Proverbs 16: 9; Jeremiah 18: 1-6
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
November 18, 2018
The human mind plans the way,but the Lord directs the steps. - Proverbs 16"9
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. - Jeremiah 18: 1-6
In Jerimiah’s time God’s people were divided into two kingdoms; the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah. Jerusalem was the capitol of the Southern kingdom.
In those days Judah had previously been under Assyrian rule. As the Assyrian strong arm crumbled, Babylon conquered much of the Near East, including Judah and Jerusalem. Twice Judah tried to revolt against Babylon but they failed. Judah’s failures were in part due to their disobedience to God. As a result, “Jeremiah preached both repentance by returning to their ancestral faith and complying with the Babylonians as a sole means of avoiding national destruction.”[1]
The prophet knew the emotional and spiritual lows that failure and flaws bring. Jeremiah’s words speak a word of hope to God’s people. And so to help the people breathe that hope in and really see God’s vision for it, Jeremiah took God’s people on a field trip in their community.
Along the streets, there were several potters creating clay vessels for everyday living. Have you ever watched a potter at work? The hands of a potter are closely in tune with the clay. They quickly become aware of the flaws and failures of the clay.
And the potter’s hands move with slow and gentle precision for the clay to take the shape of their artistic vision. So with water, patience, and creativity the potter reworks the clay until it seems good to him or her.
Jeremiah wanted God’s people to see with their own eyes that God works just like that potter in our lives. And for God’s people who felt that flaws and failure had gotten the best of them, they could trust that God would rework the lives of the people to be shaped by God’s creative glory and grace.
At the beginning of Creation, God’s hands worked the clay of the earth to fashion humankind (Genesis 2:7). God created us good and breathed life into us so that humankind might be God’s treasure. Even when sin entered the world and left us spoiled in the Creator’s hand, God added the living water of Jesus Christ and embraced us with the gift of Holy Spirit to reshape us and raise us up into the hope of newly resurrected life.
And just like the potter down the street in the community, our Creator God marvels at reshaping our flaws and failures to serve God’s purposes.
Stan Lee had a unique gift of marveling at human flaws and failure. His gift was in part connected to his own sense of flaws and failure. Once upon a time Stan Lee had worked twenty years as a writer and editor for Timely Comics (later named Marvel Comics). He became very frustrated that comics were perceived as a failed art. Stan wanted the work of comics to inspire others and to be the air we breathe as it was for himself and fellow artists.
On one particularly low day, Stan was about to walk into his boss’s office and quit the industry all together. But his wife gave him a marvelous idea. She encouraged Stan to get back in touch with his passion to create, write, inspire, and entertain.
And Stan did just that; “he put the human in superhuman and started to give his heroes a flawed quality - something to make them more relatable to us mere mortals.”[2]
The Fantastic Four was born and their human personalities and flaws leaped off the page before they leaped into superhero action. Stan Lee commented saying, "They were the kind of team I had been longing to write about," Lee said. "Heroes who were less than perfect. Heroes who didn't always get along with each other, but heroes who could be counted on when the chips were down."[3]
Stan Lee became a master creator of using the flaws and failures of imaginary heroes to inspire us to embrace our very imperfect lives.
He empowered us to marvel over the truth that there is something beautiful about our imperfections when we allow our humanity to shine through. Stan was intentional to intersect comics with the brokenness of the world to weave a narrative of hope, justice, and equality for all.
He illustrated there is something greater at work in us that allows us to rise above our weakest moments and make the world a better place together.
God invites us to co-create a universe that glorify God!
It has a jaded history of being used as a drug house. In broad daylight drug dealers would make their trades. Slum lords seemed to have the upper hand bringing fear and oppression to the good people of Brooklyn Avenue.
Resurrection Life Ministries began a neighborhood prayer walk. On those walks they talked to neighbors and shared about praying for God to transform the neighborhood. And then God created an opportunity for the church to buy the Blue House.
Promise Neighborhood is bringing the community together once a month to clean, update, and paint the blue house, pick up trash along the streets, and create a reading park nearby for children.
As we worked on the reading park site and later picked up trash, we had the opportunity to see God is reshaping the flaws and failures to claim Brooklyn Avenue in God’s glory, hope, and new life. When the remodel of the Blue House is complete it will be a house of hope to benefit the neighbors, who need help.
I am amazed by what our mighty God can do through human flaws and failure. And I marvel at the truth that God needs our hands to work with God to reshape the brokenness of our community and world as it pleases God.
What is not going right in your life? What flaws or failure are taking hold of you? You might feel like throwing your hands up and saying, “I’m done.” But today the word of Jeremiah comes to us and promises you and me something amazing…. God marvels at our flaws and failures!
We are not just spinning around and around alone. The truth is this – when you are feeling flaws and failure holding you down, just remember that God is holding you and your flaws and failure too.
God will never let go of your life. The marvel of it all is that in these moments God is creating an opportunity for the flaws and failure of humanity to shine through. God does his best work through our brokenness. The cross of Jesus Christ claims us in this good news of redemption to raise us to new life.
But it does not stop there. It is not just about you or just about me being reshaped. God invites us to join the Lord in reshaping the world one day at a time.
This week make sure you go to the Potter’s house. Trust God is upholding you in the mess of life. And pray for our Creator to reveal how he is reshaping your life and this weary world by the Lord’s marvelous glory, hope, and grace.
In the name of our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
[1] The Harper Collins Study Bible, (San Francisco: HarperOne, 1989), p. 999 Introduction to Jeremiah.
[2] Taylor-Dior Rumble, “How Stan Lee’s Heroes Helped Change the World,” BBC News, November 13, 2018.
[3] Michael Cavna, “Two Viral Cartoons Capture How We All Feel About Stan Lee,” The Washington Post, November 13, 2018.
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