Potter & Clay

Today, I read Jeremiah 18:18-20. But in order to understand its message better, it is always advisable to read the immediate context as well. This is how I came across the story of the 'Potter and Clay'. I use 'story' instead of 'vision' because the incident was not extraordinary at all. God told Jeremiah to go down to the potter's house and let him hear His words there (Jeremiah 18:2). Why did God take the trouble? Why didn't God tell immediately and directly His message to him? The scene Jeremiah was going to see was anything but extraordinary. A potter was working at his wheel. The vessel he was working was spoiled in his hand. The potter reworked it to his satisfaction (Jeremiah 18:3-4).
I think Jeremiah must have seen potters working with their clay many times before. What moral lesson could Jeremiah make out of this commonplace situation?  Of course, the lessons drawn will very much depend on the character of the observers. A Chinese classic captures the spirit:
「仁者見之謂之仁，智者見之謂之智。」【繫辭傳上】 "A virtuous man will see virtues, a wise man, wisdom." An observant man will be able to learn a lot of things from the surrounding. So, pay attention to whatever things and events we come across. We may discover some important truths about the world we live in. Further down the classic, it advises people to observe far and near. 「近取諸身，遠取諸物。」【繫辭傳下】
God called Jeremiah to be His prophet, His spokesman before Babylon conquered Judah. It was already too late to warn the people not to follow the mistakes of Israel which had been conquered more than a century earlier. People relied more and more on their own instead of putting their faith in Yahweh. With this milieu, what moral lesson did Jeremiah draw from this 'potter and clay' scene?
O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? says the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it,
and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will repent of the evil that I intended to do to it.
And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it,
and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will repent of the good which I had intended to do to it (Jeremiah 18:6-10).
Jeremiah was telling the people that even if God had already sent Babylon to punish them, God would change His mind if they repented. They were like the clay in the potter's hand (Jeremiah 18:6). God is willing to reform us any time we repent. However, if we stay on in our sinful state for too long, if we are too lazy to make improvements in our life, we would become hardened. Then, the potter could only smash this hardened vessel.
Jeremiah was a tragic figure because nobody listened to the truth he spoke. Though he had defended the people before God's wrath, just like Moses did, the people still rejected him because his view opposed the mainstream illusion entertained by most people. In the end, the people even murdered him. He was an Old Testament prototype of Jesus.
Is evil a recompense for good?
Yet they have dug a pit for my life.
Remember how I stood before thee
to speak good for them,
to turn away thy wrath from them (Jeremiah 18:20).
Therefore, be prepare to receive evil as a recompense for good when Jesus calls you to follow him. But who would be so stupid, so suicidal? Anyone who is able to do a cost-benefit-analysis will never follow Jesus' invitation. Therefore utilitarianism is not able to explain the decision made by disciples to follow Jesus (ASL Ethics and RS topic!) Had Jeremiah never given up? He had but later he took up his cross again. What kept him going?

My God, You have set before me exemplars of how to be a prophet. In baptism, we are baptized into the offices of king, priest and prophet. As an RS teacher, I am licensed to proclaim Your truth to my students. But I have not done a good job. Your message has not been received the way it deserves. My God, console me and keep me going. Have mercy on my students. They are pieces of clay in Your holy hands. You would not delight in seeing them smashed. Mould them into useful vessels. Amen.