A pastor was once told that he hasn't worked a day in his life and responded by saying "There are a lot of hard working activities these hands have never done, but they have taken a lifeless baby from the arms of a broken mother. They have taken a gun out of the hand of a man about to end his life. They have taken a bottle from an individual who was drinking their life away. They have raised and lowered children and adults in the baptismal waters. They have written numerous sermons. They have joined couples in matrimony… They have held the hands of the dying… . And have welcomed the homeless and offered them a place to sleep." This pastor confesses that his hands are soft, but they are forgiven and ready for service.
We thought this a fitting reminder one week from Good Friday where another's hands were nailed to a tree. They weren't the hands of an emperor, a general or a wealthy merchant. Rather, they were the hands of the savior of the world and it's what he did with his hands that Christians from around the world celebrate this Easter season.