Potter’s Hands

The WORD today (see http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/080218.cfm) reminds me that I should always trust the Potter’s Hands. 

Masterpieces take time to complete. 

Masterpieces are not instantly done or achieved. No matter how beautiful they are, until it is finished, it seems to be of no purpose or value. Kulang. Parang pangit at walang kwenta. But when it is finished, one will be surprised with the outcome. The partial ugly part has become beautiful when combined with other parts. This is what God wants us to learn. 

We should always trust God's hands, for only he knows his plans. 

In the first reading, God told Jeremiah that as a potter can do anything to the clay, so can he do anything to us, his creations. He is God. We are his mere creations, and he has the right to do whatever he pleases. We should wholeheartedly allow him to. But we should be assured that he is making something great. It may be painful. It may take time. But he will not stop until he is satisfied with what he sees. Just as the potter will not stop until he sees a masterpiece. 

God knows what he is doing. 

Things may sometimes seem to not make any sense. Minsan parang walang saysay. Walang kwenta. Walang kabuluhan yung nararamdaman at pinagdadaanan natin. However, God just wants us to trust in Him. He sees everything. We can make sense of everything in his perfect time. We just need to have faith, because having faith makes it easier to bear these things. And having faith and allowing Him to do his will would make it easier to achieve his plans. 

God also knows when to stop. If a potter encounters hard clay, he would take that out of the clay so he can continue to mold it. In the gospel, Jesus says that the bad catch will be thrown away. God will do his best and never give up on us. But he is gentle. He will not force himself upon us. But when the time comes, he will give us what we want based on our lives - if we want to spend eternity with him, or away from him. 

How do I react when things does not go my way? How do I react when I do not understand what is happening in life? Do I trust God and his plans, or do I doubt? Do I cooperate with God and wait on him as I trust him, or do I take matters into my own hands? Am I patient with God’s plans? What is he telling me today?

May we learn to trust in God, especially when things do not seem to make sense. And may we always allow Him to take control, having faith that in his perfect time, his perfect plans will come into fruition. 

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to love and serve you. Thank you for the reminder. Lord, sorry for being hard headed. Sorry for not cooperating with you. Sorry for not trusting you enough. Sorry for not having faith in you when times are tough. Help me be an obedient clay. Help me be humble. Use me and do with me as you wish. I have faith that even if I cannot make sense of things now, you know what you are doing and you will take care of me. I trust you. And I allow you to mold me. Create a masterpiece in me. Amen. 

Blessed Day!

In Christ,

-g-

Daily Readings

August 2, 2018

Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 404

Reading 1 JER 18:1-6

This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Rise up, be off to the potter's house;
there I will give you my message.
I went down to the potter's house and there he was,
working at the wheel.
Whenever the object of clay which he was making
turned out badly in his hand,
he tried again,
making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done? says the LORD.
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

Responsorial Psalm PS 146:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6AB

R. (5a) Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Put not your trust in princes,
in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.
When his spirit departs he returns to his earth;
on that day his plans perish.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God.
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia SEE ACTS 16:14B

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our heart, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 13:47-53

Jesus said to the disciples:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

"Do you understand all these things?"
They answered, "Yes."
And he replied,
"Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old."
When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.