YOU ARE MY HANDS

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME, 

HE PUT A SONG OF PRAISE IN THIS HEART OF MINE, 

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME.

Praised be the name of the Lord now and forever.  I have been thinking to write this article for a long period of time.  At last I can do it now.

I remember a legend about the Second World War.  When the Second Word War was going on one of the Church was very badly damaged and the statue of Jesus lost it’s both hands.  When the War was over, the people gathered together under the guidance of their Parish Priest and decided to renovate the Church.  They collected money and the materials necessary for the rebuilding of the Church.  When the renovation was almost over, many people came to see the new splendor of the Church.  But they noticed that the hands of Jesus are not yet repaired and reminded the Priest to repair it before the rededication of the Church and the Priest agreed.  On the day of the rededication people gathered together with immense joy and were looking around the renovated Church it’s beauty was more than the previous one.  As they were wondering about the beautiful art work of the Church they noticed that the statue of Jesus is well painted but the still the hands of Jesus are missing and they got angry with the Parish Priest.  But at the foot of the statue they read that it was written ‘YOU ARE MY HANDS’.

Some say that this legend is true the others say it is not.  Whether it is true or not, but this legend made a greatest impact on me.  Once a man was travelling in a train and there were other three young men travelling together with him.  As the train moved on the three young men started opening their bottles and started converting the place into a mini bar to drink and play cards.  When they finished drinking they wanted to play cards.  But they were only three they need another hand – another person to play the cards.  They asked that man please give a hand so that we play.  And the man replied, ‘sorry I don’t have hands’.  They were terrified and examined the person that he is not handicapped.  They were angry and all the effect of the drinking dried up.  They, in angry tone, shouted, ‘are you made?’ took his hands and shook before his eyes and told, ‘here are your hands why can’t you come and join us’.   That man replied, ‘these hands are not mine’.  They were still confused, ‘what? Do you think that we are crazy? What do you mean?’ Again the man replied that the hands belong to Jesus.  He continued that once he was a big drunkard and lost most of his property in playing cards and gambling.  But now he was touched by Jesus and offered himself totally to Jesus as a priest and never uses his hand anything that displeases Jesus.  The three young men very much taken up by his witness and asked sorry and they prayed together.

Yes, ‘YOU ARE MY HANDS’ – ‘WE ARE HIS HANDS’.  Here I remember a poem written by St. Teresa of Avila which goes like this.

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

(Born in Spain, Teresa entered a Carmelite convent when she was eighteen, and later earned a reputation as a mystic, reformer, and writer who experienced divine visions. She founded a convent, and wrote the book The Way of Perfection for her nuns. Other important books by her include her Autobiography and The Interior Castle.)

How true it is! He needs you and me.  He wants to speak with people.  Do good things to his loved ones.  Even at times when we are surrounded by pains and perplexities he wants to console us.  For this he needs our hands, feet, eyes…etc..  He is looking for us to give him a chance to act upon.  He is longing to help others through you and help you through others.  We can give him a chance in all our activities, going an extra mile spending our extra time to Jesus.  Yes, give your extra time to Jesus and he will do extra ordinary things to you and to other.

I just started sending every week end the word of God text through my mobile to utilize my free text.  I started with just seven people.  The reply I received were amazing people were telling that they were touched by the word, some felt as though the Lord telling them exactly what they needed at that time.  This encouraged me very much and I continued to send.  But who will finance.  It’s the providence of the Lord, when he asks you to do something always he provides more than what you needed.  Now every weekend more than fifty people are being fed by ‘TODAY’S BREAD’ – the Word of God.  I felt this is a chance that I can give to Jesus to act upon his loved once.  God never expects us to do extra ordinary things just he expects us to do the ordinary things and he will make it extra ordinary.  As Christian I have to be another Christ.  How can it be possible without giving myself to Jesus?  So dear friends please give Jesus a chance to help others through you and help you through others.  You can do more than what you think of to Jesus in your own way.  It may be so small but for Jesus it is a biggest thing that he was looking for. WILL YOU BE HIS HANDS?