“The Touch of the master’s Hand”

Good Friday

“Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

thought it scarcely worth his while

to waste much time on the old violin,

but held it up with a smile.

What am I bidden, good folks, he cried,

who’ll start the bidding for me?

A dollar, a dollar, then, two!  Only two?

Two dollars, ad who’ll make it three.

Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice.

Going for three… But no,

From the room, far back, a grey-haried man

Came forward and picked up the bow.

Then wiping the dust from the old violin,

He played a melody pure and sweet

as a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,

with a voice tat was quiet and low, said:

“What am I bid for the old violin?”

And he held it up with the bow,

A thousand, once, three thousand, twice.

And going and gone, said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,

We do not quite understand

What changed its worth?  Swift came the reply:

“The touch of a master’s hand.”

And many a person with life out of tune,

and battered and scarred with sin,

is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,

much like the old violin.

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine;

a game- and he travels on.

He is going once, and going twice, He’s going and almost gone.

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd never can quite understand

the worth of a soul and the change that’s wroght

by the touch of the master’s hand.

                                                                                                            –Myra B. Welch

            For forty days we have been enduring Lent, and for some of us that is exactly what it is – an endurance test.  We have been giving alms to the poor, fasting, abstaining from those things in our lives that hinder us from a closer relationship with God, who loves us so much that he gave his only Son to die on a cross.

            What really struck me as I read this poem is how much it really relates to each of us.  For the season of Lent, we have reflected on just how “out of tune” our own lives are.  We have reflected on how much our lives are “battered and scarred with sin.”

            When we consider the many people, who have been auctioned off cheaply by us, a thoughtless crowd, we see ourselves in the feet of those who gave up so easily on Jesus that fateful day.  We auction off the person who could work but will not.   We auction off the illness of chemical dependency without seeking the gifts that lie hidden behind it.  We auction off ourselves without digging to find the treasure within.  We auction off the divorced, without counting the cost of the pain to remain in an abusive relationship.  We auction off people of color simply because they are different from us.  We auction off the homeless, the aged, the poor, out of indifference or lack of time or priority.  We auction off the child in the womb, simply because it is an inconvenience in our lives.  We auction off one another because of differing political or religious views.

            Oh yes, the people cheered and jeered that fateful day without daring to challenge themselves to find worth – in Jesus or themselves.  People with a healthy self-worth will work to challenge others to find it in themselves.  Then the Master comes in and opens our eyes to the wonder and value of us all!

            As the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom, the people exclaimed: “surely this was the Son of God.”  It is difficult to understand when our eyes are not open to the works of the master’s hand.  But that is what today is all about.

            Today, the curtain falls from our eyes as we witness the love of the master’s hand.   Our sins no longer matter, our lives out of tune no longer matter.  What matters is tat we learn that the Master does not, could not, create anything or anyone without value.  Today, we witness just how valuable we are:  White, Black, Latino, Indian, Jew, Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Immigrant, Rich, Poor, Disabled, Alcoholic, Drug Abuser, Homeless, members and non-members.  The Master sent his only Son to die once and for all, so that the victory of sin and death is trampled forever. Today, we witness the value of ourselves, yes, even in our sinful state, even in our life of turmoil, in our life of uncertainty, in our life of fear, and in our brothers and sisters.

            What was once thought of as worthless on that fateful day was raised to new life just three days later. What was seen as without value was the beginning of an entire new Easter people!  What was once seen as “no good” and worthy of only discarding, was victorious over eternal sin and death!

            Today, as we come to venerate the cross, as a sign of our love, may we remember the loving gift of Jesus on that fateful day.  May we remember that it is through Jesus that we have the life worth living!  It is through Jesus, who died for us, so that we would have the gift of life.  Let us then find he worth in ourselves and one another.  When the auctioneers in life hold up someone in which they do not see value or worth, let us remember “the touch of the master’s hand” in our own lives, then, bid the highest bid for our brother or sister.  Because all of us, are touched by the master’s Hand!