I am taken by this story to look at an image of God as an artisan. Notice that the artist does not toss out the clay ( is this of the same material of our creation?) but reworks it. God is an artisan for the creation and transformation of souls. With infinite patience, God continues ot work with us.(Is it like a movie being edited or recut?)At presbytery meeting we saw this happen and learned that a vase is more difficult than a bowl (Use Jocelyn material) In our time the Celtic imagination has caught fire among some in the religious community. the Celtic imagination is one that sees God as permeating all of existence. When we enter into the depths of things;when we notice connections, when we encounter thin places where God’s hand is more apparent.
Instead of seeing God working only through miracle and seeming intrusion into the nature of our history, “Jeremiah sees God at work like a potter, working, reworking, shaping, molding, glazing.I like the image of god as an artisan for a number of reason. Obviously, it picks up the element of creation itself. Second, it is an engaged, hands-on depiction of the work. I seems ot me that a good artist has a piece of the self invested in the work; it is not mere commodity, more than a mere object.at the same time, God the artis tmay not be satisfied with the current stat eof a project and is at working with it to more clsely fit the divine vision, but the artist is also willing to enter into a surprise that may surpass or surprise even the artist’s original conception..
the big difference is that while we are containers of grace and love, utility and spirit, we interact with our maker; we resist and co-operate with the work of the potter. God continues to work with the raw material, shaping and reshaping as the clay of life responds to other influences, pushed and pulled by the forces that shape lives and our screening of them.
We can extend the image of our horizontal level with the letter to Philemon. this is so suggestive for Christian practice. it seems to be a consensus opinion, especially among those under 35 that church people are unbearably judgmental scolds. we are seen as control freaks trying to tell people what to do but fail to do it ourselves. Paul admits that he could try to order Philemon aoubt his slave. Instead, he tries to help him see him as a member of the family in christ, even as he lost a precious commodity. I use the word advisedly, as I do wish that paul would have gone after the slave system, but he does not choose that tack.He admits that Philemon has rights , and he does not mention any rights of the slave. He does try to open the door to Philemon that this faith casts normal life in a new light.Paull is trying to persuade him, not order him about with some degree of subtlety.Sometimes, I see Paul as being quite manipulative, but he does seem to be trying to provide a way out for Philemon and Onesimus.
we have Communion this morning. In god’s hands, a sip of wine and a bit of bread beocme a spiriutal banquet, a wedding feast where everyone is invited and treated as a special guest, as christ is the host of the event.For once the exclusive voices get stilled in the church, as no hierarchy, no test is applied to this family gathering. god sees us as the God’s eye, Communion places us on the road of making a masterpiece, human beings at their best.
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