Prayer 313

Let us sit in the presence of God, the source and root of all our being. 

Let us sing praises to the Light of Christ, who calls us into fellowship with one another and sustains us in all our journeys. Let us be lifted by the Spirit of God our Savior, who fills us with wisdom and joy. Let us fasten upon the Word of God, and place ourselves under the sway of Love that never ends. Let us give thanks for the mercy and forgiveness of God, and seek to go and do likewise. 

We bring our intercessions before You, O Loving One, and raise up the needs of those whose cry is to You.

Amen.

Prayer 312

O God, make my heart your dwelling-place, for You are my companion and my guide along the way. 

We rise with your praise upon our lips, for the Lord has been good to us indeed. You have called to us in trouble and in plenty; let us always sing out your untold blessings. You are our All-in-All, O Merciful One, and we give You thanks for all YOU have given us. God hovers over us and covers us with the hand of favor: all that I am I offer to God. God's comfort rests like a cooling breeze upon those who call upon their Redeemer, and we offer hymns of praise and thanksgiving. 

Watch over those for whom we pray, O God, and grant them rest.

Amen.

Prayer 311

O God, look with favor upon your servants today. 

Let us turn our hearts toward those who, in the midst of plenty, are in want in body or soul. Let us hunger for justice and redemption as much as we hunger for food. Let us remember how love has blessed us in our lives, and let go of discontent and rancor. Help us to stop building a mountain of our resentments, and dwell instead within the mansion of our blessings. Give your protection to those who are in danger from the cold this day, and let us work to give them shelter as our own. 

Comfort those whose needs we bring before You.

Amen.

Prayer 310

O Love Above All Loves, I know You are always with me: let me walk beside You this day. 

Let me place my hand in yours and remember that You are my shelter, my shepherd, and my strength. Let me not just worship you but learn from You, and be a true disciple of Christ. Let me practice true compassion in word and deed, and encourage others who seek their way. Let me remember the grace You have given me, and forgive as much as I have been forgiven. Let me put down the grudges I have clung to, and instead bear the love of Christ into the world as my raiment. 

Look with favor upon those for whom we pray, and lift up their needs before You.

Amen.

Prayer 309

O Lord, You are our God, and we put all our trust in You. 

Bless us and keep us as we begin this week. Watch over those who travel, that they may safely arrive to the hearths of loved ones. Help us to be truly thankful for all we have received. Help us not to allow small things to make us forget the blessings we have been given by those in our lives. Help us to remember and open our hearts to those in need at this time and give generously that we all may be blessed. 

Hear the prayers of your people, O Light of Life, as we pray for these beloveds.

Amen.

Prayer 278 (Inspired by Psalm 65)

We lift up our praise to You, O God, whose mercy is never-failing! 

We thank You for not just forgiving us for our manifold faults, but blessing us abundantly. You protect us like a mother bird hovers over her chicks; your wings spread over us to shield us and protect us from harm. You have placed us in a land You have made to bloom; our hills and fields are cloaked with fruit and grain. You have blessed us beyond imagining, and we raise hymns of praise as we proclaim our awe. You make our desert hearts to blossom: let us respond in kind to each other. 

Knowing You are always with us and dazzled by your Love, we ask that You look with favor on these, your servants today, as we place our prayers and concerns before You.

Amen.

Prayer 308

You are our song, O God; you make our hearts glad as we enter your sanctuary. 

Make us a holy people, consecrated and dedicated and determined to glorify your Name. Breathe on us, O Breath of God: fill us with your Spirit, and propel us into those places which most need the light of Christ. In your great mercy forgive us all our offenses, against both You and our brothers and sisters. May we open our hearts so that Christ may reign in them always. 

Rest your hand upon all those whom we now name.


Amen.

Prayer 307 (For Day 2 of Diocesan Convention)

O Lord, You are the source of life and light: You have made the sea and the dry land and all that dwells there. 

We thank You for all Your manifold kindnesses: let us seek to do Your will in all we do.
You have called us to be disciples: let us seek and serve Your wisdom, not that of the world.
You have given us a mission to love one another: let all our actions promote the love of God to the world.
You have given us resources and talents: let us not bury them but use them to proclaim Your salvation to the world.
Look with favor upon your people, as they work and as they pray and seek to open their hearts to You, Loving One. 

Give wisdom to those in authority, comfort to the weary, and protection to the traveller. Hear our petitions as we place them before You.

Amen.

Day 306 (For Day 1 of Diocesan Convention)

We thank You, Loving One, for the gifts You have given us in your generosity and everlasting love for us.

For the blessing of this new day, that we use it to the glory and worship of your Name, we thank You, O God.
For the blessing of our talents and abilities, for we all can do something in service of You, we thank You, O God.
For the blessing of friends and loved ones, and for those we will meet today to see your face before us, we thank You, O God.
We lay our prayers and petitions before your altar, O Loving One, for You uphold us always.
Grant us the wisdom to seek your will, not ours, in all we do.
Grant us the will to fight for the weak, the outcast, the poor, and the lowly.
Let us seek always to hear the better angels of our nature & fulfill your command to establish justice and peace.
 
Grant us the strength to meet our challenges and trials with grace and perseverance, especially for these we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 305

O God, You are our refuge and our rock: we put our trust in You. 

Help us to work together in harmony in the work You have given us, and let our deeds bring honor to Your name. Let us make your Word and commandments our sure foundation, and seek always to forgive rather than condemn. Let us remember the generous love You have given us, and uphold each other in our trials. Break the chains of fear and enmity we carry, and help us lift up the banner of love and compassion. 

Extend the shelter of your mercy over those for whom we pray this day.

Amen.

Prayer 304

Teach us your ways, O God, that we may follow them all the days of our lives. 

Help us to walk humbly before You and before our fellow-travelers upon this earth, as your Son walked among us as a beggar. Let us earnestly seek the pardon of those who have wronged, and open our hearts to those in need. Let us combine justice and mercy in our actions, and be more quick to love than to condemn. Let us see the face of Christ in all who call out to us, that all be drawn together in the communion of heaven. 

Hear the prayers of those whose hope is not in our own worthiness but in You alone, and your Love.

Amen.

Prayer 303

Merciful God, we thank you for this new day you have given us! 

Without your guidance we are like clouds that provide neither shade nor rain, adrift and without purpose. Make us a blessing to those we meet today: let us enact justice and give generously of ourselves. Let us reach out in compassion to those who suffer, and dry the tear of those in fear or anxiety. Let us be a balm to those who are afflicted in body or soul, and be patient guides to those who seek your ways. 

Hear the prayers of your people, O God, and attend to those whose cry is to You.

Amen.

Prayer 302

Almighty God, we praise You and we bless You. 

Drive away the trials of the night, O God, and let us face the new day with a prayer on our lips. Give us the insight to do what we are called to, that our works are a testimony to your Name. Make us disciples of your Word and willing workers in your vineyard. Give your angels charge over those who are struggling, and gather those we now name under the shadow of your wing.

Amen.

Prayer 301

Lead us into your holy places, O Great Jehovah! 

Gather us together as your people to sing your praises! Let us lift up our hands in praise and offering, raising up our hearts that our souls may be filled with the power of your Love! Send us forth to do your will, that peace and justice flourish in a thirsty land. Let us feed the hungry, tend the sick, comfort the sorrowing, and bring light to those in darkness. Sanctify us through the sacrifice of Christ our savior, and make us a holy people as we sing our thanksgiving for your grace. 

Hear the praises, prayers and supplications of your people, and let your Spirit rest upon those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 300

The Spirit of God calls to the depths of my soul: I rejoice in the presence of God my savior! 

God's love is everlasting, and I seek out the Holy One with all of my being. Let me raise my eyes toward the rising sun and my prayers before your radiance. Let me seek out your ways and treasure your commandments. Guide me, O Lord, in all my steps; your will be done. I thank you for all my blessings; and your comfort in times of trial. Send out your radiance to enlighten the nations, and help us to be your witness in the world. 

Send your angels to attend the needs of those for whom we pray, especially those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 299

O Lord, let our praises ascend as incense; let our prayers enter your presence. 

Let our hearts be a sanctuary, filled with the light of your bountiful Love. Your Name is on our lips, sweeter than honey; your Word is our bread and our meat, strengthening us for our labors. May justice and peace shine forth from our words and works to glorify Your commandments. May your compassion be poured as a balm on those who suffer; for You, O God, know our sorrows, and we lay them before You. 

May your benevolent mercy envelop those whose names we place before You.

Amen.

Prayer 298- For Confidence

God is with us: who then can be against us? Whom should we fear? We thank You, O Blessed Redeemer, for your saving help in times of trouble and anxiety. We remember the times we were sinking and You, O Mighty One, embraced and preserved us, even as our will was failing and our hope dimmed. Let us never forget that You have claimed us as Your Own, just as a mother can never forget her children. Let us draw strength from the certainty of Your steadfast Love to then reach out to others in Your Name. You hear the smallest sigh from the depths of our being, O Lord: we are confident of your love despite our many faults. Extend the light of your everlasting mercy upon those for whom we now pray.
Amen.

Prayer 297

Almighty God, guide us through this day that you have generously given us. 

Help us to seek out your Wisdom, that we may act with justice, clarity, and compassion. Open our hearts to allow your Word to take root, that we may bring glory to your Name. Help us to bring a spirit of reconciliation where there is discord, and let us seek forgiveness of those we have wronged. 

Rest your hand upon those we now name, that they may be strengthened and upheld by your generous love.

Amen.

Prayer 296

Loving God, be a light unto us, to illuminate our hearts and reveal the path we should take;
Lord Jesus, be a guide unto us, that we may make our lives a witness to your good news of salvation and peace;
Holy Spirit, Breath of God, fill us with a faith that burns within us like the heart of the sun.
O God, embrace those who rejoice, be with those who are lost, lift up those who are bowed down, strengthen those who falter.

Amen.

Prayer 295

Almighty God, all that we have comes from your generous hand, and we praise you and bless you for your goodness. 

You are with us always; let us always strive to be with God in all we do. Let us make Your commandments our rule of life: to love You, and love our neighbor as ourselves. Let us go rejoicing into the world, glorifying Your Name by what we do. Let us cling to You, O Loving One, and never forget that You have called us to be Your own. 

We ask that your Spirit rest upon those for whom we pray this day.

Amen.

Prayer 294

We gather to worship the Source of All Being, our Merciful God and Loving Creator. 

Let us raise our voices in song and praise, for the Almighty has done great things for us and abides with us always. We offer to You our time, talents, and wealth, O God, for all things come from You. Let us clasp hands with friends and family to open our hearts to your Word and sacraments. Let us go forth in thanksgiving, strengthened and energized to do your work in steadfastness and joy! 

Guide us and guard us, O God, and give your angels watch over those for whom we pray this day.

Amen.

Prayer 293

Great is our God, and greatly to be praised: 
God's mercy is everlasting! 

You welcome us into Your embrace, O God, 
and there we take our rest and find new strength.

You number the stars and comfort our sorrows,
knowing us all by name.

You teach the sparrow its song and fill our hearts with thanksgiving;
all creation sings its praise of Your goodness.

Let us abide with You in this moment, O Loving One:
Your love envelops us now and forever.

Amen.

Yosemite Valley

Prayer 292

We praise You, O God, for Your blessings are without number. 

We thank You for your protection through the night, that we might rise and witness this glorious day. 

We thank You for the beauty of creation: that we remember we do not own it but are charged to protect it. 

We thank You for communities of family and friends who support us: we may reach out to those who are alone or vulnerable. 

We thank You for your boundless grace and forgiveness: may we forgive those who have wronged us, so that we may praise You with open hearts. 

O God, You are with us always: pour out the balm of Your love on those for whom we pray today.

Amen.

Prayer 291

Place your hands upon us, O God, as we kneel before You; fill us as vessels of God, who is our strength and our protector. Imbue us with Your Spirit, and mark us with Your grace. 

Bless us as we make our way through the joys and obstacles of life day by day and hour by hour. Lift us up so that we may perceive the horizon of hope beyond the obstacles we magnify through our shortsightedness. 

Consecrate us to be a prayerful people who seek to renew our covenant of love with You and each other through faith. Ordain us to do our work as testimony to Your great goodness; inspire us and guide us, that Your song is sung out to all people with joy and thanksgiving. 

Give your healing and reviving touch to those whose needs we place at the gate of Your altar, especially those we now name.

Altar of repose, Chapel

Prayer 290

Loving God, You call us into fellowship with one another throughout Scripture as a vision of Your heavenly kingdom. 

Draw together your children to be a people united by Love of You and each other, no matter what Name they call You by. Help us nurture the seeds of compassion in our hearts. Grant that we embrace our common humanity and see Christ in each person we encounter, in their joys, sorrows, poverty, and anxieties. Give us the will to work for each other and stand by each other, knit together as one family before You. 

Extend your blessing and comfort over those whose needs we lift up before You.

Amen.

Prayer 289

Almighty God, as dawn drives away the shadows of night, your bountiful mercies are revealed to us, and we give You thanks. 

Your faithfulness, O God, is like a fresh-flowing stream: You are with us in anxiety and in joy. We know that You abide with us: let us remember to abide with You, and never wander far from your side. You are our faithful Friend who loves us without limit: may the light of your Love inspire the best in us. 

Bring the radiance of your compassion to bear on those whose concerns we lift before You.

Amen.

Prayer 288

Loving God, we take our rest in your embrace, grateful for all your many blessings. 

Our hearts are firmly fixed upon your promises of mercy and our trust in your loving-kindness. We pledge to give to You the best of ourselves today, O God, to make ourselves a credit to your Name. Fan the embers of our hearts into a flame of justice and compassion, O Breath of God: inspire us to love each other as ourselves. 

Dispatch your angels to abide with those for whom we pray today.

Amen.

Prayer 287

Gracious God, we offer to You from what You have already given us. 

You have given us discerning minds: let us use them to seek your wisdom. You have given us free will: let us use it to fulfill your commandments. You have given us seeking hearts: let us use them to see God in every one, and everyone. You have given us talent and skill: let us use them to do your will, build your kingdom, and glorify your Name. Almighty God, we offer You our treasure, our time, and our obedience as a holy oblation in response to Your generous Love. 

Spread the shade of your mercy over those for whom we pray today.

Amen.

Prayer 286 (Lord's prayer cycle)

Our Father in heaven, yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory! 

We lift up our praises and thanksgivings for your dominion, as it is and as it shall be. At your command all things are, and the rising sun reveals the glory of your creation and majesty. May you reign in our hearts, and may we glorify your Name as your people. Let us set our hands to build your kingdom on earth by living according your to commands, establishing justice, and loving always. 

Hear our prayers and supplications that we raise before You, especially for those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 285 (Lord's Prayer cycle)

Our Father in heaven, save us from the time of trial, for we are prone to wander and lose our way. 

Make us stronger in our faith and more willing to wrestle with the angel of doubt. Guide us into living and loving more fully according to your precepts. Help us turn aside all vain ambitions and concentrate fully upon your Word. Give us courage to make our hearts bigger, even if that makes them bigger targets, for love is always the answer. Help us to persevere through the difficulties of life, knowing that You are always with us. Give us the sight to see hope amid darkness. 

O Loving One, hear our prayers and grant your benediction and grace to those whose needs we now raise before You.

Amen.

Prayer 284 (Lord's Prayer Cycle)

Our Father in heaven, we are called to forgive others as much as You forgive us. 

Help us let go of anger and resentment when we have been wronged, and nurture understanding in place of feeding the weeds of rage. Help us to understand that all are wounded and in need of healing, including ourselves. Help us to lower our defenses and not impugn the motives of those we love, and remember they love us. Help us to judge only as harshly as we ourselves wish to be judged, and no more. For You are our loving God, and You forgive us repeatedly when we fail You. Teach us that in bearing grudges we grip a weight that will sink us, and when harboring anger we risk loss in a sea of recrimination. 

Let us embrace those who seek our pardon, and repair mutual injury with the balm of Love that never fails. O Loving One, hear our prayers and grant your benediction and grace to those whose needs we now raise before You.

Amen.

Prayer 283 (Lord's Prayer Cycle)

Our Father in heaven, we thank You for your forgiveness of our manifold sins. Again and again You call to us when we have wandered from your ways, and stubbornly separate ourselves from your Love. We repent of the evil we have done, and the evil that is done on our behalf, and the very real hurt we have caused.

Forgive us when we place our selves as an idol in the sanctuary of our hearts, which should be dedicated to worship of You alone, O Redeemer.

Help us to acknowledge the sins done because we do not try to prevent them, and arouse in us the will to take action.

Teach us that the root of righteousness and salvation is found in fully opening our hearts to each other and to You.

Help us clothe ourselves and our motives in charity and obedience, O Christ. Help us direct our wills to the establishment of justice and peace.

Come into our hearts, O Spirit, and guide us in matters great and small, for your Love heals all our woundedness.

O Loving One, hear our prayers and grant your benediction and grace to those whose needs we now raise before You.

Amen.

Prayer 282 (Lord's Prayer Cycle)

Our Father in heaven, we ask that you give us our daily bread. 

Help us to remember and help those who are hungry each time we ourselves give thanks at table. Bless the farmers with a bountiful harvest and for their love and care of the earth. Grant that all who produce our food do so safely, sustainably and humanely. You sustain us with abundant grace: make us hunger for that bread that gives eternal life. Bring us together at your table for that heavenly banquet which unites all in your kingdom. May we be strengthened and renewed in communion with You and each other and inspired to spread your Love into the world. 

Watch over those whose needs we now remember.

Amen.

Prayer 281 (Lord's Prayer Cycle)

Our Father in heaven, we pray that your kingdom come on earth as in heaven. 

Reign over us, Almighty God, that we may live our lives in service to You and to each other. Let us always remember that You are God, and we are not. Let us be dedicated to doing your will by being a holy people founded upon mercy and fellowship. Let us demand justice and equity of ourselves and of our leaders. 

Watch over those whose needs we now remember, especiallythose we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 280 (Lord's Prayer Cycle)

Our Father in heaven, we pray that your name be made holy: let what we do hallow your Name, for it is through our actions that You are made known. 

Let the words of our mouths enlighten darkness, dispel enmity, and heal ancient wounds. Let us act honorably and compassionately toward the least in our society, that all may live together in justice and peace. Let us remember that your Love is a sacred calling, and as your people we minister in Your Name in everything we do. Grant us the strength to be gentle and the wisdom to be foolish in the name of Love. 

Watch over those whose needs we now remember, especially those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 279

Our hopes rise with the sun, O God: let us dwell in your sight forever. We thank You for the gift of your creation: let us treat all living things with care and respect. Make us like little children, to see this world with eyes of wonder at the glorious works of your hands. Help us to see ourselves as part of your creation, whose beauty sings a song of your Love to us. Help us walk gently with each other, spreading compassion in every step. Look with favor on those whose needs we raise before You today

Prayer 265 (Inspired by Psalm 131)

(Inspired by Psalm 131)
O God, we come before You, 

humble in heart, 

rejoicing in your manifold mercies. 

Let us not puff ourselves up with pride, 

for we seek to be worthy of your Name. 

Let us still our souls to rest upon You, 

as a small child turns into the arms of her mother, 

resting upon her breast. 

Let us fasten upon this simple Truth: 

that You are our God, 

the root of all we are and all we do. 

Let us center our determination 

upon honoring your Word in our lives, 

for we depend solely upon You 

for wisdom and truth. 

Knit us together in love and brotherhood, 

united in purpose to serve You 

through each other. 

Refresh the souls of the weary, Lord Christ, 

and give your peace to those we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 278

Glory to You, Loving One, glory to You: we rise to sing your praise.

All things come into being at your Word: let all I do and all I am be inspired by You.
You have molded all creation to work in harmony: let our love and obedience be a witness in the world.
You abide with us in faithfulness even when we falter: may we seek you always in our need.
You hold all our times in your hand: be with those who laugh and those who weep.


May your Spirit rest upon those whose needs are known to You alone, and those whom we now name.

Amen.

Prayer 246

 

Merciful God, let me arise each day with your praise on my lips and your song in my heart. Let each beat of my pulse echo with gratitude for your manifold blessings You have placed at my feet. Let me remain steadfast on your path of love and kindness to each being within your creation, and walk with justice. Let me take up the cause of the poor, the outcast, the broken-hearted; let me be a warrior for peace. Sing out praise and honor to the Holy One, and join hands that all division may cease. Remember now, O Loving One, the prayers and petitions of your children, especially those we now name. Amen.

Prayer 245

Loving One, we hunger for your presence, and praise You for your constancy. Let us walk faithfully in the path You have shown us through your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Send your Spirit among us as a mighty wind to propel us across the seas of our troubles. Regard not our weaknesses but our desire to draw closer to You; forgive us for failing to see your goodness in others. Let us knit ourselves together in gentleness and kindness; hasten your kingdom within us. Lord, we lay our cares and concerns at your feet: send your peace to those whom we now name, especially those we now name. Amen.

Prayer 244

 

On the beach in Barbados

Draw near, O God, and hear our praises and prayers. Our faith in You is never shaken: Your Love endures forever. Let your mercy roll down like waters, a healing stream for those oppressed by anxiety. Your compassion rises for all those who cry out to you: You know our joys and our pain. Give us the will to act for the good of our brothers and sisters, obeying your commandment to love each other. Let us be your hands in the world, Loving One, that all may praise your Name. Watch over those who work, or watch or weep this day, those in joy or those who struggle, especially those we now name. Amen.

Prayer 243

Photo from the Hubble Space Telescope

O Loving, Abundant God, in You we find both rest and strength. All creation sings its praise to You, for your Love burns brighter than a billion suns. You are our ever-present Help in times of trouble; You are our Companion and Friend in times of joy. Your compassion and mercy are a stream that pours out crystal waters that soothes the fevers and cares of our lives. At this moment, let us be still and rest in You, grounded in your beauty. With each breath, let us breathe in strength, and breathe out love. Here, O Lord, are all our burdens and concerns that we place before You, including these concerns. Amen.

Shaped, Loved, and Reconciled: Sermon for Proper 18, Year C

 

Shaped, Loved, and Reconciled

Sermon for the 16^th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 18, Year C

Leslie Scoopmire

September 8, 2013

Texts: Jeremiah 18:1-11, Psalm 139

If you are a gardener in St. Louis, you know clay as your enemy, the bane of your garden’s existence—hard as stone after a baking Missouri summer; slick as ice, turning that hill in your backyard into a firehose in the rain. In scripture, clay is often used as a symbol. When we find out a hero has fallen into some sort of temptation, we say that we found out that he has “feet of clay,”—an expression from the Book of Daniel. Compared to gold, bronze, steel, or iron, clay is common, cheap, easily shattered. It is no surprise that we human beings are often compared to clay, as we see in our passage from Jeremiah. Jeremiah is sent to watch a potter at work. The clay symbolizes the people of Judah. God is the potter. And Judah is in danger of being destroyed by God for not trusting God to lead and mold them.

But remember that the Book of Jeremiah was written in a time of intense crisis for the people of Judah. So, being a history teacher, let me explain a little history here. Judah was a tiny people surrounded by hostile empires—Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, and Persia, and later on there is going to be Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire. Judah suffers from oppression, droughts, and warfare. The only thing they have going for them is that they are God’s chosen people. The people of Judah believe that they live under a covenant with God. Yet sometimes, terrible things happen. And the Book of Jeremiah is written right after what was undoubtedly the worst event in Judah’s history to that point. In 587 BC, the Babylonians swept in, crushed Jerusalem, carried off its priests and its ruling class, and destroyed the Temple.

How does Jeremiah explain this? God expects faithfulness from Judah and obedience. When Judah scorned God, God allowed its destruction as punishment. Therefore, the only way to escape further punishment is to return to God. Then perhaps God will forgive and rebuild, and restore the special relationship of blessing to the people of Judah. It’s a simple matter of justice, and fits so well with the idea of God’s incredible power.

Lots of faithful people throughout history have read these stories and believed that they’ve now got a grasp on how God works. It’s neat. It’s simple. They then transfer these same ideas to explaining how God works with individuals. It’s a simple calculus: 1. God punishes wrongdoing with tragedy and suffering; 2. We are suffering; 3. Therefore, God must be punishing us for something we have done, and we need to repent so that the suffering will stop. It certainly seems to make sense! When we are really honest with ourselves, we admit that we often are filled with mean, selfish, sinful impulses. We understand that tendency every time something bad happens, and our first thought is straight out of a country song: Why me Lord? What have I ever done to deserve this?

Now, there are some in our society today who look at texts like the one we have in Jeremiah, and see a warning about God’s judgment upon us as a people. You know the kind—the kind who peer out at us through our television screens and claim that airplanes filled flown by madmen into skyscrapers are a direct punishment from God. The kind who picket funerals and claim that God is allowing people to die because God hates us due to our sins.

Yet many of us--I HOPE many of us!-- hear these kinds of claims, and realize that they just do not match up with the loving, generous, merciful God in which we believe. They want to interpret scriptures like this as bad news about punishment rather than good news about forgiveness and redemption.

If we just look at the threats at the end of our reading from Jeremiah, we ignore another huge truth, one that all too often gets forgotten by those who talk about God’s judgment and punishment. Here it is: God also loves Judah and forgives Judah, over and over again. God sends prophets to Judah over and over again to convince them to return! Jeremiah uses these vivid images, but then says that it doesn’t have to happen. God’s will is not set in stone. If those who claim to love God follow three steps, all will be well: to confront the truth of their sin, and then to reconcile with God, a new Israel will be established with a foundation of peace.

Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann states that what makes Jeremiah different in the Old Testament is the depiction of God as constantly approaching Judah, demanding reconciliation. We get so focused on the punishment part, we forget about the grace part. God sends the prophets to point out the truth of the sin, and call on Judah to acknowledge that truth. But then God calls again and again to the lost. And again and again and again.

But we are not Judah. How do we take the ideas in our readings today and use them as individuals, to shape our relationship with God, and even with each other? How do we take anything from this, given that we are live in a different time and culture? Because we have to take a big step back, here, and remember that we are also people who have been shaped and moved by our understanding of God through the revelation of Jesus Christ. Nonetheless, there is still truth for us in this text. So let’s return to the idea of the potter and the clay.

We take great pride in the fact that we are modern people. In the centuries since Jeremiah was written, we have acquired great knowledge about science, medicine, and technology. We explain human behavior through relatively new fields, like psychology. And for some people, that is enough. They think they’ve got it all figured out, and that we human beings are in charge. Yet the idea that we, like clay, are molded and shaped through life is something that we can still agree upon.

There are many influences that shape us throughout our lives. Yet, one crucial difference remains that separates us from clay. Clay has no voice in choosing who will shape it. It is true that, while we are children, we are most profoundly influenced by our families, and we have very little choice in the matter. As we grow older, however, we begin to push away from our families, and begin to allow ourselves to be shaped by friends and heroes that we admire and mimic, but we have choice in who those people are. Then, when we are adults, we like to trumpet our individualism and independence, imagining that we ourselves are in charge of the people we have become—that we, all by ourselves have shaped ourselves. You know, we love that phrase: “He is a self-made man!”

Yet we know that’s not really true. We are also shaped by others. It is good for us every now and then to remind ourselves of how we are similar to clay. If we do not allow ourselves to be molded by skillful hands, we will never be useful. And indeed, every person who has passed through our lives has a role in shaping the person each of us have become. Sometimes, we are shaped lovingly, kindly, and we become better, stronger, more beautiful. Sometimes, we fall into harsher hands, hands that attempt to squeeze us too tightly, or press upon us too hard, and we have trouble maintaining our balance as we limp away, misshapen, listing to one side.

Some people spend a huge chunk of their lives trying to make up for the injuries inflicted upon them by some of those influences in their lives. Some of us have lived through episodes in our childhoods that haunt us and have threatened to crush us—the shouts of our mothers and fathers that arose in the night and awakened us from childhood sleep night after night, or alcoholic rages that break the dishes. Hands that have touched us in anger, seeking to break us rather than shape us. Hands that have attempted to shape us for their own ends, who have used us and then discarded us.

If we try to heal the scars inflicted upon us, we often do not know where to begin. Sometimes, people who have experienced these kinds of events collapse, much like a misshapen pot upon the wheel. But countless others recover from their lives and move on. How can this be so? Maybe they had a good therapist, or a good doctor. Can’t we heal ourselves? Can’t we look within our own human resources to remake ourselves? Isn’t that what our society celebrates most?

Maybe. Maybe that works for some people. But there’s a reason why we are sitting here in these pews today. Perhaps some of us have tried to heal ourselves, and it hasn’t quite worked. Perhaps we’ve tried to heal ourselves with alcohol or drugs or food, or with bad relationships we thought would support us and make us whole. Maybe we’ve tried to heal ourselves by trying to acquire things until that’s all we hope to see instead of the emptiness within us. There are a lot of us who have tried everything, and yet we still feel misshapen. We are hurting, and sometimes we then hurt others. Sometimes we’ve been those harsh hands in someone else’s life. We’re ALL still searching.

Or some of us may be sitting in these pews today because we have experienced an overwhelming reshaping. Some of us have experienced a profound sense of release, a profound reconciliation, a profound sense of peace—the kind of peace that comes from being in the presence of a love that is so amazing that we are reshaped, and are never the same again. A love that leads us through the truth of our brokenness, through reconciliation with ourselves or those we have hurt, to a peace which not only passes all understanding but enables us to get through the next trial without being misshapen. A peace that comes to us through a God that reaches out to us, again and again, constantly trying to work us and shape us on that wheel, if only we will allow it.

There it is in our psalm today. God has known us and shaped us, the psalmist writes, from before the very beginning of our existence. God knows us and treasures us so much that God knows our thoughts and actions—and loves us anyway. That is the power of love and reconciliation that leads to peace! And it’s a power our world needs more than ever today.

To talk about a God who is waiting to crush us is to show that we do not understand God’s message at all. It just doesn’t fit with the God we have experienced in dark moments in our lives—a God of incredible power, yes, but the power to support us with limitless love, a God whose faith in US forgives us for our sins and foolishness and lack of faith over and over again. The problem with using verses like these to attempt to frighten us into some sort of rigid behavior is that it ignores the overriding thrust of the truth that God has revealed to us over and over again: that God reaches out to us repeatedly, and loves us unconditionally, even when we go our own blind way. God understands our weaknesses and through the gift of unlimited grace calls us again and again to reconcile with God and with each other, to allow ourselves to be shaped, to acknowledge that God can transform and sustain us even in our darkest moments because God made each of us, whether saint or sinner, cares for us, and loves us for all eternity. And that’s actually right there in the same readings that others twist for their own ends.

Are we willing to allow ourselves to be molded and shaped so that we can be the very best version of ourselves both as individuals and as a society, or are we more prone to resist and go our own way? Are we willing to accept that we are forgiven? Are we willing to forgive those who have hurt us, even if sometimes that requires forgiving them anew each new day, as the hurt and pain arises afresh? To forgive them, not necessarily because they deserve it, but because we recognize that they may be misshapen too and they—and we—deserve to live in peace. To forgive because we all deserve to live in peace, and to try to love them anyway as God most certainly loves us?

Sometimes we all get misshapen. But if you have ever watched a potter at the wheel, you know that she never throws the clay away; she just persists in working on it until she gets it right. God presses upon us behind and before, God’s hand is upon us, shaping us, never giving up on us, reconciling who we are with who God intends for us to be – a people forgiven, healed, renewed, shaped! A people empowered to go forth into the world, reconciled and at peace with ourselves, and with our God, and with one another.

Hallelujah!

Prayer 235

O God, we come before You in humble prayer. We know that we allow many hands shape us; let Your hand, O God, rebuild us and strengthen us. We lay before You our wounded hearts, for we trust in You to take them up and mend them. We are fragile vessels; make us strong in love, and help us let go of anger or bitterness that threatens to shatter us. We bless You and praise You as our loving Maker, and thank You for your mercy which never fails. We ask that You rest your hand especially on those beloveds whom we now name. Amen.