Re-Formation

The image of the potter's wheel appeals to me - Jeremiah 18 uses this image when talking about the re-formation of Israel. The pot comes off the wheel marred and had to be reworked.So Israel will be reworked in God's hands.

As anyone who know about clay knows re-working a flawed piece is not a simple matter of squishing it into a ball and starting again - by doing this the clay will just hold on to the problems it had in the first place - it is a more radical process of breaking the clay down and re-forming it into almost new clay - it is the same dirt but to re-ordered and reformed into something useable.

In our Churches we often speak of education as if our Christian life after Sunday School consists of trying to grapple with the liturgy week in week out and pouring on layers of a knowledgeable lacquer. Somehow we miss out of the process of taking this clay that we are and molding it and forming it into something in God's hands. We are surprised when that formation takes the shape of a breaking down in order to make us into new vessels for His service.

Perhaps if we understood our journey more fully as a process of subtraction as well as addition we would find it less cumbersome. To take away from ourselves we have to establish who we are in the first place and this is very much more difficult than simply piling endless bits and pieces onto a never ending resume of churchiness and psuedo-piety.

If I sound a little edgy it is because I am. It is because we have been hijacked by a liberal, make it sound nice, everyone is OK mentality which actually diminished both common sense and out humanity. We are not alright - a fool can see that we are not alright but yet we decry the voice of prophecy as "out of place" or "not the way we do things".

The voice of prophecy has to be the way to do things because the voice of prophecy is the voice of formation not education. The voice of prophecy does not seek to layer ideas and facts on our lives but it seeks to reach right into our lives and re-form us from the inside out. That is why it is a challenge - that is why it is often unwelcome.

But we have to recover, we have to recover as a Church. We have to recover a voice which acknowledges the depth of humanity and the height of human achievement and allow God to be big enough to wrap God's arms around them all.

We have the choice - to allow the hands of the Master Potter to reform our clay - reform does not mean change and alter - re-form means to make us yet more perfect.

Often potters do not bother to reclaim flawed clay - it is cumbersome and time-consuming - it is easier just to throw the piece out or keep it as scrap or anchors and start with a fresh piece. That is not what God is offering us - but what we take depends upon how we choose to see ourselves - as those in need of human education or divine re-formation.