Full-filled

Today's post is a reflection on a scripture from Jeremiah 18 in which God shows the prophet how God is like a potter. I'm giving a sermon on this text in a few weeks, and am discerning what path to take. It struck me as I was sitting with it that on reason that potters made new containers was that the old ones were filled and unusable.

That metaphor, being filled and unable to receive anything more, is a powerful one as I reflect on our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). The secular world constantly tries to fill us with desires for more things, for newer technology, for ever more opulent trinkets and homes. All of these wordly things give us fleeting happiness, but leave in their wake the longing for the next newest thing. The god of out-of-control consumerism requires our sacrifice of time and money in order to be satisfied for a time. However, as with all idols, the sacrifice demanded continues to grow until it becomes all consuming.

The Abrahamic faiths all believe that we were created by a loving God who seeks to have a relationship with us. In Genesis, we are told that God took the earth and formed it into man and woman and breathed into them the breath of life. This is not different from the potter who takes clay and shapes a useful vessel - not withstanding the potential for it to be a work of art as well. Empty containers long to be filled, to be put to use; so it is with us. We begin our lives as empty vessels, and over the years, we fill ourselves with ideas and opinions. We can also choose to empty ourselves of worldly ideas and search for the "Other".

This search for God has consumed many mystics over the millenia, some have written about their journeys (Evelyn Underhill, Thomas Merton, Brother Lawrence, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Gerald May, Henri Nouwen, etc) towards self-emptying, and have shown us that we are never empty, but the space that we create is filled by the Other. When we are filled with the Other, we are filled with selfless love. This love makes us whole again.

So, consider what has filled you up. Is it pursuit of worldly things that provide momentary distraction and pleasure, or is it the pursuit of the Other which conveys peace and wholeness? As the summer season comes to a close, consider spending the fall in pursuit of emptiness and wholeness.

Peace,
Dan