This will not be what the title suggests. I like to turn a phrase.

“Put ‘er there!” That’s what I’m talkin’ about, man-to-man. AAARRRR!! There’s a guy in my congregation, and every Sunday when he comes in, we try to come up with a new way of shaking hands: coming in like a roller coaster, behind the back, down, low, up high – anything that gets us laughing. He has a firm grip too, which any man appreciates.

All kidding and masculinity aside, legend has it that the handshake had its origin several hundred years ago in England. It also conveyed that one was unarmed. In Japan, you bow. The Mideast? Cold, wet noodle (glad I don’t live there). In churches like ours, it is customary to “share the peace” just before the offering is taken up and we proceed to the Sacrament of The Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, or just “The Meal”. It is typically done with the shaking of hands. We all remember the difficult early days of the pandemic, when contact of any kind was strongly discouraged. Customary greetings, like good manners, will never go out of style. We want to “seal the deal”, but it goes way beyond the completion of a business transaction. It does something for your soul. You almost can’t help but smile when someone offers you a hand. In today’s vernacular, we have added such phrases as “hand-out”, “hand up”, even “talk to the hand”. Our hands go up when we know the answer to a question, when we vote by “show of hands”, or when “cordially commanded” by a cop (heaven forbid that should happen to any of us!).

We believe in the one who is seated at the right hand of the Father. His guiding hand sustains us. Our hands may shake and tremble as our nerves age, but His hand is ever steady. As we “meet and greet”, may we extend and feel the unconditional love of the hands into whom we commend ourselves, our bodies, and all things.

Pastor Art