Open hands

Jesus' simple story teaches us to become poor widows in relation to God. God's hands are always open to us. He holds us in his hands. He makes our hands an extension of his.

Open hands.

Jesus opened his hands. No words were needed, but Jesus still spoke gently to Thomas to give him
no reason to doubt, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see.” Open
hands. Days before, his hands were stretched wide and fixed by nails to the wooden beam. He told
us it would be so, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
Open hands. And then, oh, as his breaths grew shorter and shorter, he made his closest friend John
an extension of his hands to care for his grieving, widowed mother, “When Jesus saw his mother
there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your
son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her
into his home.”

Open hands. That’s what our Church and School’s 10 year vision is about.

“We are a church that trains up our people to become ministers and missionaries who bring the
Gospel message to those in our circle, with each circle becoming a mission community. 

We have a safe St. Paul’s campus that is open to the community where people are met where they
are at. We are staffed with counselors and ministers teaching Biblical truths one on one or in small
groups. 

We make education accessible to all income levels, not only for school-aged children, but also for
college students and adults who answer the call to serve in the public ministry or the ministry of life.”

Open hands. God’s hands are open to us. Our hands become an extension of God’s. I’m not going
to explain all this right now. I simply ask you to watch what your church and school are doing. Read
the announcements and quarterly newsletters. The weekly emails and daily facebook posts. As you
watch, be a part of it. That all says it without words. Open hands. God’s hands are open to us. Our
hands become an extension of his. And it’s barely begun. 

Another little story from Jesus helps us open our hands.

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd
putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more
into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her
poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44

Jesus’ teaching here is so simple...become widows in relation to God. Faith-filled widows.

Do we view God as the widow who sits on the side of the street, begging for a few dollars for lunch?
Or are we widows in relation to God, our Care-giver whose hands have always been totally open to
us? Do we pray “give us today our daily bread” like this widow would have? Or do we pray “see, God,
I thought of you. Are you happy now?”

Jesus watched “how” the people put in their offerings. Not “how much”. “How”. Their attitudes.
Their motives. Why they were doing it. There was a group doing it for show. “Look what I’m giving
to God.” Maybe it soothed their consciences. Maybe they thought, “I did my good deed…” while the
rest of their lives remained so unlike their gracious Heavenly Father. Maybe it was a power play in
the community and they wanted the respect and praise of others, “That guy supports the temple,
must be a good person to do business with.” Perhaps there were some not giving because they didn’t
like the way things were run in the temple or were having a spat with one of the priests. Perhaps
some were passing by because they figured, “well, those rich people can afford it.” Jesus watched
“how” they gave their offerings OR “how” they didn’t. 

Look through Jesus eyes. Watch “how” most gave. Now watch “how” the poor widow gave. This is
so simple. Not much more needs to be said.

Jesus watched “how” the widow gave her offering...all she had...two little coins. A fraction of a penny.
The bare minimum someone could pay for the temple tax. He watched how she tried to be invisible.
“Please, no one see me.” NOT because she was giving so little, but because she wasn’t there to be
seen or respected or praised by anyone else. She was there to be with God, her Care-giver. To
thank him with all her heart for opening his hands to her every single day. She was there to open
her mind to what God was showing her as the priests made the animal sacrifices. As they took the
animals into their hands and shed their blood, she saw the hand of God coming down on them, and
eventually on the Messiah, instead of on her. She was there with God’s family to sing and pray the
Psalms, her daily bread. She was there to open her hands to others who were suffering, lonely,
depressed, grieving deaths and miscarriages and divorces. How could she not after God had
opened his hands so generously to her? 

She gave ALL she had. She didn’t need anything else because God would care for her tomorrow
like he had cared for her today and yesterday. God would care for her forever, even better than
right now. The Greek says that she gave her entire “bios”. Bios. You hear the word “biology”. She
gave her life. Not just her coins. Her life.

A life God created when his hands formed her in the hidden place of mom’s womb. A life that would
have been stolen away by greed, selfishness, hoarding, depression, sadness, and fear if not for the
bleeding, open hands of her Savior, Jesus!

A life given back to her! Flash back to how Jesus opened his hands..“And I, when I am lifted up
from the earth, will draw all people to myself...Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!
Touch me and see.” Jesus gave his all, his life, his bios…so you could have your life back. Life with
God. Life to the full. Life forever.

Jesus’ teaching here is so simple...become widows in relation to God. Faith-filled widows who actually
see God and relate to God as the Care-giver. The praise that left your lips today is the very beginning.
Give your entire bios, your life to him every day. The life Jesus gave back to you.

I think the 10 year plan with all the goals and details that go with it is exciting. Challenging.. It’s cool.
It makes sense. But it’s really pretty small. It’s the basic things a health church does. God knows if in
just a few short years, we’ll be rewriting the 10 year target if we open our hearts and minds full to
today’s lesson or if we resist. God knows and his heart, mind and hands remain open to us and all
people. He’ll either go through us and make our hands an extension of his or he’ll go around us.

We pray, “Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise. Amen.”