Formed and Reformed (MPLS)

Jeremiah 18:1-6

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.

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

I spent a summer of college doing archeology at Caesarea Maritima in the land of Israel. Caesarea Maritima literally means, Caesarea by the Sea. It was the headquarters of Pontius Pilate and the Roman army back in bible times. Perhaps you’ve seen the movie about my archeological adventures. It’s called “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” It features Indiana Jones.   

I’m kidding, of course. There was very little adventure to our work. There were no hidden treasures to uncover, no lost ark to find, no bad guys from which to escape. No, we spent our days toiling under the hot summer sun with wide-brimmed hats and trowels that helped us to dig down into the dirt. Our worksite for the entire summer was 10 x 10 meters. We dug down an inch or two at a time. Our idea of excitement was bumping into the possible remains of a cobblestone street or an ancient sewer system or even a rare cup or a jug – maybe even in one piece. Fun as those were to find, most of the pottery was in pieces called shards.

At the end of the day, after a time to cool off, we gathered for a pottery reading. Archeologists a lot smarter than me would study the day’s treasures. Of particular interest were the handles, the rims, and the occasional designs. Those pieces were usually enough to determine the quality of the pottery and when it was made—perhaps a 1,000 or 1,500 years old or more. Even though most of our work involved simply digging up shards, I was regularly amazed at how well that pottery had stood the test of time.

In our Bible reading for today, Israel’s God, Yahweh, has a point to make about pottery. Yahweh invited the prophet Jeremiah to visit a potter’s shed. There were lessons for him to learn. First off, the prophet watched the clay being shaped and formed in the hands of the skillful potter. Then he noticed that one batch of clay was spoiled or misshapen. So, as potters often do, he gives up on the clay, he didn’t give up on the clay. He didn’t say never. Rather, he took that clay and reformed it into an entirely new vessel. And if all went well, that new vessel was finally in line with the wishes of the potter.  

As you might imagine, Jeremiah’s lesson was about far more than a misshapen cup or vase. This was about the shape of the people of Israel, and in particular, the southern tribe of Judah. Yahweh had been working to shape them into a vessel that was pleasing and good. They were the Covenant people. God had expectations of how they should live their lives—who they would worship, how they should treat their neighbors, the importance of telling the truth, what it means to keep the Sabbath holy.  

Sadly, much of what the people were doing was not what Yahweh expected of them. So Jeremiah again had a hard work to deliver: “Thus says the Lord: like clay in the potter’s hand, O Israel, so are you in my hand.” And the question just below the surface was this: would they be open to the reforming work of the potter? And if so, would they be able to stand the test of time?  

The reminder of Chapter 18 is full of twists and turns. As you hear the details, you can imagine the potter working diligently to form and reform the clay. God’s people are badly misshapen. Trouble is brewing. The armies of Babylon are close. Will the people be willing to repent and change course? We hope so. And if they do, we hope that Yahweh might change course too. Indeed, Yahweh has shown time and again that the potter is willing to give the clay time and attention.

More twists. Yahweh calls out: “My people have forgotten me. They burn offerings to an idol. The leaders aren’t willing to lead. The people stumble.” Yahweh agonizes over them: “Should I give my people one more chance?” 

Still more twists. I picture their country—much like ours today—being badly divided. It’s hard to know who’s telling the truth. And even if they do know, they’ve often made up their minds in advance, and thus find it hard to accept it. Violence is just around the corner.

The people of Judah don’t like Jeremiah’s truth-telling. They plot against him. They dig a pit and throw him inside. Their goal is to shut him up once and for all.  Enough already!  

The Book of Jeremiah is sounding more and more like a commentary on today’s events in Washington, D.C.: leaders jockeying for position; harsh division; a stubborn refusal to face the consequences of one’s actions. The need for the Potter to form and reform the clay! 

As we get to the end of Chapter 18, Jeremiah is confronted by an angry mob. He hits bottom: “I tried to do the right thing, Lord, I really did. But these people are only looking out for themselves. They’ve dug a pit for my life.” The prophet’s words are vindictive and harsh. They’re hard to hear: “Lord, do not forgive them! Let their children go hungry! May there be cries in their houses! May invading armies attack them! Lord, deal with them while you are angry!” 

There’s one final twist in this section of Jeremiah. As we begin Chapter 19, Jeremiah returns to the potter’s house. He buys a clay jug. And then he smashes it to the ground. This action is accompanied by a stern warning from Yahweh: “The Babylonian army is on the horizon. My Covenant people are in danger of being smashed to pieces.” 

Fortunately, few of us have experienced the threats of an invading army, but likely that broken jug reminds us of times when hurts and adversities have invaded our lives. During those times, all we can do is try to survive, and hopefully find a way to start over again. The pain can knock us over. When the life gets broken, we look for enough pieces to put it back together again. 

This may surprise you—and I’m sure Jeremiah’s words surprised the people of Judah—but brokenness can be an instrument for change. Pain received rightly may have the power to transform our lives. Madeleine L’Engle writes: “I look back at my mother’s life and I see suffering deepening and strengthening it. Pain is not always creative, of course. Received wrongly, it can lead to alcoholism and madness and suicide. Nevertheless,” concludes L’Engle, “without pain we do not grow.”

Friends, this thought can be hard to hear and consider. It’s terribly hard to view Jeremiah’s time in a miry pit as a time for growth. It might be harder still to see the angry mob of January 6 as a time for growth. Still, consider what might be possible if we honestly faced up to our brokenness and asked the Potter to come and reform us? What might we learn from those pieces of our lives that are less than perfect? What strength might we gain if we carry with us these words from Anne Lamott: “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work, and you don’t give up.”

This week, alongside the trauma of the January 6 hearings, we received news that the United States Supreme Court had reversed course on Roe v. Wade. Going forward, individual states will need to decide. While this ruling is encouraging for some, it’s heartbreaking for others. I’m not going to try to sort things out today, but I want to call your attention to the ELCA social statement on abortion. It’s worth a look. We’ve had it for a number of years. It attempts to find a middle ground in the midst of our partisan divide. A portion of it reads: “The position of this church is that, in cases when the life of the mother is threatened, where pregnancy results from rape or incest, or where the embryo or fetus has lethal abnormalities incompatible with life, abortion prior to viability should not be prohibited by law.” Contingencies such as these about bound to become more prominent in the weeks and months to come, especially in states that have not allowed for them. Ready or not, we will need to summon the courage to face up to this work.

This is yet another reminder of how complicated it is to be the church today. Our congregational president, John Helberg, spoke to this at our annual meeting in February. John said: “We get to decide: Will Bethlehem stand up and model a different way for a culture that has made being right a sacred thing? Relevance requires engagement. The Gospel is radical—and is wholly the work of God. God’s work has always created discomfort—and then surprise at the way God gets it done. God’s plans are almost always carried out in the most unexpected of ways.” 

John continued: “I believe Bethlehem is being called to jump into the deep end of the pool. To both engage, and to make room for a myriad of responses from her members. Our unity is in Christ, not to art or rigidly adhering to fleeting feelings of stability. Our unity is in loving God and our neighbor, not to political dogma or familiar culture. Our unity is in Word and sacrament, not to winning the debate.”

Thank you, John. These are wise and thoughtful words. In a day and age when so much of life seems to be breaking into pieces, we do well to confess faith in the God who is the Potter, who wants to shape and mold us into whatever God wants and needs us to be. As the Potter, God has high expectations for how we live out our days, and love our neighbors, and take responsibility for our actions, and tell the truth. And when we fall short—and we will fall short—we hope and pray for a God to form and reform us into something of the Potter’s own choosing.

Here’s the way I see it: We believe in a God who never says never, even to wayward Covenant people on the verge of exile. We need that! In this crazy, mixed-up world of ours, maybe there is hope for us yet. Amen.