“He could do no deed of power there…he called the 12 and gave them authority…”

Even Jesus’ power to heal and to save was limited, when he didn’t have a supportive community. “He laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them”, but even with his profound connection to the Holy source, alone, Jesus could not manifest God’s kingdom. He needed others who were committed – his dozen apostles in pairs – to go out and initiate the saving deeds their world cried out for…The healings of bodies, minds and communities that signify the Kin-dom coming.

In today’s emerging Christian theology, we are at last accepting the responsibility and power that Jesus delegated to his followers. We are the Christ presence embodied in this 21st century. No less. We acknowledge that we are the hands and feet of God in our place and time… There is no omnipotent God ‘out there’ who can save the world without our active co-operation.

God is the Creator. We are the co-creators for today.
God is the power and purpose. We are God’s human potential on earth now.
God is the divine allurement drawing Creation into unity. We are the agency of that cosmic energy.
God is the compassion that organizes the universe into beauty. We are the consciousness of that beauty and harmony, commissioned to make it so by the right ordering of reality.
God is the mind of wholeness. We are the brains, the hands, the feet of peace on earth.

God cannot do it without us. Our challenge as Christians is to work creatively with Christ energy, towards God’s purpose. To work together as communities manifesting Jesus’ Kingdom vision. Through our imaginations, we are enabled to birth creative healing events. Today’s scripture makes it clear that Jesus and his apostles new this, way back then!

It is a daunting calling, that arises from admitting that God needs us. We can no longer sit by while the kingdom burns, awaiting a ‘second coming.’ We can no longer pray passively for a miracle that is not partly of human making. We, the species with the power to destroy our earth, at last acknowledge our power to work with God and save it.

God needs our hands. Yours and mine. If not our hands, friends, then whose hands? If God is not asking to work in this church, in this place on earth, then what place?

The saving work of our planet. The saving work of world peace. The saving work of economic justice. The saving work of human rights and right relationships in families. The saving work of healing bodies and minds and communities. It is in our hands. But not our hands alone.

In the cosmic order of Creation, the new physics assures us that the flap of a butterfly’s wing can impact on the weather half way round the world. So too, our smallest action for justice and kindness here at Trinity can be a growing impulse for healing the world order. Our tentative little initiative to stop global warming can set of an exponential movement of planetary proportion. Every human has a little of Jesus or Mother Theresa or Ghandhi or maybe Craig Kielburger in our DNA.

What is meant to be the healing work of your hands? Our hands here at Trinity? In this coming year, I hope we will take up the challenge to each do our ‘Spiritual Gifts Inventory.’ Are you willing to discover how God is aching to take your hand and harness your passion, to make goodness manifest?

Today, and throughout the coming year, I hope we will continue to celebrate every gift of goodness that God manifests in the world through our hands. Every little act of justice and kindness – from our committees and all you individuals who minister through Trinity.

By celebrating our capacities to do God’s good, we strengthen each other’s resolve to act as God’s hands. On this saving Ark that we call Trinity, we are the deckhands. God is the wind, pushing us in the right direction. Let’s make 2010 a salvation-creation voyage. All hands on deck. If not your hands, Trinity apostles, whose hands will God use here?