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then the word of the lord came to me: can i not do to you, house of israel, as this potter has done?' says the lord.indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,so are you in my hand, house of israel.
Usually, when I hear someone say, "Here's the kind of person I am...." I know I'm going to hear some nonsense. He might as well say to me, "Here's how I want you to think of me...." or "At my best I act like this...." but in any case his self-description will bear little resemblance to the person I know. His identity, he wants to assure me, is set in stone. But it is fluid on the inside and brittle on the outside. Give it a hard rap and you'll find a slimy mess of resentment on your hands.
In today's first reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, God shows the prophet how easily he can remake and remold his people, the "house of Israel." Centuries later Saint John the Baptist would warn the Pharisees,
and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘we have abraham as our father.’ for i tell you, god can raise up children to abraham from these stones.
So long as we abide within the covenant -- that is, within the Spirit of God -- we have a kind of claim on God. It's not so much leverage as to tell God how things should be, or what we expect of him. It's not as if your dreams will come true. But we can be sure that God has not overlooked or forgotten us, even when we feel overlooked and forgotten. If God chooses to remold us into persons who seem, at first, to be utterly alien to what we knew of ourselves, that His right and privilege.
The cross of Jesus reminds us of this mystery. The disciples must have seen this sign as an utter debacle. Nothing good could come of it. Not even Mary, who remained with Jesus throughout, could explain it to them. Had she tried she would have wasted her breath. They had to see for themselves what God would do. We too must often wait and see what God will do for us. It is certainly beyond our imagination.
As for my self-image and my attempts to explain myself to others? Let God do that too. For the time being, I am a work in process.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.