March 10/First Thursday of Lent
Your right hand saves me.
Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. ~ Psalm 138.7-8
As I re-accustom myself to social graces that have fallen into disuse over the past couple of years, I find myself often uncertain about whether to shake someone’s hand. Like the germophobic detective Adrian Monk, I even occasionally feel the impulse to reach for a wipe after doing so! But the human connection that is forged through a warm handshake is qualitatively different from the fist bump that has replaced it, and more and more, I stick my hand out. Our hands — powerful, expressive, beautiful — are truly the instruments of our hearts and minds. As front-line representatives for our emotions, they can communicate anger or tension; they can convey compassion, comfort, and love. It is worth thinking about how we will put them to use today. Will we deploy them to heal ailing bodies or unite divided hearts? Will we use them to create a meal or dig a garden? Will we hold the hand of an anxious spouse, or give the worried middle-schooler an encouraging shoulder squeeze? Will we push away, or will we connect? Even if we aren’t handshake- or hug-ready, we can give a friendly wave, or even bump those fists (if we must!). For the psalmist, the hand of God is a tool of God’s creative power and loving protection. He fully trusts in its mighty power and prays for its continued presence. Indeed, it is the promise of the Christian life that God will not forsake his creatures, and that he will, through his love for each of us, continue to stretch out his delivering hand to protect, to embrace, and to gather up his people into his loving embrace.
Ever-faithful, ever-merciful Lord, Give me the courage to place myself confidently your hands, today, tomorrow, and always. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031022.cfm
To hear the Tennessee Gospel Society sing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ0crxOVEEQ
Bonus track! To hear Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman sing it, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJJ3PlU-lKg
