Mercy from the Earth and Man Formed from Clay

…and arbiter and teacher, Christ Himself has become for us. One might also say that the mercy and righteousness that rises from the earth, or springs up from it (Isaiah 45:8), is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. For He has become for us, from God the Father, mercy and righteousness (compare 1 Corinthians 1:30), since it is true that in Him we received mercy and were justified, receiving forgiveness of our old offenses; that is, from Him we have received the righteousness that can bring us to our share in every good, the righteousness by which we have also been saved.

If the earth is commanded to make righteousness spring up, let no one be annoyed, when he considers that the Psalmist too says somewhere, of God the Father and of Emmanuel Himself: “He worked righteousness in the midst of the earth” (Psalm 74:12). For Christ did not bring His own flesh down to us from above, out of heaven; rather, He was born according to the flesh of a woman (Galatians 4:4), who was herself one of those on the earth. So when He is said to have become the fruit and shoot of the earth, you will understand, as I said, that He was born according to the flesh of a woman taken for this service, though she was one of those from the earth.

“I am the Lord God, who created you. What better thing have I made, like a potter’s clay?” (Isaiah 45:8-9).

Here He gives, as it were, the reason why the Son, though He is God by nature, emptied Himself, chose even to suffer for us, and counted those on the earth worthy of so great a care that He gave up His own life in exchange for them; or rather, why He consented to take the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7) and to exchange the supreme glory for the lowliness of human nature. That is why He says, “I am”; this is to be taken here in place of “I subsist and live,” since He is true God and Lord of hosts, who brought all things into being, who did not make death but rather created all things for incorruption (Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-14; 2:23).

Then, honoring human nature, and showing that of all living creatures on earth none at all could match it, He says, “What better thing have I made, like a potter’s clay?” For we were formed by Him when He took dust from the earth (Genesis 2:7) and shaped it very well, as a potter does. Yet the dignity of human nature does not stop there; there is in us something greater still, a guest-gift and a present from God’s fine craftsmanship. For we have been made according to His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26), and we have been enriched with the stamp of His glory, shining spiritually in our souls, even though according to the flesh we are earth and from the earth.

So man is no contemptible creature, but rather a living being on earth worthy of admiration; and God takes such pride in him. Indeed He said to Job, who endured so much, when He was setting out His mighty works plainly: “Did you take clay of the earth and form a living creature, and set it on the earth able to speak?” (Job 38:14) …