Christian art often depicts God the Father by using a hand. We think of the creative hand of God. For many people the hand of God is the chief topic they wish to talk about. The line goes something like this: “I really feel close to God when I am out in nature. I see the sun come up, see the deer in the forest, see the fish in the lakes. I feel close to God there.”

But Christian art depicts God the Son’s hands as well. We see the tiny hands of our Lord as He is laid in a manger. But we know that the hands will get larger. First they will work as a carpenter, making things from the creation with wood. The hard part of the story is when the hands are nailed to the wood, not just shaping the wood. Our Lord’s hands are cut and bleeding as He stretches them out to die to take our sins away.

The Lord’s hands look somewhat different in artwork after the resurrection. They are stretched out toward us. The Spirit of Jesus draws us to Himself, giving us the benefits of Jesus’ dying and rising. The waters of baptism are used by the Spirit to pour onto us new life.

God’s hands are now extended. We are those hands. When our hand goes on the shoulder of someone who mourns or is sick, it is God working through us. It is rather easy to be impressed by the handiwork of the Creator. But the silent suffering of those who see themselves all alone calls for a rather different kind of view. We need strength from our Savior to have those hands. We are foolish if we think that our hands are all that are needed for this life and the next.

The hands reach out. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. Then: the hands of blessing and commission. Go, my people, with My blessing. I will be with you always. Then: the hands of doing kingdom work: folded in prayer, reaching out to others, touching others with His forgiving love. May we confess that our hands are weak. May we ask our God to help us gather to be held by Him and other Christians. May we use this Christmas time to be the Lord’s hands of forgiving love for others.

In Christ our Lord and Savior,
Pastor Thomas Trapp