Jeremiah
18:1-11. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O
house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom,
that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation,
concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind
about the disaster that I intended to bring on it.
Jeremiah was the prophet of Israel for
the 40+ years leading up to the destruction of the Jewish state by the
Babylonian empire in 586 BCE. He steadfastly urged reform, and central themes
of his often unpopular prophecies include God’s invincibility over the Hebrew
people and the threat of annihilation should they fail to shun evil. In Jeremiah
18 specifically, God is portrayed as a potter so omnipotent that the House of
Israel is like malleable clay in His hands.
Thankfully, Jeremiah’s God is not
arbitrarily bent on Israel’s destruction, and in Jeremiah 9:23-24 the prophet
clarifies those qualities which delight Him: “love, justice, and righteousness”
(see 9:23-24). Noted Biblical scholar Rabbi Joseph Telushkin in Biblical
Literacy (1997) interprets these verses as God’s demand for His people’s
ethical behavior based in kindness, justice, and equity (p. 301).
While directly influencing our
nation’s collective rejection of evil might feel like work of others/those who
inhabit our corridors of power, our conscious personal choices to act with
kindness, justice, and equality are vital and have undeniable positive internal
and external effects. In Made for Goodness: And Why This Makes All the
Difference (2010) Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his clergy daughter Mpho Tutu
movingly encourage us to make these choices because “[t]he goal of human life
is to live beyond the small, narrow prison of our own cares, wants, and
worries” (pg. 76). They write
we can face evil squarely because we
know that evil will not have the last word. Evil cannot have the last word
because we are programmed—no, hard-wired—for goodness. Yes, goodness can be
enlightened self-interest. Kindness builds goodwill. Generosity invites
reciprocation. But even if there were absolutely no material benefit to being
kind, you can’t counterfeit the warm glow that you have inside when you have
been kind. (pg. 6)
May Jesus’ example motivate us to
fight evil in our own spheres of influence and be agents of kindness, justice,
and equity for our families, communities, and nation this Lent and throughout
the year.
— Lorraine McReynolds
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