Sirach 33:1-16: a reflection

1No evil will happen to him who fears the Lord, but in trials once and again he will deliver him. 2A wise man will not hate the law, but he who is a hypocrite about it is like a boat in a storm. 3A man of understanding will put his trust in the law. And the law is faithful to him, as when one asks a divine oracle. 4Prepare your speech, and so you will be heard. Bind up instruction, and make your answer. 5The heart of a fool is like a cartwheel. His thoughts are like a rolling axle. 6A stallion horse is like a mocking friend. He neighs under every one who sits upon him. 7Why does one day excel another, when all the light of every day in the year is from the sun? 8They were distinguished by the Lord’s knowledge, and he varied seasons and feasts. 9Some of them he exalted and hallowed, and some of them he has made ordinary days. 10And all men are from the ground. Adam was created from dust. 11In the abundance of his knowledge the Lord distinguished them, and made their ways different. 12Some of them he blessed and exalted, and some of them he made holy and brought near to himself. Some of them he cursed and brought low, and overthrew them from their place. 13As the clay of the potter in his hand, all his ways are according to his good pleasure, so men are in the hand of him who made them, to give to them according to his judgment. 14Good is the opposite of evil, and life is the opposite of death; so the sinner is the opposite of the godly. 15Look upon all the works of the Most High like this, they come in pairs, one against another. 16I was the last on watch, like one who gleans after the grape gatherers.

Among these reflections comes a striking image of God's sovereign shaping of human lives: As the clay of the potter in his hand, all his ways are according to his good pleasure, so men are in the hand of him who made them, to give to them according to his judgment. We are, the passage says, like clay in the potter's hands; God shapes and forms us according to his wisdom and good pleasure. As the clay does not resist the potter but is formed by his hand, so we are in the hand of God who made us, shaped by him.

Notice the image: we are clay in the Potter's hands, shaped according to his wisdom. The clay does not form itself, nor resist the potter's shaping; it is in his hand, formed according to his good pleasure and wisdom. So, the passage says, we are in the hand of God who made us, shaped and formed by him according to his judgment. We are not our own makers, forming ourselves; we are the clay, and God is the Potter, shaping us according to his wisdom. Our lives are in his hands, to be formed as he sees fit, as clay is formed by the potter.

That image is worth taking to heart, for we can resist God's shaping of our lives, rather than submitting as clay to the Potter. We can want to form our own lives according to our own designs, resisting the shaping God would do, chafing against how he forms us; but we are the clay, and God is the Potter, who shapes us according to his wisdom. Do not resist God's shaping of your life, wanting to form it according to your own designs; submit to him as clay to the Potter, trusting his wisdom in how he forms you. Yield to God's shaping of your life, as clay yields to the potter's hand, trusting that he forms you according to his good pleasure and wisdom, rather than resisting and insisting on your own design; for we are the clay in the hand of him who made us, and he shapes us, according to his wisdom, into what he would have us be.

Lord, among these reflections comes a striking image of your sovereign shaping of human lives: as the clay of the potter in his hand, all his ways are according to his good pleasure, so men are in the hand of him who made them, to give to them according to his judgment. I am, the passage says, like clay in the potter's hands; you shape and form me according to your wisdom and good pleasure. As the clay does not resist the potter but is formed by his hand, so I am in your hand, who made me. Show me the image: I am clay in the Potter's hands, shaped according to your wisdom. The clay does not form itself, nor resist the potter's shaping; it is in his hand, formed according to his good pleasure. So I am in your hand, shaped and formed by you according to your judgment. I am not my own maker; I am the clay, and you are the Potter. My life is in your hands, to be formed as you see fit. Take that image to my heart, for I can resist your shaping of my life, rather than submitting as clay to the Potter. I can want to form my own life according to my own designs, resisting the shaping you would do, chafing against how you form me; but I am the clay, and you are the Potter. Keep me from resisting your shaping of my life, wanting to form it according to my own designs; help me submit to you as clay to the Potter, Lord, trusting your wisdom in how you form me. Help me yield to your shaping, as clay yields to the potter's hand.