August 2001

Greetings,

A wise old hermit lived in the woods.  A group of teenage boys decided one day to play a trick on him. They trapped a bird and brought it to the hermit’s hut.  They knocked on the door and when he opened it they asked him, “The bird in my hands is it dead or alive?”

The hermit realized that it was a trick.  If the hermit said, “It was dead.” the boy would open his hands and let the bird fly away.  If he said, “It is alive.” the boy would crush the bird in his hands.

The teenage boys figured they had a fool proof plan.

The wise old hermit thought for a moment and then gave the perfect answer, “It is as you will it, son. The answer is in your hands.”

This is indeed a great parable of life.  Life IS in your hands.

You have the capacity: to use your hands to do good or to do evil;

to raise them in worship to God or in praise of self;

to fold them in prayer to say thank you God or to pat oneself on one’s back;

to extend them to another in need or to keep them tightly clutched to one’s side;

to sow the seeds of God’s love or to sow seeds of hatred and indifference;

to weed the sinful desires of the flesh from your life or to weed the righteous desires of the spirit.

So how will you use your hands?

This is also a great parable of church.

St. Paul’s is in your hands.

You have the capacity: to use your hands to make it the church God would have it be or the church you would have it be;

to make it a Bible literate church or a Bible illiterate church;

to make it a house of prayer or a house void of prayer;

to make it a servant church or an idle church;

to make it a faith based Spirit filled church or a faithless Spiritless church;

to offer your time, your talents, your treasure to the glory of God or to use it for yourself.

So how will YOU use your hands?

St. Augustine said “we have two possible loves, to love God at the expense of loving self or to love self at the expense of loving God.”

Jesus said,