Readings: Jeremiah 18:1-6; Psalm146; Matthew 13:47-53
Yesterday, we read about the struggles of Jeremiah in his ministry
(Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21). It was at this low point in his ministry that God sent him to the house of a potter, to see how a potter works on a lump of clay and through this, the Lord gave him a mighty lesson, a lesson both for himself and the entire people of Israel – let us add this to our collection of memory verses: Jeremiah 18:6 “…like clay in the hand of the potter, so you are in my hand…”
What beautiful imagery. Let me identify five messages from this imagery.
A. God is the Potter: Our lives are not in the hands of an invisible force or blind fate. Our hands are in the hands of a Person, an Almighty God (Read Isaiah 64:8).
B. Just as the potter has a plan for a lump of clay, so God has a plan for our lives. He sees the finished product in His mind (Jeremiah 29:11).
C. Not only does God have a plan for us, He also has the power to accomplish that plan in our lives. He is sovereign over all. (Read Romans 9:21).
D. The potter patiently works the clay, tenderly moulding its shape. In the same manner, God patiently directs our lives, seeking to fulfill His will. It takes time to make a worthwhile product, and God is willing to be patient with us (2 Peter 3:9).
E. The greatest quality of clay is that it is yielding. When we yield to God, He moulds us into something great. When a lump of clay is unyielding it becomes marred. The circumstances of our lives are like the potter’s wheel; God arranges it so as to mould us into what He desires (Romans 8:28).
Let us end with what I consider the most powerful message in this passage.
Jeremiah saw that whenever the vessel the potter was making came out wrong, he would start afresh and work it into another vessel, as potters do. The potter did not cast away the vessel – he made it over again. There is the lesson!
The Gospel of today talks about the bad fish that are thrown away. God doesn’t want to discard us. He wants to take an unyielding and rebellious life and make it into something worthwhile and useful. He can do it for us today if we will just let Him.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on July 28, 2022