Article Tools
- Text Size
- Add a comment (4)
- Print this article
- Email this article
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. (Jeremiah 18:1-6)
Pottery making has been practiced for thousands of years. This ancient craft sometimes provides the only evidence we have of a people’s existence. As well as being used for practical purposes, such as food preparation and storage, pottery decoratively expresses the story of the people–their daily life, celebrations, struggles, and beliefs.
Jeremiah frequently draws on common everyday experience to illustrate to his people God’s presence and action in their lives. In this passage he recalls a visit to the potter’s house and tells us of the potter at work, shaping and reshaping the clay. He likens God to the potter and Israel (us) to the clay. The quality of the clay determines the beauty of the finished vessel. If the clay is impure, it will resist the intention of the artist. The prophet suggests that this is the case with Israel. Only as the clay becomes resilient in the hands of the potter does it reach its full potential.
So it is with each one of us. Only in our cooperative surrender does God have the freedom to mold us in his likeness. We do not stand outside of our being created; there is a decision, a will, a choice to be made. We are partners, God and we, in the continual process of our development. Just as the artist and the clay have entered into a creative dynamism, God and his people have joined in the joyful experience of giving a human expression and face to the goodness of God.
Suggested Approach to Prayer: In the Potter’s Hands
Daily prayer pattern:
- I quiet myself and relax in the presence of God.
- I declare my dependency on God.
Grace: I ask for the gift of wonder, and a sense of my own fragility and dependency upon God’s love.
Method: Contemplation.
- I imagine myself as clay.
- What color clay am I? Reddish? Gray? Yellow?
- What is my consistency? Dry? Malleable? Moist?
- I see the hands of God, the Potter. I recall how God chose me and how he has prepared me, purified me, and cleansed me of my impurities and air bubbles. I am very attentive to the Potter. Into what kind of vessel is he shaping me?
- As my life takes shape, I experience the dynamic tension between God’s intention and my desire and responsiveness.
- How does my “vessel” reflect the face, the love, the creativity of God?
- I close my prayer with an Our Father.
Review of Prayer: I write in my journal any feelings, experiences, or insights that have come to my awareness during this prayer period.
When I see myself as clay I know I’m still very hard and rebellious; therefore I’m praying for a softening influence of the Holy Spirit.
praise be to god...for his kindness and grace
“The Lord who created me without me cannot save me without me”. This has always being my watchword that keeps me focused on my journey towards salvation. I pray that God will continue to give us the strength to perservere
Imagine God’s hopeful and loving anticipation, as He looks on ........
‘I have loved you with an everlasting love, says the Lord’ (Jer. 31:3)