"Within Our Hands"
Sermon by The Rev. Ken Landall
July 6, 2008 - Harwich, Massachusetts

Preaching Text: Acts 8:14-17   -   Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

The sermon today is about these - human hands, masterpieces of nature, anatomical works of art, elegantly structured, and amazingly adaptable. Every day we use our hands to perform hundreds of different functions, technological feats, artistic achievements, and a variety of motor skills. When we enter the world, we come not only with a loud cry bursting out of our lungs, but also with moving, grasping hands. When we depart from the world, our hands are often folded closed, as we sometimes see when bodies are laid out for viewing. Between the symbolic open hands at birth and closed hands at death, stretches our entire life. We learn with our hands; survive and maintain our livelihood with our hands; and enhance life with our hands - holding an artist's brush, molding a sculpture, playing a musical instrument, throwing and catching a ball, gripping a fishing pole, holding the hand of a lover, etc.

So vital are human hands that artists and biblical writers have even attributed hands to God - probably the most famous artistic rendering of the divine hand is Michelangelo's depiction on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, where God the Creator reaches out to touch the hand of Adam, giving him life and spirit. In the Bible we read about God's strong outstretched hand, God's guiding hand, uplifting hands, and creating hands. I was going to research some of the different examples of hands in the Bible, but got no further than my concordance that lists over 1,600 entries, a few too many to categorize!

A simpler and probably better approach is to look at the hands of Jesus. How Jesus used his hands may give us some ideas as to how we might best use ours as we try to be his faithful followers. His were the hands, first, of a carpenter, hands not afraid of hard work or of getting dirty; but also, hands willing to take on many responsibilities. His were healing hands, gently touching, restoring, renewing life. We remember the lepers, the blind, those who were sick or infirm - all healed and made whole by the gentle touch of his hands.

His were also compassionate hands, reaching out to help feed the hungry, reaching down to rescue the one lying in the gutter, as in the parable of the Good Samaritan, touching and comforting those who hurt physically, emotionally, or spiritually. His were also hands of blessing, bestowing God's love on others, particularly on little children. And, Jesus' hands were suffering hands, experiencing the excruciating agony of the nails driven through them as he was hung upon a cross. These suffering hands become for us outstretched hands that bid us, invite us to come, to come just as we are, to receive forgiveness for our sins, to come walk with our Lord in this life now and for all eternity.

The hands of Jesus were special hands, for sure, but we who follow him also have special hands. Within our hands is the ministry that was his. We are now stewards of that ministry as his present-day disciples. We are chosen, we are called by name, honored and precious in God's sight, but not just for special recognition as God's sons and daughters, but for a purpose - actually according to one modern author, Rick Warren, for five purposes: for God's pleasure, to be a part of God's family, to become like Christ, to serve God, and to fulfill a mission. I want to zero in on the serving purpose this morning.

We are chosen and called to serve God and to serve our brothers and sisters in Jesus' name. Part of this serving is bringing forth God's justice. We hear a lot about justice in the news.

Some assume it means retributive justice an eye for an eye - like the death penalty. Others personalize justice and are concerned only with what they think they rightly deserve, and the heck with anyone else. But justice as the Bible uses the word is more. Justice means a consistent support of what is right and opposition to what is wrong. I believe that God takes the side of the poor, the weak, the needy, and the oppressed - and we who are followers of Jesus, chosen and called for servanthood, are to follow in his way, using the same methods and approaches that he used. Our hands are to emulate what his hands accomplished.

The hands of Jesus were not afraid of hard work, yet they were sensitive, compassionate, and caring. His hands healed and blessed, yet also suffered and reached out to others. Our hands are to be like the hands of Jesus, not with a lot of noisy fanfare, but in quiet, meaningful ways.

A mother strokes her child's head, comforting the child simply by her touch. Two people who have been at odds with one another shake hands - and things are somehow a bit better. A doctor or nurse in the hospital sick room lays a hand on the shoulder of a patient. Friends hug one another or pat each other on the back, to express solidarity in grief or in other difficult times. Church members dig down deep into their wallets, pocketbooks, or checkbooks to hand over - through the church - a portion of their blessings to those in need.

Mary was only 13, the eldest of seven children. They all lived with their parents in a cramped tenement apartment at the turn of the twentieth century. Her mother was dying of tuberculosis, a common disease, and one night she called Mary to her bedside: "I don't have long, Mary, and you must now be mother to the rest of the children. Be patient with Father; you know he is kind to us when he's not drinking. Keep the children together. God help you." And she breathed her last. Little Mary bravely continued what she had been doing even during her mother's illness, but less than a year later, she too contracted the disease that had taken her mother's life. She told her sad story to a woman visiting from her church.

"I've been patient with Father and taken care of the others, but now I am dying as Mother did, and I'm afraid. I haven't gone to church because I have no decent clothes to wear, and I've been too tired at night to say my prayers. What can I say to Jesus when I see him?" The wise churchwoman took the girl's small hands in her own, those hands chapped and hardened by her labors, and she said to her, "Mary, you don't need to say anything. Just show him your hands." "And they'll know we are Christians by our love…," we sing, and by how we show that love to others.

There are several rituals in the church where hands play a prominent role - baptism is the one many of us might think of first, a ritual deriving in part from that one at the River Jordan we heard about earlier. In baptism, a child is often held in the pastor's arms, representing the care of the church community and the love of God; and the pastor's hands put water on the child's head, signifying cleansing, rebirth, and initiation into the life of the church. In other rituals, a hand or hands are raised in benediction or blessing. Hands play an important role in the wedding ceremony, when the couple hold hands and exchange rings. There is "laying on of hands" in confirmation, sometimes in the commissioning of deacons, at ordinations, and in healing services. Peter and John in our lesson from Acts lay their hands on the Samaritans so they can receive the Holy Spirit.

Back to baptism for a moment. Through the sacramental act of baptism - and in our tradition, confirmation and church membership are extensions of baptism - through this act we are called and chosen to represent Jesus Christ in the world, to be witnesses of the love and goodness of God in our words and especially in our deeds. By the strength of God's grace we are given gifts for the sake of all, we are given purpose and power, and we are enabled to serve.

We who are Christians dare not forget the source of our power. The French artist, Emile Ranouf, in one of his paintings depicts an old fisherman and a little girl seated beside each other in a boat. Both the elderly gentleman and the child have their hands on the large oars. He is looking down fondly upon her. Apparently he has told her that she may assist him in rowing the boat, and the child feels she is doing a big part of the task. It is easy to see, though, that it is his strong, muscular arms that are actually propelling the boat through the waves. The painting is appropriately titled, "A Helping Hand." We have been invited by Christ to share in his ministry, but we need to always remember that it is only by God's grace, working through us, that we can do what needs to be done. While it is God who directs us to put our hand upon the oars, we need to always remember and be aware of the source of our power.

A final story, about Anna, a wonderfully sensitive woman to whom others often turn in their times of need. Eliza's son has died, and she seeks out Anna for consolation and comfort. Anna suggests to Eliza that she pray that God might lay his hand on her tired head and bless her. So Eliza gets down on her knees and starts praying. After a short while she suddenly exclaims, "He's done it, Anna, he's done it, glory be to God, he's done it! There was a nice feelin' went down through me, Anna, an' th' hand was just like yours!" Anna replies in her calm and thoughtful way: "The hand was mine, but it was God's too. God takes a han wherever he can find it and jist duz wha' he likes wi' it. Sometimes he takes a bishop's han' an' lays it on a child's head in benediction. Then he takes the han' of a doctor t' relieve pain, th' han' of a mither t' guide her chile, an' sometimes he takes the han of an ol' critter like me t' give a bit of comfort to a neighbor. But they're all han's touched by his Spirit, an his Spirit is everywhere lukin' for han's t' use."

Within our hands is the ministry we have been given as followers of Jesus Christ - a ministry of justice and peace, of reconciliation and comfort, of compassion and healing, perhaps even a ministry of suffering on behalf of others. As we live out these ministries in our daily lives, let's not forget the source of our power, the Lord our God who says, "I have taken you by the hand and kept you." And let's be open to the workings of God's Spirit which is for sure everywhere "lukin' for han's to use."

Sorell, Pulpit Resource, 1/12/86.
Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, 2002.
Sorell, op. cit.
L. H. Stookey, Word & Witness, 1/12/86.
The Minister's Manual, 1979, p. 75.
Alexander Irving, "My Lady of the Chimney Corner," quoted in "Desire to See God," by P. H. Mitchell, p. 8.

Amen.