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| Image by Alec Mills |
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A GREETING
You are my shelter and my shield—
I wait for your promise.
(Psalm 119:14)
A READING
Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. A woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and couldn’t stand up straight. When he saw her, Jesus called her to him and said, “Woman, you are set free from your sickness.” He placed his hands on her and she straightened up at once and praised God.
(Luke 13:10-13)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Because he will order his messengers to help you,
to protect you wherever you go.
They will carry you with their own hands
so you don’t bruise your foot on a stone.
(Psalm 91:11-12)
A POEM
The crevasse
is deep and impenetrable,
its edges defined by sharp rock.
Its source,
once fed by glacial melt,
has long since dried up.
Wind-sheared trees
stand off on either side,
disfigured by the elements.
An eagle
riding the currents
across the divide
drops a seed
of hope.
- "Schism" by Emma Walton Hamilton, found in "Door to Door"
VERSE OF THE DAY
In the morning I will shout out loud
about your faithful love
because you have been my stronghold,
my shelter when I was distraught.
(Psalm 59:16)
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| "Shelter II," by Lorenzo Quinn (click to enlarge) In this sculpture, the artist creates hands that provide a shelter, and includes the following, written in rhyming verse, but presented as a paragraph, written by the artist: "When the world is too heavy, and silence is sharp, when shadows stretch longer than the light in your heart -- I will be here. Not as a wall to imprison, nor a cage to confine, but a haven, a shield, a love intertwined. My hands are the sky that bends to protect, my strength is the whisper that guards you from wreck. You may bend, you may break, you may weep in the night, but within these hands, you are held in the light. No storm shall reach you, no darkness consume, for this in this embrace, there is always room." |
Jesus helps a woman stand up who has been bent over for long years. It is another of the healing stories in which an immediate transformation takes place. Jesus has not only healed her ailment, but has radically shifted her orientation. Now she can see outward and around herself as she could not before. To effect this transition, Jesus lays hands on her.
What does it mean to lay hands on someone? The Greek word for "hand", means both "by the agency or help of any one" and also the particular hand of God. Laying on of hands allows for both a symbolic and formal transmission of the creative and transformative power of God. In Numbers and Deuteronomy, Moses is instructed to "lay hands" on Joshua as a way of commissioning him to carry the agency of God that has been in Moses. We do something similar in our own liturgies of ordination and blessing. Some Christian communities practice laying on of hands for healing, while for others it can be a way of simply upholding someone in their everyday life.
The laying on of hands is a form of blessing, and also a passing of the mantel. It signals a cosmic shift in one's orientation to the world. When we have had hands laid on us, our gaze changes: we are able to straighten into our true selves always and be nearer to God.
There are ways to both carry and receive this life-giving energy. When we go for a walk in the woods, we can enjoy the feeling of rough bark on old trees as it stretches across our palms. When we see a stream, we can run the water through our fingers and watch as the light catches stones below. In these ways, and also in a limited way, nature takes care of us: it nurtures us and sustains us, allowing us to sraighten and see a new world with wonder.
God's desire for our wellbeing encourages us to stretch and grow ourselves. When have you experienced the laying on of hands? How much would you say you still carry it in your body?
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In Minneapolis, members of Haven Watch (in orange vests) meet newly released detainees from the Whipple government facility detention centre. According to the Haven Watch website, detainees are released later at night, often without any money or cell phone. The Watch members greet each one with a blanket or a quilt and walk with them, in an embrace, to meet their families or to a shelter where they can orient. Each detainee is offered a hug. In this video, made on February 21st and with sound removed, the detainee runs their hand along the back of the Watch person in a moment of mutual comfort. Found on the Instagram accounts of the cookiecupcakes and minnesota50501.
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Scripture passages are taken from the Common English Bible.
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LC† From Dust, Still Holy is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!
