Thursday, July 30, 2020

THE POTTER'S CLAY


Reflection for Thursday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A
(Jer 18: 1-6; Mt 13:47-53)
The Lord sent Jeremiah to the potter’s house for an important lesson. He saw the potter working at his wheel. “And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.” The potter had in mind the design he wanted, if the clay did not come out as he wanted, he reworked it. Then the Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning Israel, saying, “Can I not do with you as this potter has done? Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”

So, we are like clay in the hands of God. He created us in His own image and likeness, but the ‘clay’ spoiled due to sin and selfishness. Now, He decided to rework us into another vessel, which is Jesus Christ. Yes, He will continue to remould us into the image of His Son until we fit perfectly into the Original design He had in mind (Rm 8:29). Imagine the patience, the dexterity and love with which the skilled Potter is handling our fragile earthen life, carefully transforming us each day into ‘another Christ.’ So, we carry in ourselves the imprint of the life of Jesus (2Cor 4:10-11). As long as we are alive, God continues to remould us; we must dispose ourselves in His arms, and cooperate with His grace at all times.

But time will not be with us forever. The parable of the net that was cast into the sea, which gathered all sorts of things both good and bad, tells us that there will be time to sort out the good from the bad. At that time, there will not be opportunity to remould our lives. Evil shall be destroyed as wastes are burned in a fire.

The message of Jeremiah is encouraging. May be we have failed several times to imitate Jesus. Sometimes it appears we are stagnant in our spiritual journey. Changing times and situations, such as health failure, financial crisis, death, etc can becloud our minds and distract us from our commitment to live like Jesus. God says through the prophet that He is still working on this fragile Clay. If God is still working, we should continue to cooperate with Him. Do not give up on yourself; trust in His grace. At the end of the day, Christ Jesus will be all in all (cf. 1 Cor 15:28).

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Thursday July 30th, 2020.