We recently closed a worship service with Chris Tomlin’s “Holy is the Lord” played at break-neck speed due to the energy of the worship service at that moment. Quickly the song has become a favorite of the congregation, which I find a bit odd given the song opens with the line: “We stand and lift up our hands.” Our congregation is good at the stand part, but we are not, for the most part, hands-lifters.
Sunday, as I was enjoying some quiet time before worship, I read this quote from 16th century Spanish Christian, Teresa of Avila:
Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out to the world; yours are the feet by which he is to go about doing good and yours are the hands by which God is to bless people now.
The authors of the devotional I was reading had these words as part of the worship: “We lift our hands in praise to say these hands are yours” (Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, September 18). “Holy is the Lord” was the 2nd song in the morning set list, so I shared it with the congregation as I share it with you today.
We may not all raise our hands in worship, but it is a good practice to raise our hands to offer them to God’s service. May our hands be folded in prayer, and then used to work toward that for which we pray. Amen.