“Hands, God –
Your gift to us.
We stretch them up to You.
Always You hold them.

Your hands,
which have us
inscribed on their palms,
pour down blessing
on the details of our days.”
~Laurel Bridges

Hands. Have you ever noticed how so many of the important things we do in life depend on our hands? We shake another’s hand as a sign of welcome, of introduction, of promise, of assent. “Let’s shake on it.”we say when an agreement is meant to be a commitment one to the other. We clap our hands to say we enjoyed something, to affirm the words or performance on another. We wave our hands in the air to greet one another or signal our own presence in a crowd. We use our hands in fists of affirmation, anger or rage.

Over the years I have been aware of people’s hands as they come to receive the sacrament of communion. I have often wished I could have photos of the many shapes and sizes of the hands that reach, cupped, to receive the bread, that lift that same bread and dip it into the offered cup. Some hands are rough and calloused from hard work, sun spotted from days spent outside. Some are well manicured with colorful nails, soft and well moisturized. There are hands that look as though they would fit perfectly on the keys of a piano or the neck of a violin. There are tiny hands and enormous hands, gnarled hands and sleek hands. All held out for this meal that has held together the Christian household for centuries.

I remember the feel of my children’s hands in mine. From the first time their tiny, infant hands gripped around my finger, they had my heart in their hand. As they learned to walk, holding onto my hand for support and confidence, they began that slow movement away that every parent hopes for and dreads all at the same time. It has always been so.

The scriptures tell us that we are inscribed on the palms of the hand of God. It is a lovely image, isn’t it? In worship we often sing a Celtic blessing asking that we ‘be held in the hollow of God’s hands.’ As we sing these words, we cup our hands as an image of how we are held. There is comfort in those words, in this gesture. Surely there is also in those words, this action, a blessing of God and of self that could pour down on all the details of all our days.

Be gentle with your hands this day. Care for them. Treat them with love. Use them in kindness and welcome. For someone, they may be the only hand of God another knows. It is an awesome responsibility. It is a powerful gift.