head, these words should have
only been spoken by priests.
Suddenly,
I felt something on my shoulder. I looked over but of course there was no one
there. It was a very powerful moment – I knew in my heart God was telling me it
was okay to go on, to finish reading the Prayer. That’s when I really started
listening to the readings, to the songs, to the prayers.
I
learned the Lord’s Prayer as a child – said it in school, said it at the dinner
table – but I never really listened to the words. Same with all the music. Most
of it was the same as when I was little, but only at this point did I really
start to understand the meaning of the words behind the music. As I started
really hearing the words, I finally understood what God had been trying to say
to me all these years – that God is here, that God wants to be a part of my
life, and the God loves me. God’s words are beautiful and have changed my life.
I
finally stopped to listen and let God’s hands guide me in the right direction. Looking
back on my wavy path from believer to non-believer, back again, and now to
being a priest, I’ve come to realize that the lesson I learned along the way
was not only did God love me and accept me, but that it’s also okay to change.
It’s more than okay – God encourages us to learn and to grow, and to be shaped
by the lessons we find throughout scripture.
As
easy as clay in a potter’s hands, a person can be reshaped by turning their
mind and heart to the Creator. By reading the word of God, praying to God, and
listening to God, we can all be the clay in the hands of the Divine Potter.
Amen.
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