All the Faithful Help Shape the Clay

30 July 2026  Jeremiah 18:1-6

“Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done?”

(Jeremiah 18:6)

The image of the potter and the clay is one of the most well-known in the Bible for understanding the relationship between believers and God. What is less understood is that it is never just believers and God, but believers and God, and a lot of God’s people.

Clay isn’t just dirt. It is mixed in with the mud of a creek or a riverbank. So first it has to be dug out, and then mixed with large amounts of water, preferably with a tool that will stir it violently until there are no chunks left.

Clay isn’t just dirt, and a relationship with God is never just with God, but with lots of God’s people, who sift, and push, and shake, and shape, and reshape until we are saints. God didn’t call Israel or build a Church for nothing. All the faithful are part of the craft of saint-making.

That makes it possible for all the sand and stones, and everything that isn’t clay to sink to the bottom. Then  it is poured through a strainer to get all the twigs and stones out, and then through a finer strainer so that all the excess water can be drained out – but not all the water, of course, because the clay has to be moist enough to be shaped. If too much water is removed, the clay is stiff and useless.

After that, the clay has to be “wedged,” pushing the clay in a forward and downward direction, using your whole body weight, so that the moisture in the clay is evenly distributed, and there aren’t any dry spots in it. Then the clay has to be kneaded some more to push out any hidden pockets of air that can break the pottery when it is being fired. To check, a wire tool is used to cut a block of clay neatly in half to spot any tiny holes or bubbles. Then the wedging and kneading is repeated.

Only then is the clay ready for the potter’s wheel. While the potter is shaping the clay on the wheel, if any imperfections are discovered, the previous steps are repeated until the piece is right. Then it is put in a kiln and subjected to high heat so that it will keep the shape that makes it most useful. Only then is it decorated so that people will notice and cherish it.

It isn’t a great stretch to see all these steps as metaphors for various stages of discipleship. People need to be removed from contexts in which they are invisible and useless. They need to be shaken vigorously so that all the imperfections and obvious sins in their lives are loosened and fall out. Then they need to be pushed and pulled with sufficient weight so that any hidden impurities that can weaken them down the road can be discovered and worked out. And then they need to be put in the hands of masters who can shape and reshape them, subjecting them to sufficient heat and trials so that they will keep their shape and become most useful for the purposes of heaven.

Most importantly, there need to be people at every step of the way who know what they are doing – people who can show parents how to sift out impurities in their children carefully and lovingly; priests and teachers who can press and test the young to force out hidden weaknesses and imperfections; coaches, mentors, exemplars and saints who can shape the young, and reshape the not-so-young, so that they will keep their shape and be the most useful; and there need to be people to recognize, encourage and cherish the young (and not-so-young) so that they will become the masters, teachers, mentors, coaches and saints, for the next generation.

Clay isn’t just dirt, and a relationship with God is never just with God, but with lots of God’s people, who sift, and push, and shake, and shape, and reshape until we are saints. God didn’t call Israel or build a Church for nothing. All the faithful are part of the craft of saint-making.