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If you\u2019ve ever looked at the hands of your grandmother or grandfather,
\nOr at the hands of an elderly friend,
\nThen you\u2019ve had a glimpse of their life story.<\/p>\n
Each pair of hands has a story to tell,
\nAnd the older we get, the more our hands have to say.
\nSome hands are scarred or spotted.
\nOthers are twisted and gnarled with arthritis.
\nA hand can have callouses or be as smooth as lotion.<\/p>\n
The fingers, too, tell a tale about our lives.
\nSome of us have long fingernails decorated with bright polish and fancy designs.
\nSome nails are nervously chewed down.
\nOur fingers might be covered with a band-aid or circled by a wedding ring.<\/p>\n
Whether they\u2019re spotted with age or smooth as silk,
\nNo two hands are alike.
\nEach hand in the world has its own unique creases and landmarks.
\nNo two fingers have the same fingerprints.<\/p>\n
Written on our hands is the story of our lives and the choices we have made.<\/p>\n
The readings today speak to us of the choices that lie in our own two hands.<\/p>\n
The book of Sirach tells us God has set before us fire and water.
\nTo whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
\nLife or death.
\nGood or evil.
\nWater of Life or
\nFiery Gehenna.
\nThe choice is in our hands.<\/p>\n
In the gospel Jesus tells us that we have the choice to break the commandments or to obey the commandments.
\nThe choice is in our hands.<\/p>\n
We make the choice in our hearts, and our hands make it happen.<\/p>\n
What do our hands tell us about the choices we have made?
\nWhat story do they tell?<\/p>\n
These are the hands that reached out to Mom and Dad while we were just learning how to walk.
\nThese are the hands we would fold in prayer as we knelt by our bed before sleep.
\nThese hands were pressed tightly together as we walked up the aisle to make our first communion,
\nAnd they held the bouquet as we walked up the aisle when we were married.<\/p>\n
These hands play video games and swing baseball bats.
\nThey tap on tablet screens and type up term papers.
\nThey make the winning free throw or putt for birdie.
\nThey throw a Hail Mary pass or make an interception.
\nThese hands tickle the keys of a piano, rattle off a drum solo, or strum the strings of a guitar.<\/p>\n
These are the hands that tuck the children into bed at night,
\nAnd these are the thumbs that text them
\nTo make sure they got to their friend\u2019s house safely.<\/p>\n
Water or Fire? Life or Death? To whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.<\/p>\n
Hands can pick pockets, spray graffiti on a wall, or throw a rock at a window.
\nA closed hand held high can strike fear into children or classmates.
\nAn open hand can slap or spank in anger.<\/p>\n
A hand can pull the lever of a slot machine or toss in more poker chips.
\nA hand can hold a beer can or a wine glass.
\nIt can be stained with nicotine.
\nA hand can inject a needle
\nOr move a computer mouse and click on images that can destroy a marriage.
\nThe palms of our hands can cover a face that is too ashamed to be seen
\nOr too sad to smile.<\/p>\n
But hands pressed firmly together can pump a stopped heart to save a life.
\nAnd we can hold hands when we walk on the beach,
\nOr when one of us is dying in a hospital bed.<\/p>\n
Our hands can hook up jumper cables when a car won\u2019t start,
\nAnd they can leave a tip at a restaurant.
\nThey can hold a video camera during a pageant or a play or a ball game.
\nThey can serve a meal to the homeless,
\nOr be placed simply on a shoulder for comfort.<\/p>\n
When these hands carry a gift to the altar, and we recall that a brother or sister has something against us,
\nThose hands can leave the gift there
\nDrive us to our brother or sister
\nAnd reach out to them in apology and forgiveness.<\/p>\n
God sets before us fire and water,
\nAnd it is up to us to decide to which we will stretch out our hands.<\/p>\n
We each have a choice to make.<\/p>\n
And the actions of the hands reveal the choices of the heart.
\nWe may intend to do good, and we may know the right thing to do.
\nBut no matter what we intend to do,
\nWe discover what we truly choose
\nBy the story we read in our hands.<\/p>\n
Our hands express our choices, our decisions. They tell the story of our lives.<\/p>\n
God\u2019s hands tell a story too.
\nWe can see the workings of God\u2019s heart by looking at those hands:
\nThe hands that smeared spit and mud and cured a man\u2019s blindness.
\nThe hands that touched the leper and made him clean.
\nThe hands that drew Lazarus forth from the grave.
\nThe hands that broke bread, blessed it, and gave it to his disciples.
\nThe hands that washed their feet.
\nThe hands outstretched on the cross.<\/p>\n
With his hands, Jesus freely embraced the will of the Father;
\nHe chose Life over death.
\nGood over evil.
\nRelationship over rebellion.
\nAnd his wounded hands tell the story.<\/p>\n
Like Jesus, we are free to decide.<\/p>\n
God does not tie our hands.
\nHe sets before us life and death,
\nAnd lets us choose.<\/p>\n
God will never use violence to force our hand.
\nGod is persuasive, assertive, and direct.
\nBut never tyrannical.<\/p>\n
There are no handcuffs in heaven.<\/p>\n
We can choose to break commandments or to break bread,
\nTo build up or tear down.<\/p>\n
We gather here as a community to renew our decision to choose the Water of Life and reject the Fiery Gehenna.<\/p>\n
In a little while we will extend our hands in the sign of peace, and offer the story of our lives to our neighbors.
\nNo matter what our hands say about the choices we have made in the past,
\nToday we offer our lives to each other in peace
\nAnd recommit ourselves to choosing life.<\/p>\n
And then we will approach this altar and stretch out our hands to accept the Body and Blood of Christ from the Hands of the minister of the Eucharist.
\nOur hands will receive the one who holds us in His hands,
\nAnd once again our stories will become the One Story.<\/p>\n
And we will know it as well as we know the back of our hands.<\/p>\n