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Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 18:1–6
Today, we hear one of those passages of the Bible that has inspired artists, poets, writers, and musicians.
Jeremiah is sent to the house of the potter.
There he sees a potter working at the wheel.
The vessel he is shaping does not come out well.
So the potter takes the same clay and forms it again into another vessel, as it seems good to him.
Then the Lord says:
“Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.”
This image speaks of God’s sovereignty.
God is the Creator.
We are His creatures.
He made the universe.
He made humanity.
He formed us for life, beauty, and goodness.
At the beginning, everything was very good.
But after sin entered the world, humanity became spoiled.
The human heart turned away from God.
The world became filled with violence.
God began again with Noah.
Later, He called Abraham, and Abraham answered with the obedience of faith.
But Abraham’s descendants, too, became spoiled.
They transgressed the commandments.
They forgot the covenant.
They followed the stubbornness of their hearts.
So God allowed Babylon to come.
But even then, His purpose was not destruction for its own sake.
He promised a new covenant.
He promised to reshape the heart.
But there is one important difference between clay and the human person.
Clay has no freedom.
Clay cannot say yes.
Clay cannot say no.
But we can.
That is why the verses after today’s reading are important.
If God announces judgment against a nation, but that nation repents, God relents.
If God promises blessing, but the people turn to evil, that blessing is lost.
So the image of the potter does not mean that we are lifeless objects in God’s hands.
It means that God has power to reshape history.
But it also means that we must choose.
Israel thought that being God’s chosen people allowed them to live without consequences.
But election is not permission to do evil.
God had plans of life for His people.
But those plans called for obedience, faithfulness, and repentance.
The same message is given to us.
God has sovereign power over our lives.
But we are not dead clay.
We can choose life or death.
We can choose the obedience of faith,
or the stubbornness of our own hearts.
The best decision is to place ourselves in the hands of God.
Not as lifeless clay,
but as children who trust the Father.
Let Him shape us.
Let Him correct us.
Let Him remake us according to the image of His beloved Son,
Jesus Christ.
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition,
copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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© 2025 Krakus.
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(Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial).