Ordinary Jars of Clay

Reflection:  Paul uses the metaphor of a “jar of clay” to illustrate how God uses us to display the treasure of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for all to see. One writer has said this, "Fragile human beings who handle difficulty so differently that people are attracted to them."  Despite many sermons that talk about how people used jars of clay to hide valuable he goes on to inform us that:

“Those in palaces did not use clay jars for their valuables. Oh, you would have found them in the kitchen and the outhouse. For everything but the most ordinary functions, they used gold, silver, other metals, and well cured ceramics. Expensive liquids were not put into clay jars; they were stored in expensive, sturdy containers. In fact, it would be easy to be as impressed with the container as it was with the contents inside. "What an impressive pitcher you have," you might have said as the hostess poured your drink. Those were not ordinary clay pots presented to Jesus by the Magi, as they worshipped Him with gold, frankincense and myrrh. Those were expensive containers.” (Blog, “From Where God Sits”, Shaffer)

Paul reminds us that though we are very much made of ordinary stuff, God uses us for extraordinary activity.  And therefore he encourages us to focus on things unseen that have eternal significance.  When we feel the “ordinariness” of our bodies, and see the toll life takes on us, he says this to us today:

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Sometimes our light and momentary troubles don’t seem so ordinary in the moment.  They seem larger than life and overwhelming.  Put if we can put them in this perspective and try to focus our sights on the unseen things God is doing in the midst of these daily toils and strains we can avoid “losing heart”.  Spend some time putting your trials into the framework of what God is doing in and through you, and how God has deposited His treasure, the Gospel in your, which will attract others to Him through you, even in the midst of pain and struggle.  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section!  

Psalm 69:22-29

²² May the table set before them become a snare;
    may it become retribution and a trap.
²³ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
    and their backs be bent forever.
²⁴ Pour out your wrath on them;
    let your fierce anger overtake them.
²⁵ May their place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
²⁶ For they persecute those you wound
    and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
²⁷ Charge them with crime upon crime;
    do not let them share in your salvation.
²⁸ May they be blotted out of the book of life
    and not be listed with the righteous.

²⁹ But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
    may your salvation, God, protect me.

Proverbs 21

21 In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water
    that he channels toward all who please him.

² A person may think their own ways are right,
    but the Lord weighs the heart.

³ To do what is right and just
    is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

⁴ Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
    the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.

⁵ The plans of the diligent lead to profit
    as surely as haste leads to poverty.

⁶ A fortune made by a lying tongue
    is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.

⁷ The violence of the wicked will drag them away,
    for they refuse to do what is right.

⁸ The way of the guilty is devious,
    but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

⁹ Better to live on a corner of the roof
    than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

¹⁰ The wicked crave evil;
    their neighbors get no mercy from them.

¹¹ When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;
    by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge.

¹² The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked
    and brings the wicked to ruin.

¹³ Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor
    will also cry out and not be answered.

¹⁴ A gift given in secret soothes anger,
    and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.

¹⁵ When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous
    but terror to evildoers.

¹⁶ Whoever strays from the path of prudence
    comes to rest in the company of the dead.

¹⁷ Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
    whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.

¹⁸ The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,
    and the unfaithful for the upright.

¹⁹ Better to live in a desert
    than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.

²⁰ The wise store up choice food and olive oil,
    but fools gulp theirs down.

²¹ Whoever pursues righteousness and love
    finds life, prosperity and honor.

²² One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty
    and pull down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³ Those who guard their mouths and their tongues
    keep themselves from calamity.

²⁴ The proud and arrogant person—“Mocker” is his name—
    behaves with insolent fury.

²⁵ The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,
    because his hands refuse to work.
²⁶ All day long he craves for more,
    but the righteous give without sparing.

²⁷ The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—
    how much more so when brought with evil intent!

²⁸ A false witness will perish,
    but a careful listener will testify successfully.

²⁹ The wicked put up a bold front,
    but the upright give thought to their ways.

³⁰ There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
    that can succeed against the Lord.

³¹ The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
    but victory rests with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

New International Version (NIV)

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹³ It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. ¹⁵ All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

Jesus said to Mary, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” John 20:15

We know you are near, Lord, when we are bowed with grief and sorrow. Open our eyes that we may recognize you, as Mary did in the garden. Let our pain become praise. We yearn for the time when you will wipe all tears from our eyes, and death, mourning, crying, and pain will be no more. Amen. (prayers and verse of the day taking from the Moravian Daily Text)