So does the potter sitting at his work, and turning the wheel about with his feet, who is always carefully set at his work, and makes all his work by number;
All Commentaries on Wisdom of Sirach 38:29 Go To Wisdom of Sirach 38
Rabanus Maurus
AD 856
And what is meant by this potter if not the holy preachers that we have spoken of already? Through various activities they worthily exercise the degrees of their ministry, adapting their doctrine according to the condition of their hearers. The wise, in fact, must be admonished in a way different from the ignorant, the strong different from the weak, the young different from the old and men different from women. With the plow of the gospel they cultivate the field of the Lord. They pasture the sheep and animals of the Lord with the fodder of the Word. They engrave the seals of the new person in human hearts, producing the weapons of the virtues by the ministry of their tongue. They give an example, consoling by their words and behavior those who are fragile and sickly, until they are transformed into honorable vessels, fully fit for God"s ministry. This is why this potter works, turning the wheel with his feet, transforming the changeable situations of this life into an example for his disciples through the signs of good works. He watches what he does so that he might persevere in good actions, and by his own actions he invigorates the activity of the sick, giving them an example of humility and meekness and setting his whole heart on the smoothing of all that is bitter in the habits of those under him by the sweetness of his example. In addition, he spends all of his solicitude cooking every action of the disciples in the fire of the furnace of the heart, so as to render them firmer by the flame of love. He does this because all of his work could be damaged by a fall if it is not held together by the bond of charity.
