Community Church Sermons
Year B
June 14, 2009
The
Second Sunday after Pentecost Sunday
Mark 1:14-15; 29-34; 40-42
Rev. Martin C. Singley, III
Hands.
The Good News Gospel of the ministry of Jesus Christ begins with WORDS, announcing the arrival of God’s love, but then those words are brought to life with HANDS! Read through any of the Gospels and you will find story-after-story like the stories we just heard - stories of Jesus using his hands – to lift people up – to touch lepers – to heal – to break bread – to feed – to wash feet – to receive nails.
Hands.
There seems to be a divine purpose in hands. Hands are some of the earliest things human beings learn to use. Babies start using them early on, sucking their thumbs. In fact, some babies suck their thumbs while still in the womb. And who hasn’t been filled with joy when your little baby grasped your finger and wouldn’t let it go? Hands. And as babies grow, their hands become more and more active - holding their bottle, picking up a toy, grabbing hold of the dog’s tail, reaching for that antique crystal vase...! Our one-year old granddaughter Rebecca loves to reach for Mimi Up-Down’s glasses, and to gently touch Papa Marty’s beard until she gives it a good tug!
Hands are such a wonderful invention!
And like just about anything else in life, hands can be used for good or for ill, so we have to learn the proper use of hands. Tony Campolo says that he grew up singing that little church song, “Be Careful Little Hands”:
Oh, be careful little hands what you do!
Be careful little hands what you do!
The good Lord up above is looking down with love,
So be careful little hands what you do!
Tony says that every time he was out with a girl in High School, that song started playing in his head! He says it completely ruined his dating life!
Hands.
Look at your hands. Seriously, look at your hands! Think of some of the things those hands have done over the years of your life. Kids may think of how those hands learned to tie shoelaces, and write with a pen, and throw a skipping stone, and sing, “If you’re happy and you know it…”
Those who are older may remember how those hands placed a wedding ring on someone else’s hand, and were used in your career, and fed your children, and used tools, and made bread, and waved goodbye to someone you loved.
Our hands are full of stories. They tell the tale of our lives.
And they can proclaim the Good News Gospel of Jesus Christ and bring God’s love to others.
Gary and Peggy had been married less than a year when Gary was killed in a plane crash. He was Peggy’s answer to prayer after being the victim of abuse and violence. His new job flying the mail was Gary’s dream job. But then one night, coming out of Denver, something went wrong.
Peggy and Gary’s parents came to me to plan a service for Gary. They were suffering beyond description. I asked them about scripture readings, and hymns, and people who may want to say something about Gary. But their grief was so deep they could not even think about those things. All Peggy could say about music was that Gary’s friends all knew that his favorite song was “Mr. Bojangles” and that hardly qualifies as a hymn. When I later got together with Don Bailey, the organist, I told him about “Mr. Bojangles” and we had a bit of a laugh about it because we both knew Gary pretty well and that he loved that song. In fact, he and Peggy had danced to it at their wedding less than a year ago. Then we picked out some hymns and planned the rest of the service.
It was a terribly difficult funeral, accompanied by human grief so deep that people actually wailed. When it was over, folks tearfully filed by the closed casket with a photograph of Gary resting on top. And then, something happened…
Don Bailey, at the old tracker pipe organ, was softly playing the beautiful hymn “Abide With Me” when all of a sudden – in a very subdued, very slow, almost unnoticeable way – the melody changed: da-da-da-da…
Most people there that day did not even notice. But Peggy did. Gary’s family did. And Gary’s closest friends. And as the melody played and guests filed out of the sanctuary, that little circle of people reached out to each other, embraced each other, held each other’s hands, and found a little glimmer of hope in the darkest time of their lives.
Don’s hands had transformed a secular song into a hymn of faith, and it was a gift to those Gary loved.
Hands.
Today in our church, we are blessing the hands. The immediate occasion for the blessing of the hands is the launching of our new Prayer Shawl ministry. This ministry is being created by people who love using their hands to knit or crochet, and will be prayerfully creating beautiful shawls like the ones before us. As they use their hands in this way, they will ask God to bless the person who will receive the shawl. And then the shawls will be given to folks who are dealing with illness, or going through a challenging time. With these beautiful shawls, those who receive them will have the assurance of knowing they have been remembered before God in prayer, and are enfolded in the love of our church family. I can tell you firsthand how meaningful it was for my mother to receive a prayer shawl from her church, and how it brought her comfort and peace.
If you would like to use your hands this way, let us know. But even if you are not one who uses your hands this way, I want to challenge you to use your hands in some way for God.
Use your hands to reach out and bring a neighbor to church. Extend your hand to welcome a visitor. Hold the hands of those around you to express our unity when we sing “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” Take up a pen in your hand to write a loving note to someone who’s lonely. Grab a hammer and help build a house with Habitat For Humanity, or sort through clothes at The Good Neighbors Shop, or mow the lawn of a sick or frail neighbor. Hands can be used in all sorts of ways!
And our hands are powerful beyond measure when we offer them to the service of God.
Let’s all make a commitment this week to join together in using our hands to make real the Good News Gospel of Jesus Christ!