His Hands and Feet

A Reflection on the Second Reading for June 7th, 2020:
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

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2 Corinthians 13.11-13

Brothers and sisters, put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

I feel like I can’t breathe. The horror and injustice of actions in our world today are suffocating. In recent days, a fellow human literally screamed as his last words “I can’t breathe!”. The pressure on him continued until he breathed his last, and the world around him erupted in anger. Anger. Hate. Riots. Looting. All while the world is still essentially in lockdown. The doors to our churches are mostly closed. It feels like end times.

In Second Corinthians, Paul calls us to “put things in order”. To encourage each other. To serve others and take a stand for what is right. He goes on to exhort us to live in peace. The Church of Corinth was torn apart and divided, much like our world is today.

In these last months, I have truly learned and experienced that Church is more than the bricks and mortar I walk into. The Church is made up of living stones — of people — of me and you. Today, perhaps more than ever, I realize that the world needs Christ-like love to heal, and that I need to be Christ’s love in the world. I need to be His Body — His hands and feet — in this world filled with anger and hate and injustice. It’s not enough to sit safely behind my screen and be an armchair ally. I need to take the action that is needed to battle this evil. To stand against the injustice. To use my privilege as a chosen daughter of God and be an active ally against hatred. I must speak up and use the tools He has given me. God provides all that heals the wounds of the world. I have to greet others with that “holy kiss” Paul speaks of in this reading.

Someone once told me that sometimes we get our crosses mixed up; that we try to carry a cross that belongs to another. And that’s true. We can never fully carry someone else’s cross, however, even Jesus accepted help from Simon of Cyrene who became a bearer of an unexpected cross. I suspect Simon felt annoyance at the disruption to his plans; reluctance and a feeling of unpreparedness. Perhaps He even felt embarrassment that his friends and community may see him and question or mock his actions. Yet he did not refuse. He pressed into that cross, trusting in God, knowing that even unthinkable pain was fleeting.

Lord, help me to press into this cross, doing what is needed to be an instrument of Your peace.



O Lord, open my eyes that I may see the needs of others
Open my ears that I may hear their cries;
Open my heart so that they need not be without succor;
Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong,
Nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich.
Show me where love and hope and faith are needed,
And use me to bring them to those places.
And so open my eyes and my ears
That I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for thee.

- Alan Paton




Sandy Graves

Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash

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