Proper 18 C + Commit to love! + 9.4.22

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Glyer, Clay in the Potter's Hands

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33)

“So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions." The gospel today is full of strict pronouncements like the above, including not only how we must give up possessions, but also be willing to give up family relationships for the sake of the gospel. Does Jesus mean what he is saying here? Yes. And, as we discussed in evening prayer this week, Jesus’ statements are meant to be taken in a broader context. The context of God’s love. Jesus is firm in his commands to us but even firmer in showing us about God’s love.

A bit later today, I am officiating at a betrothal ceremony for a very special couple. Sean, assigned at birth as male, has found on her journey that she identifies as a woman. And after each being on quite the journey, Sandra, her partner and she want to show their public commitment to each other.

When we discussed readings as we planned the liturgy for this week, Sean mentioned that, while the service will celebrate their love and affirm Sean’s claimed identity, they also wanted to share a message. A message that God knew you in the womb and loves you and formed you as you are, with intention. That everyone is joyfully made, no matter what the world says.

And of course, I thought of the Psalm to which Sean was referring, Psalm 139. And which Psalm would be assigned for today, but that self-same Psalm! From it we hear:

“Lord, you have searched me out and known me; *
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.

…

For you yourself created my inmost parts; *
you knit me together in my mother's womb;

 I will thank you because I am marvelously made; *
your works are wonderful, and I know it well. (Ps 139: 1; 12-13)”

I love this reminder that God made us with intention, and loves us. That even as we were being knitted together in the womb, God knew us and said, “this person is good! They don’t have to earn love or respect. They are perfect, as they are!”

And even though it may take us years to learn who and whose we are, God has known from the beginning and loves us. Made us with intention, even those of us who the world calls disabled, God has given perfect gifts, complete and whole gifts to share with the world. I just think about all the work my friend Sandra has done for activism around the rights of those with different abilities and for those with AIDS and HIV. It also makes me think of Ana Serrano and all her work helping parents with kids with different abilities. If Kailani had not been born into a body that was limited in the eyes of the world, perhaps God would not have awoken the compassion in Ana to help others going through their own struggles.

But even those of us without especially special journeys can relate here, I think. Especially if we turn to this beautiful and sometimes disturbing passage from Jeremiah that we read today- about how we are like clay, molded by the divine Potter. With this passage, we can remember the book we know from our friend Diana Glyer, Clay in the Potter’s Hands. In it, she helps us to see that this image reminds us not only of our creation by God, but of God’s ongoing work in our lives, purifying us and molding us but also accompanying and redeeming us every step of the way. She reminds us that just as clay gets into our pores when we work with it, God is intimately connected to us. God is committed. Stuck to us like that clay adheres to the wheel. And God never leaves us.

Perhaps that is why Jesus asks us to take up our cross in the passage today. I do not literally believe he means for us to hate our families. After all, in his last moments he affirms his love for his mother Mary and recreates a sense of family for her with John. But Jesus is asking for our one hundred percent commitment to him. We must be willing to leave anything aside that is keeping us from serving God. If we do that, God will be with us one hundred percent too, and we cannot fail.

But if we do not stick solidly to the base, to carry on the pottery metaphor, we will wobble. We may fall or collapse. God can redeem that, too. But our journey will be a more difficult one.
As I go on in my life of faith, I realize more and more that these strictures are more for us than for God. Does God need our obedience? Yes, but only because God wants us to live full, happy lives.

So, rejoice that you were created in prayer and purpose! Take a deep breath right now and thank God for the wonder that is you. Feel the love of God fill you. And remember that it is because of that love that you can commit to God, and walk forward serving God. Because Jesus’ commands are firm but his love for us is stronger still!

In Diana’s book is this beautiful prayer. Let me close with it:

“You who are the King of all creation have stooped low to care for me. You who oversee all galaxies have become intimately involved in everything that concerns me. You who are the mighty one still bear the marks of your creation on your hands. Open my eyes, God, to see you more clearly in this season of my life than I ever have before. I wait expectantly for fresh insight into who you are, and who I am in you.

Amen.[1]


[1] Diana Glyer, Clay in the Potter’s Hands (Lindale & Assoc, 2009), 20.

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