We have a phrase in our 1st Reading today from Isaiah (63:16-17,64:1,3-8) which is a familiar one to many of us, not least because of that modern Hymn “You are the potter, I am the clay.” You can see and hear me give this Homily on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO2OhCvergA
But there is just one problem about this phrase. What does it actually mean? Of course, it is just one of many images describing our relationship with God, and mustn’t be taken literally; but there is a sense in which it is too comforting, because it could well imply that we just sit back like a lump of clay and let God do all the work. Of course, we all know that this isn’t what God expects of us, that God has made us free agents, able to co-operate with him in his work of creative love, or largely to ignore it. But especially for those brought up to feel guilty about our failings, there is always a temptation to say “There is nothing I can do. It is all in God’s hands,” and this is not helped by the idea that God has a Plan for each one of us, and if we fail to live up to that Plan, then like a pot that has gone wrong in its making, we will be discarded.
I think we all know that Isaiah is making a rather a different point from the mistaken views I have just outlined. He has already set out how sad our situation is “We were all like men unclean…………. We have all withered like leaves and our sins blew us away like the wind. No one invoked your name.” What he then wants to tell us is that God still cares for us, that rather than discard the clay, God can make us and remould us. We need to remember that he is talking to people who despair of everything, as we sometimes do when everything seems to be going wrong either with us or with the world around us, or with both at the same time; but his image of us as clay to be moulded is a little unfortunate, because although it tells us that it is not all up to us, that God is with us, moulding and fashioning us, it fails to bring out the message that we are active agents in this process, that we have our part to play.
The call of Jesus in our Gospel (Mark 13:33-37 to “Stay awake.” is surely the answer to this. He doesn’t mean by this that we should never sleep, rather he is telling us to be aware of what our part is in the bringing in of God’s kingdom, and this awareness must neither over-emphasise nor under-emphasise our part in this. It’s no point for example, for me as a man who is not far off 80, thinking I can do the things I might have done when I was younger. Each of us is an individual, with talents that must be used according to our age and our make-up. But as I said earlier, this particular way forward for each of us has sometimes been referred to as God’s Plan for each one of us; and that can easily take us down another blind-alley. This is where we begin to think that God’s Plan is a totally inflexible way forward, a way, the one way, that we must follow if we are to do God’s will, to be moulded into the right kind of pot. And what follows from this, is that if we veer away from this Plan and do something different, then we are dreadful sinners. But God’s Plan is much more fluid than that, for God loves us and knows us better than we know ourselves; and he knows that there are many different ways in which our particular talents can be used in his service. So he notes our choices, and provided we let him, he will respond to what we choose to do, and help us to do his will in whatever way we choose to go.
This is where our 2nd Reading (1 Cor 1:3-9) can help us, although it would help us even more if we read it in a better translation! I am going to use the text we have got to explain this, but will refer to a better translation as we look at it, to bring out the full meaning of what St Paul is saying to us. We need to note that St Paul is encouraging us to realise, that like Isaiah, we are very close to God in and through Jesus. So we are told, not simply to “follow” Jesus, but that we are “joined” to him. Now this joining in a better translation is spoken of as being “Called into fellowship (koinonia) with Jesus”, and it means that we do not just receive a little bit of help here and there through Jesus, but rather that we are in a special relationship with Jesus, a relationship which St Paul calls being “In Christ.” With this in mind, the call of Jesus to “Stay awake” takes on another dimension, because we are not simply meant to be aware of our own talents and how we might use them, but we are also mean to be aware of God in Jesus so close to us that we are surrounded by his presence. What’s more, this oneness with Jesus, this fellowship with Jesus, also draws us into a fellowship with our fellow Christians, and opens up ways forward that we might not have thought of or felt possible for us to do alone. In mathematical terms one human plus one more human equals two, but in God’s ways it equals a lot more than two. The power that is generated when two or three are gathered in his name, is beyond reckoning.
So God’s Plan for us is never a static thing, as if drawn on a piece of paper; rather it is a fluid ever-changing thing, where even when we go wrong God can offer us a new and different way forward. This is the mistake that is sometimes made when some people talk about a vocation to be a priest or a female or male religious, as if either we have got it or we haven’t. Some of the best priests, some of the best religious sisters, are those who never thought of themselves in this way. Some of them pursued other careers first, and then finally realised that being a priest or a nun might make sense for them. Others hated the very idea of this way forward, but circumstances made them reluctantly admit that this might be a good way for them to go. Being “Aware” means being prepared to be surprised at what life might fling at us, what might be the next thing that crops up in our life where we can suddenly see that it might be a way where we can make a difference. Finally, did you notice that Jesus mentions “The doorkeeper” as the particular example of one who must stay awake? We sometimes forget that all of us are at times doorkeepers for other people. We are the ones who may just happen to be in the right place at the right time to do something for someone. This someone may not even be someone we know very well, or someone we may know but not like very much. Suddenly something we say may open a door for them. Suddenly, even if they do not much believe in God, or not believe in God at all, they find themselves doing something good for the world. We have been the doorkeeper letting God in. That’s why we must stay awake.
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