Arts and Crafts: Homily for Thursday, July 30, 2026

Arts and Crafts. God knows what he has made. And what he’s trying to say in this first reading is that God is all-powerful. That God can do whatever God wants. And he’s reminding the people, you know, you only exist because of me. You only exist because I love you. You only exist because I created you in love. Readings for Today.

Arts and Crafts

I have to say I’ve never really been one who is talented with arts and crafts. I remember one retreat before the beginning of a school year where the faculty was encouraged to make something out of clay. I learned two valuable lessons that day that I quite frankly probably already knew. One was that there were many of us that were not that good at arts and crafts. And two, we all made it a point to make a bowl because that’s relatively simple.

In the first reading we hear about God and his arts and crafts project which in fact is namely us. And Jeremiah has been someone who is preaching to the people about how they should live and who they should be. This is a tough time for the members of the southern kingdom of Israel, the kingdom of Judah. They’re being threatened militarily. They’re being told what to do but they don’t listen. Ultimately they’re exiled, something that they would endure for centuries.

But in the midst of it all God is in fact the master craftsman. I take some comfort in the fact that the potter sometimes in his arts and crafts project has to start over. He doesn’t like the way it’s turned out. But God doesn’t have to recreate. God creates and it is always good. God has to forgive. God has to have mercy. God has to love which he can’t help but do. But he doesn’t need to start over with anybody.

We may need to but God knows what he has made. And what he’s trying to say in this first reading is that God is all-powerful. That God can do whatever God wants. And he’s reminding the people, you know, you only exist because of me. You only exist because I love you. You only exist because I created you in love. But how hard is it for us to remember that? We are people sometimes who in fact have difficulty discerning. We may think something is good that is not. When we realize it we don’t always choose to do something else. We sin.

Jesus speaks of this discernment in the gospel today. A net thrown into the sea that collects fish of every kind. Now it’s the case that not every fish that swims in the sea is something that can be sold because not all of the fish in the sea taste very good. And so they have to discern as they see these fish. Which fish do I keep? Which fish do I throw away? We too in our own lives have to do a similar kind of discernment. Which acts that I do, which attitudes, which beliefs do I have that I should keep, those that are good and worthy? And what are those acts I need to throw away?

It can be very challenging in our life to do that. But just as God is the great potter, God gives us the method to overcome this bad choice that we make. He gives us confession, a chance to bring our sinfulness to God so that God can forgive us, that God can do something really miraculous and marvelous with our contrition. And he can enable us to convert. Today we will haul ashore a net filled with all kinds of things. With the grace of God, let us pray that we will choose the good.

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