How a Handless Statue of Christ Brings Tears and Memories to its Onlookers Even Today.

Throughout his life, and especially during his public ministry, Jesus showed his listeners what he meant   by incarnating the compassion of God for his suffering humanity. Jesus did this by proclaiming the good news to the poor, giving sight to the blind, healing the broken hearted, comforting the afflicted, afflicting the comfortable, and setting captives free.

Before departing earth and returning to his father, Jesus commissioned his disciples and the community  he founded to continue his mission.  Baptism hands that commission on to us, the Christian community.

Ministry broadly understood refers to the wide variety of ways, that we, in our own life situations, continue Christ ‘s compassionate presence in our society. In whatever form our lives take, we are called to minister, to give flesh and blood reality to the ongoing compassion of God for all.

God depends on us, you to embody the love of Jesus for others as this example emphasizes.  A statue of Jesus wrecked by shelling during World War II stood just outside a small village near Normandy. Its hands were totally destroyed.

After the war, the villagers gathered around the ruined statue of Christ to decide its fate. One group argued that the statue was so badly damaged that it should be demolished, and a new one erected.

Another group objected vehemently arguing that the village artisan whose specialty was damaged art  could easily handle the duty of refurbishing the statue. Finally, a third group voiced a proposal that ultimately carried the day. They proposed the statue be cleaned up but remain handless and that a plaque be placed at the base saying, “I have no hands but yours.”

Everyone loudly cheered their approval.  To this day that handless statue continues to draw large crowds . Some are teary-eyed onlookers remembering something that touches them as they gaze at the handless figure of Jesus.

This story is a dramatic example of being a compassionate presence for those in need. Most of the time we are called to minister to someone in the ordinary circumstances of life. Remember, Jesus has no hands but yours.