Jeremiah 18:1-6

We find ourselves on the cusp of another month that carries with it the same concerns and uncertainty of months past. August is usually a time ofback-to-school shopping and the smell of new crayons. It is often filled with the excitement of college students from all the different universities coming to find who they might become in Lincoln, Ne. There is a whisper around town as to the Husker Football team will triumph this season. On the other hand, there are concerns of how students will be safe in their classrooms. Football seems to be on uneven ground as August begins. Teachers, professors, and childcare provides all wonder how they will conduct their virtual and in-person classrooms. Places of worship, like our own, jockey for ideas and best practices. When will we meet together again? When will things feel “normal?” When can we break bread and share in the banquet feast? Believe me, I share in these same sentiments and concerns. To express these together feelings in community makes them bearable. To hear that we have similar fears and hopes reminds us that we need each other. In this time and times to come we understand with more clarity that community is crucial and necessary. We have the gift of Christian fellowship. Even more refreshing is the sentiment that we are all in this together. We do not have all the answers, but we have each other.

This morning, while making the bed and listening to my devotional app (I know, very millennial of me) it read Jeremiah 18:1-6. The story of the potter and the clay. Jeremiah, the disgruntled prophet that was ignored by his people, was told by God to go to the potter’s house. God promised that there Jeremiah would hear God’s words. I imagine Jeremiah making haste with a little bit of hope and perhaps reluctance in his heart. It is in the potter’s house that Jeremiah sees the artisan hard at work. Molding and forming clay in his hands. The potter is diligent, intentional, and not afraid of creativity. The clay messes up and he reworks it into another vessel. It is good to him. The voice of God comes to Jeremiah, “Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as the potter has done? Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.” Can I not do with you, O First Baptist member, First Baptist Church, just as this potter has done? Please, I implore you and challenge myself to have hope. Can God not be molding us during this time of physical separation? We hold onto hope. Hope in Christ that He has known suffering and prevailed. We hold on to each other, even on Zoom or with handwritten notes. We must not lose sight of the Kingdom of God. Instead of focusing on who to blame, let us focus on how we will respond in Christian love and service. The truth is that God is still  molding us. We are still in God’s hands. Who is God shaping us into during this time? Who is God molding you to be? Might we be pliable, despite how uncomfortable it is. Flexible clay that is open to the work Christ entrusts to us. Clay that relies on the power of the Holy Spirit. This month let us be clay. Let us be molded by the transforming power of Christ Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

The Suscipe Prayer St. Ignatius of Loyola also called the Prayer of Surrender:

“You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only our love and your grace, that is enough for me.”