For the ancients, human hands were the most characteristic trait defining man. Man surpassed all other animals because he had hands. With hands, man was able to build and make things; he was able to destroy and kill with his hands. Hands made men like the gods. In the First Book of Samuel (this is the First Book of Kings in the Armenian biblical canon), the following episode is recorded: the Ark of the Covenant fell into the hands of the Philistines, who took it and set it beside their god Dagon in his temple. The next morning, they found Dagon’s statue fallen off its pedestal; they redressed their god, but the next morning they found not only Dagon fallen off its pedestal again, but also that its head and the palms of his hands were cut off, and only the stump of Dagon was left to him (1 Samuel 5:4).
The head and hands define the identity of the human being. We offer our prayers to God with our hands, elevating them through deeds of righteousness and sincere, truthful dedication. We ask for God’s mercy with our hands, as we profess in the prayers written by our Fathers of the Church. As proof of purity and to show the indisputable dedication of our love, we do not conceal our hands from our interlocutors.
It is clear, therefore, how important a dwelling place our hands are for the presence of God. The hand is the practical expression of all our convictions. The only convincing verdict in favor of moving from words to action is shown by our hands. God resides in our hands. God distributes His justice to all His creatures through our hands. With our hands, we enter into communion with the Hands of God by virtue of the eternal Covenant. We place our hands on the Gospel to receive from the Hands of our Heavenly Father the pledge of His favor and His Holy Spirit.
As a sign of purity, we wash our hands not in the creaturely waters, but in the creative holiness of God. That lustration pours into our hands the power to offer the ultimate sacrifice of worship: through the intercession of our hands, we renew the holy sacrifice of the Cross of our Lord Jesus, offering to our Heavenly Father His own Only Son. We sign ourselves with our hands with the sign of the Cross, and we bless those who appeal to our mercy and love.
Every time we look at our hands, we should see there the presence of our God, and they will guide our deeds and intentions toward the good. Every time we greet someone, we should convey to them the true value of our Christian love, elevating that civilized sign of greeting to its true source of grace, which alone can bring peace.
As workers called by the sanctifying grace of our baptism to tend the new Garden of Eden of the Church, let us build the city of God with stones miraculously turned into bread of justice and mercy, and we shall sate all men with the desirable presence of our Lord Jesus.