A Work of Art

“PLIABLE PEOPLE”
Text: Jeremiah 18:1-11
Faith United
September 9, 2007


I love Jeremiah, he’s my kind of dude
He’s so out there, and so real
He got really ticked off, and he got really depressed
and he made no bones about telling God about it
If you think being one of God’s people
means that you have to be all neat and pretty,
holy and upright, look at the prophets
If Jeremiah were here now,
his doctor would most likely recommend medication
or a long sabbatical that included time in a luxurious spa
He’s just not in good shape---

People have often said to me in the past
` that sometimes they get more out of the children’s sermon
than they do the adult sermon,
which I’m not always sure how to take that
but I think it has a lot to do with how we learn
I firmly believe that God is the originator of the concept
of children’s sermons
ond that method was passed on to Jesus
because God is always taking the stuff of life
and using it to make a point
to teach a lesson, to give the Word
Taking something we can see and touch
something that we understand, the very stuff of our lives
to talk about something we may NOT understand as well
God had the prophets and other messengers
act out the lesson sometimes, to literally act out a living parable
to give an image that speaks for itself
That whole concept reminds me of my former Bishop back in the Wyoming Conference
at the ordination services back there
Her name was Bishop Morrison, and she’s retired now
The ordination service at Annual Conference
is always a high holy event
and it’s an inspiring occasion for everyone there
Well, Bishop Morrison was dressed in all her Bishop finery
what is called a cassock, that is often worn by Catholic priests
residing over communion
and underneath the cassock she wore a purple shirt
with a clergy collar
because purple is the color for bishops
She carried a shepherd’s staff
as a symbol of being a shepherd of the flock
But near the beginning of the ordination service
Bishop Morrison would hand over her staff
and unbutton the many, many buttons on the sleeves
of her fancy bishop’s robes
And then she’d literally roll up those sleeves
as if they were on a common workshirt
she knelt before each person
that was about to be ordained
and she washed their feet
It was a powerful image
and I know of no other bishop that has done it
To see a BISHOP of the United Methodist Church
in all her fancy purple robes, exuding her authority and position
to see her roll up those fancy sleeves,
kneel at someone’s feet
and wash them with her bare hands
was a very moving and inspiring moment
One of those JESUS moments, I’d say
Nothing had to be said
Her actions were the message
that this is what Jesus calls us to do
to be humble, to serve one another,
no matter who we are, or what position we hold
to do as Jesus did
The one who came not to be served, but to serve
It is a powerful living parable of the Gospel
that I will never forget
God told Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s house
that God had a message,
that he had to give to Jeremiah first
Potters were very common in that time and in that place
and still are
But back then, almost every household vessel
was made out of fired clay
so it was a much needed profession
It was a common sight
to walk through the village
and see the potter at work at his potter’s wheel
Look at what you see, Jeremiah, God said--
It’s a potter, it’s something one is likely to see every day,
What’s the big deal?
As Jeremiah watched the potter do what the potter does for a living,
He saw that when a clay vessel turned out badly
the potter mushed it back together
and started again with the same clay
he didn’t throw out the clay
but started again
Has your life always turned out the way you expected?
Are you doing what you thought you’d be doing
at this point in your life
when you thought about it many years ago?
When you were a teenager, trying to figure out what to do next,
whether to get a job or go to more school
what to do with your life
trying to figure out where your life was headed…
did it always turn out the way you planned?
I’m suspecting not… at least not always
I don’t know about you, but I had images of my life
all along the way
and usually it turned out differently
Sometimes we assume that we’ll go here or there
get a job, get married, have 2.5 kids
have a nice house and live a nice life
But too often things change
sometimes it all comes crashing in
whether it’s bad decisions that we made
or it’s just life that happens
Sometimes the plans get changed
More often than not, it’s against our will
whether it’s a spouse that decides to leave
or we get laid off from a job
that we thought would last
or we suddenly face a diagnosis
that changes everything as we know it
Or a loved one dies
a car crashes
planes hit towers in the city
Essentially … LIFE happens
and things don’t always turn out the way we planned
As a young adult
I envisioned myself living out the rest of my life
in New Jersey
I was going to be a psychologist
and a writer
Then I thought maybe I’d be a Christian educator
in some large church somewhere
Then I went through a time that I thought I’d be a
Certified Addictions Counselor
and marry my current boyfriend in Pennsylvania
And during that time
there was absolutely no way
in heaven or earth
that I would even be involved in Church
Nothing has turned out the way I planned it back then
and I thank God …
I know some of your stories
I know that some of you had had other plans as well
that didn’t work out the way you planned
plans that came crashing down around you
maybe more than once
Because, well, that’s life
I’ve seen people whose lives and plans have been crushed
or sometimes exploded open
or completely cut off
and I’ve seen people react in different ways
Sometimes they give up
Sometimes when it happens too many times
they can’t take it anymore
they become bitter and angry
and STUCK
They stop growing, they stop thriving
they stop searching and believing
And I’ve seen other people who have faced enormous tragedy
or one thing after another
and those who know them wonder
if they’ll get through it this time
because the same circumstances might simply
crush someone else
But this person rises above it
gets up out the dirt, washes off the mud and the blood
nurses the wounds
and chooses to begin again
Chooses to say, ok, God, here are all my broken pieces
What do you think we can do with them?
Can we make something beautiful?
On Friday I was at the Nelson-Atkins Art museum
in Kansas City
and looked at all kinds of art
sculptures, paintings
modern and old
I’m always fascinated by the different visions of art
some of it totally baffles me
but some of it is just amazing
that a human being could create such beauty
I particularly love the marble sculptures
It’s fascinating to me
how someone could take a piece of hard marble
and chisel into something so smooth and beautiful
with ripples of muscles
the creases in toes and toenails
and biceps and thighs
And this being done several hundred years ago
There was a painting by Rembrandt
of a young man
and we were told that if you look closely at his hat
that Rembrandt had made a mistake or simply
changed his mind
and decided to reshape the hat in the painting
in doing so, he simply blended the colors
that were already there
and painted them into a different image
He didn’t wipe off the paint
He used what he had
And that’s ‘like what God is saying to Jeremiah
This is what I will do with my people
I will work on you, my people
I will mold you and shape you into the people
I want you to be’’
But the people weren’t cooperating
They’re thumbing their nose at God
like some rebellious child
‘’Why should we listen to YOU?
We’ll do what we do, we’ll do what we want to do
Whatever the consequences ‘’
And God ached for his people
But he didn’t give up
God doesn’t give up
I don’t believe that there is one solid plan
for each of our lives that is mapped out at birth
so that if we mess up, get off the path
or get lost somewhere along the way
then the whole plan is messed up, scratched
useless
God has a plan for all of us
but God doesn’t control us like a bunch of robots
God gave us the gift of freedom
and by doing that, made more trouble for himself
But God included in his blueprints
a crazy, unheard-of gift called GRACE
so that when we messed up
when the world crashes in
when we as nations and communities
decided to kill each other, destroy each other
instead of build the kingdom of God
we’re always given another chance
that we simply don’t deserve
God, like a wise parent,
will let us suffer the consequences of our bad choices
I don’t believe that God blows up buildings
or sends a hurricane or deadly epidemic to destroy
Would you do that to YOUR child?
I believe that some things, like war and terrorism
happen as a result of the choices we make as a people
whether here or over there
Our choices, their choices, affect everyone
And God’s heart is broken again and again
when we choose death over life
I believe God’s heart is broken when we give up
when life gets to be too much
when another obstacle or tragedy or loss
comes crashing down on us
and we choose death over life
we give up
I believe that we are all works of art
created at the hands of our God
our individual lives, our lives as a church
as a country, as a world
So many things threaten to undo us
so many things crush us and wound us
and sometimes deliberately seek to take us down
That’s life in this crazy, sin-sick world
As it was, also, in Jeremiah’s time, and in Jesus’ time
only the details of the same story seem to change
But God says, nonetheless, ‘’you can thumb your nose at me
but I will not give up
you can go your own way, you can seek to control
your own lives, thinking you know better
and I’ll still be here when you come home
God, the Great Creator, the Great Potter
will take the stuff of our lives and reshape us, renew us
remold us, remake us….
The Creative Spirit of God will take those cracked places
and broken places, and smooth them out, making them stronger
than they were before
It ain’t easy being clay
We have to surrender ourselves each and every day
sometimes each and every moment
to the creative, trustworthy hands of God
and say, ok, I get it, I can’t do it, I only mess it up
Take my life, in all its brokenness
in all of its darkness or confusion
and mold it with the baptismal tears of new creation
We can really fly all out of whack when life gets to us
but like the pottery on the wheel,
being shaped by the Master’s hand
we need to stay centered, focused
The potter applies pressure to the clay
steady pressure from opposing directions
all while spinning on the central axis
Sometimes when the pressure is too much on the outside
we simply cave in on the inside
but we have the power to stand strong in the center
to fill our insides with the Spirit of God
So that when the pressures of this world
push on us from the outside,
we can push back with the power of God
with the centered, steady faith and trust
in God’s amazing grace
You may know the legend of the Phoenix bird
The legend of the Phoenix has been around for centuries.
the Phoenix is a supernatural creature,
living for 1000 years
Once that time is over, it builds its own funeral pyre,
and throws itself into the flames.
as it dies, it is reborn anew,
and rises from the ashes
to live another 1000 years.
We are the people of God
We are fashioned out of a clay made by the one
who made all the worlds
we have a power within us, by the Spirit of God
to recreate, renew, and be born again and again
but we can’t do it
We have to let it go, we have to surrender to the one who made us
in the first place
allow ourselves to be remolded, remade
renewed and reshaped daily
at the hands of the Master Potter
We are promised that we will never be left
or forsaken
God will never give up on us, no matter how badly
we get out of whack
But God will simply take the stuff that we’re made of
and continue fashioning all of us into
a gorgeous work of art