A friend of mine is a potter. Dawn can take a lump of clay and make it into something amazing. The clay spins on a wheel, while she shapes it into something beautiful and useful. However, there are times when she will stop, take a cup or a bowl or a pot off the wheel, and start all over. She kneads the clay back into a solid lump, puts it back onto the wheel, and begins again. Another shape emerges . . . another beautiful and useful piece . . . re – formed from the same lump of clay.
We celebrated Reformation Day on Sunday. This week, we remember Martin Luther and others who worked to reshape how the people of God understand who God is, and how we relate to God. They pointed out that God is all about love and forgiveness, and invites us to live that way, too. Through Luther and other reformers, God re–formed not just the church, but also the world.
Reform is part of our religious history, and reform is also part of our own lives. Time and transitions, obstacles and milestones, challenges and successes, new perspectives and insights all play a role in making us over, forming us into new and different people, all from the same lump of clay.
There are some things in common between clay on a potter’s wheel, the church through the ages, and our own lives. Change is on-going. Transition points are uncertain, where one form is gone and the next hasn’t taken shape yet. There are faithful hands who help give shape. The clay is pretty tough. Whatever is finally formed will be amazing, beautiful and useful.
This week of Reformation, remember that God re-forms, not just in the church and the world, but also in our lives. We are shaped again by the loving, faithful hands of God. Re-formed from the same lump of clay.
Peace,