The Halo around His Hands

Today’s message was written by my friend, Rev. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

The famous artist Rembrandt did a fascinating thing in one of his paintings. Instead of painting a halo over the head of Jesus, in one work of art, he painted a halo around his hands. Not over his head, but around his hands. Why? Over the years, art critics have debated why Rembrandt did this. It seems to me that he was reminding us of all the ways Christ used his hands to do his ministry. With his holy and sacred hands, he healed the sick, fed the hungry, blessed the children, and raised the dead. With his hands, he showed us how to live our faith and how to put our faith to work. With the shared touch of his hands, he gives us a self we can live with and a faith we can live by. Christianity is not just a creed we profess; it is a lifestyle we live. My prayer is that God, through the power of the risen Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit, will enable us to live each day fully and make each day a masterpiece.

Let us pray: O God, whose grace is like a canopy of love spread over our lives, teach us how to fill our cups with cool water and reach out to thirsty persons. Enable us not only to walk the mile that is required of us but, finding our strength in love, to go the second mile as well. Make us a servant people, eager to draw others beneath the canopy of grace and into the banquet hall of the Spirit. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.