God’s Hands

Albrecht Durer, generally regarded as the greatest artist of the German Renaissance, was one of l8 children born to a goldsmith in a tiny village near Nuremberg.  As a boy, Durer worked at every job he could find to help put food on the table, while dreaming of becoming an artist.

Finally, his dreams began to come true when he was sent to work for a skilled artisan in Nuremberg.  There he met and became friends with another man who shared the same dream.  The two men moved in together, promising to support each other until they became established.

When this proved more difficult than they anticipated, Durer’s friend offered to postpone his career and find work to provide food and shelter until Durer could generate enough income from the sale of his paintings and engravings to support them both.  And so, while Durer continued refining his talents, his friend put aside his own aspirations and sought whatever work he could find. 

Durer’s friend scrubbed floors, washed dishes, and served in a nearby restaurant until the day came when Durer brought home enough money from the sale of a wood carving to support them both for some time.  Only then did Durer’s friend return to his art, but by this time his hands had lost their touch and his fingers could hardly hold a paintbrush.

Not long thereafter, Durer returned to the apartment the two men shared to find his friend kneeling in prayer, his hands folded reverently.  Struck by the beauty of his friends hands, scarred and marked as they were by his labor of love, Durer was inspired to create what many consider his masterpiece – The Praying Hands – a tribute to his friend’s sacrifice.

In some way and in similar fashion, each of us has benefited from the sacrifices others have made on our behalf.  Each of us is indebted to others.  Each of us is called to respond.  

“Whatever there is of God and goodness in the universe, it must work itself out and express itself through us,” Einstein said.  “We cannot stand aside and let God do it.”

We are God’s hands.  Each of us holds the answer to someone’s prayers.