Mini Sermon #1

Reverend Averill’s Note: For the blog, I’m going to start posting old Newsletters every week on Thursday mornings.  If you missed out on old copies of The Radius, I hope you enjoy the mini sermons here.

New Mini Sermon #1
Sermon Lesson: Jeremiah 18:1-11
N.T. Lesson: Luke 14:25-33
Psalm: Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18

It is not only Jesus who uses parables, though as Christians we are most familiar with Jesus’s tales.  God in the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible) used them as well.

Just as the vineyard was familiar to Jews in the time of Jesus, so was the potter’s workshop familiar to Israelites in the time of the prophet Jeremiah.  The potter was always in demand because pottery was daily in use and often broken.  Archaeologists have found a plethora of broken pottery from this period of Ancient Israel (and other periods as well).

Jeremiah, while walking through any village, could have come a potter at his wheel and, at this time, could have been inspired by God.  He would have seen a potter make a piece—such as a bowl or a vase—but the consistency not come out right, or the shape be wrong—and then the potter would have to destroy it and start all over again.  This would not have been an uncommon sight.  It could, in fact, happen over and over again until the potter was satisfied.

And God used this common occurrence, in this moment so long ago, as a parable for Himself and Israel.  He became the potter and Israel the clay.  As seen in v. 4, the clay is entirely at the mercy of the potter.  While this can be seen as a message of hope, Israel can be reborn on the hands of God, it can also be a message of judgment.  God judges Israel, finds it wanting, and starts completely from scratch.

However we choose to read it, we must acknowledge that God is all powerful in his relationship with Israel.  God has the power to do with Israel as he likes.  He will do what he likes.  He is in control.

Our fates our in God’s hands and we should be mindful of that.  We know that God is a loving God, but he has not always been interpreted in that way (including in this passage!).

We know through Jesus Christ that he will make us new again when we trust ourselves to him.  Amen.

Yours Faithfully, Reverend Averill

Archdeacon’s Corner

I rescued Archdeacon the Cat five years ago now in September 2017.  He has a lame paw from beingtortured by previous owners and I knew he needed a name that would give him dignity, especially as he was now a church cat.

The character of Dr. Theophilis Grantly, the Archdeacon of Barchester and Rector of Plumstead Episcopi, has always been a favorite of mine since I was a child.  I, after all, grew up on Masterpiece Theater and period dramas.  Like all of Anthony Trollope’s characters, there is the element of the ridiculous about him, but he is a man of dignity and I wanted to give that dignity to my cat.

So, The Archdeacon was named.  An Archdeacon, in the Anglican or Episcopal Church, is a senior Christian cleric above a church pastor but below a bishop.  So, my cat outranks me.

Archdeacon’s Corner will bring you quotes, thoughts, and perhaps random trivia in the months to come, separate from my mini sermons.  I am also trying to figure out how to bring The Archdeacon to the Blessing of the Animals next month, so you might just get to see him in person!