"Part of the Process"

Jeremiah 18:1-11

The Lord shapes Israel

18:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

18:2 "Come, go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words."

18:3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel.

18:4 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.

18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me:

18:6 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.

18:7 At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it,

18:8 but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it.

18:9 And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it,

18:10 but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it.

18:11 Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you, from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

I found myself very shook up by the shooting of Charlie Kirk. I didn’t agree with him and just about anything. If you didn’t know who he was, and have avoided all news this week, Kirk was an advocate for a very hateful kind of Christianity. I think the things he advocate and the things he shared were damaging to a lot of people. Members of the LGBTQIA community, women, immigrants…I could go on and on about the folks he demonized. And how they are children of God, worthy of respect, dignity, and love. 

But then, what makes the Christian message so radical at times is its uncompromising commitment to creation, to the idea that all of us are children of God. Charlie Kirk was a child of God. As was the Minnesota congressperson Melissa Hartman, who was murdered this summer. So were the 3 children who were victims of yet another school shooting at evergreen high school in Colorado this week. 

I’ll be honest…it’s been one of those weeks where I’m not sure what to say or do…where everything feels stuck…and not just stuck, but actually running in the wrong direction. This could easily become a sermon illustration for the message today- Israel surely felt stuck- the prophet surely wondered whether or not his words would have any meaningful effect on the suffering he saw around him. 

But mostly I just want to pray. For the lives lost this week, and every week. The children of God killed by senseless violence. For the fear that is growing…

We’re continuing our series this week on Jeremiah- we’ve talked about the call of the prophet, and how it relates to telling the truth…and about how the world, which was given by God as a gift, has been distorted…and, we’ve talked about the ways prophets give voice to those left out, often through emotional outcries. 

Today, we’re getting to the middle of Jeremiah’s story. And it’s very much a story. We do this thing, when we’re thinking about the world…we forget that we are all, very much, in the middle of a story. And, in the middle, there’s still a lot of process left to go. A lot of growth to go. We may feel stuck now, we may feel like all is lost, or that nothing good can come out of this situation. And much of the book of Jeremiah feels that way. 

But then there’s this reminder, in the middle of the book…it comes in the image of a potter. One who is working on a project, and is making changes, who is working on a project that is not done yet. The only time I’ve ever done any kind of pottery was in Junior High art class, and at that time, I wish I had known that getting to the end of a project doesn’t need to be rushed. The tea pot I dreamed of as a 13 year old could have used more patience. But pottery is the kind of craft that includes fits and starts, that allows you to try and experiment, and yes, even start over. 

And so, today, we are given this image of God as a potter- and we are the clay. I’d resist thinking about this imagery in individual terms. God is not concerned with any individual person, which is what modern Christians like to focus on, but rather, the ways in which we do life together. The God of scripture is concerned about how people function in communities- about whether or not folks are being cared for, about whether or not there is enough for everyone. Are there individuals who are definitely making things worse for people? Sure. Absolutely. But I’d resist the urge to think that the pottery image is a call for individual self improvement. Is it a good idea to get better at things in life? Yeah, probably. But when we treat it as though it is highest purpose in our lives, that everything depends on our improving ourselves, well, I think we’re losing the plot. I have learned, and really, am learning this by experience in my own life all the time. 

No, what God wants is a world in which all are treated with dignity and love. A world where there is enough room for all, and where the quest for power and prestige is eclipsed by compassion and mercy. Jesus will later say that in this world, in the kin-dom of God, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. 

We’re not there yet. Neither was Ancient Israel. We talked a few weeks ago about the attempts of Josiah to reform the temple culture. To bring things back into line with God’s covenant, God’s desire for the community. And those reforms fell apart upon his death. The community continued its decent into un-Godlike conduct, mistreating the poor, and developing military power in the region. 

The hope that had been placed on a figure like Josiah was dashed, surely leaving the prophet disillusioned. It’s much like it must have felt in the US after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, or Martin Luther King jr., or even Bobby Kennedy. How can things get better when this is happening? Some in Israel wonder how things will move forward.

This biblical image of the potter, given to the prophet, is more for the prophet than it is for Israel. It is a reminder: this is a process, and we’re in the middle of it. Not at the end. That things are the way they are doesn’t mean they will always be this way. And the God who has continued to work through history, who has freed slaves in Egypt and delivered the people into a land of plenty: that God is still at work. 

When we look at the world, it’s all to easy to believe that this is just the way it is. When you look back at history, you can see all the changes, the way events shaped the course of things…but when you’re in it, all you can see if the way things are. It’s hard, from the perspective of now, to acknowledge that things aren’t just the way they are, always and ever, frozen in amber, but that they are changing. Things look static. They’re not. 

I remember working this job once. I was the front desk person at this big building in downtown Portland. It was a relatively new building, and it housed one of the most famous law firms in the country. It was about 15 stories tall, and looked immaculate. It was a giant, cement and glass structure that looked like you couldn't move it or damage it if you tried. And it was across the street from Powells Books, one of the most famous independent books stores in the country…I walked there every break I had! Which has nothing to do with the story…

When I see a building somewhere, I think of it as a pretty static Structure. Once it’s built, it may need repairs down the road, but day in and day out, it’s just there. 

But as I worked at this desk, checking folks in and out, I kept seeing these same familiar faces, wearing matching uniforms. They were the engineers, the building folks, whose job it was to keep up the structure. Because, it turns out, as soon as you build something, the upkeep begins. There is no gap between the cement and beams setting, the interior being installed and set up, and upkeep beginning. A building, even though it looks like it’s complete, even as it looks like all the work is done, is a continuous work in project. And I can look out, and see our building people, Tony Newman now, and Ray for years before, laughing, because they know this: a building, any building, of any age, requires constant upkeep. The construction may look like it’s done, but the world is just beginning. 

As I think about this experience, about watching the building engineers working long hours, dealing with problems as they came up, but also doing the general upkeep, trying to stay ahead of things…I can’t help but think of our world. Of the ways in which what appears to be “just the way it is” is actually part of the process. What appears to be done, set in stone, what appears to be static, is actually changing. 

And for me, as a follower of Christ, I believe also that God’s hand is in it. Shaping it, like a potter at a wheel. What appears to be lost will not be abandoned by God. It’s not done yet.

And indeed, when we read scripture, we need to recognize the same. The condemnation of ancient Israel is not the end of the story. And it is not the moment God abandoned the people…as though that could even be possible. The works not done. And neither is God.  

Look around. Everything you see is in process. It’s unfinished. And it is together, with God, that we participate in the work. Don’t lose hope if things aren’t as they should be. There’s still more to go.

Amen.