Cracked Pots ( Isaiah64: 1-9, 2 Corinthians 4: 1-12) 12/9/12

It’s the second Sunday of Advent. This is the Sunday when we light the candle of Peace. Peace. Wouldn’t that be nice?  Wouldn’t it be nice for the anniversary of the birth of the Christ child to come on a day when the earth is at peace? Not this year. As usual, the Middle East tops the list for volatility, from Iraq to Egypt, from Afghanistan to Syria. But war and unrest are not confined to the Middle East. As I was writing this message, an email came in from my daughter in Africa that the Rwandan-Ugandan border is now unsafe for Americans due to the presence of Congolese rebels, who are using the border of Uganda to attack those in Rwanda thought to be unsympathetic to the rebel cause in Congo. As we approach Christmas, many nations are in turmoil.

 The prophet Jeremiah cried out to the nation of Israel saying “To whom shall I speak and give warning? [6:10], meaning that no one was listening. I am afraid that for much of the world, Jeremiah’s cry would be heard no better today than in days of old. Many in this world would respond as did those within earshot of the prophet. We are deaf. We do not listen. Jeremiah goes on to say that from prophet to priest we have dealt falsely, that we have only healed the people’s wounds lightly, saying “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.” [6: 13, 14], that we are no longer ashamed; that we no longer even know how to blush. [15]

Is it hopeless? Of course not. We live in a world fashioned by God Almighty. The great I Am. Nothing is hopeless where God is concerned, and he is concerned with his people.  In Isaiah 64, Isaiah is tired and he wants God to make his presence known. He calls out for God to part the portals of heaven itself and come down. When God comes down, nations tremble and mountains quake. Yes, Isaiah wanted for God to shake things up.  

And Isaiah says But God, you are our Father. Please look upon us again. Don’t forget us. After all, you made us. You are the potter. It is in your hands that the clay that makes us was fashioned. Don’t be too terribly angry with us, Father. Don’t remember our sins forever. Please, look on your people again.

Ever seen a potter at work? I think it’s fascinating to watch a potter fashioning the clay, wetting it, getting just the right consistency, then plopping that slab of unformed clay right in the middle of the wheel. It’s amazing to watch what can happen to a slab of clay in the hands of an expert.  Incredible works of art burst forth in front of our very eyes as the craftsman turns his wheel and gently works the clay into urns, pots, plates and jars, to name a few creations.

“Don’t be too terribly angry with us, Father. Don’t remember our sins forever.” As the potter works, he realizes his creation is not right. It is missing something. It is not what he envisioned. Ever feel like you try and try, and the more you try, the worse off you are. Ever feel like you have the right angle on what to do and where to go and how you are to live your life, only to be slapped right back to where you started. Maybe it’s just God, the master potter, working and shaping you on his wheel, getting you to just the right consistency, just the right mix.

The potter slaps his hand right into the midst of his creation, and it collapses in a heap. He starts again, this time with a slightly different vision, this time perhaps with a little more color, a little more consistency.  Sometimes, the pot cracks and he has to start all over again. Over and over, the potter works his magic until at last, the finished product lies before him.

The prophets of old labored and labored to get the people of Israel on the right track. They labored before, during and after the exile, trying to bring God’s chosen into line with God’s vision. Seven hundred years passed from the time of Isaiah while the nation of Israel floundered. Seven hundred years passed as the Master Potter turned his wheel. And Isaiah reminded his people that “no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.”

Seven hundred years after Isaiah, a light shone over a manger in a little town in Judea. God had heard Isaiah’s plea and had come down. Nations did not tremble and mountains did not quake as Isaiah had forecast, as least not right away. The Master Potter had found another way to make his creation sing the song of peace that mankind had yearned for. Don’t you know Isaiah was watching from a front seat in his heavenly perch as God acted in such a mighty way! The Potter had cast himself onto the wheel. He sent his son as a newborn baby. The next three decades would harden and cure that son Jesus into the vessel from whom all of us should find our model. He would live to be glazed in the shadow of a cruel cross, but even that was meant for good.

In the New Testament, Paul echoes Isaiah’s thought. Paul tells the Corinthians that God has shone in our hearts, giving us the light of the knowledge of his glory. How does he do that, we ask? Paul says that God brings light from the darkness in the face of Jesus Christ. And there lies the peace that Advent promises us. God does act for those who wait for him.

Is there hope for us? Certainly. Is there peace in our future? Absolutely! We too are the work of the master potter. Paul reminds us that though we are no more than jars of clay ourselves to be thrown about, cracked and splintered, nevertheless we are God’s treasures. Paul reminds us that we are afflicted, but not crushed, perplexed but not to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed. As our bodies and minds are worked and re-worked, we become a new creation.  Where once we were cracked pots of no use or value, now we become treasures of the Master. Our lives are fashioned in the hands of the potter, and in the end we are hardened for service and glazed for immortality in the light of the star over Bethlehem.

Peace will come. It will not come through the opening of presents or even through the purchase of them for loved ones, as nice as that is. It will not come through the lighting of the Yule log or the arrival of children home for the holidays, as warm as that promises to be.  Peace will come for those who understand the meaning of that star over Bethlehem. It will come through the Christ child sent from God.  In fact, for those who stand in that light that shines out of the darkness, the face of Jesus becomes our peace. Christ is coming, and in that coming lies the peace promised by Advent.

Claim it. Claim it for yourself this day and give it to your neighbor. The more you give it away, the more will it be finally captured in your heart, and present in your life.