Details

Acts 3:1-10

There are times when I have to wonder at the inclusion of certain information in a scripture text. It happened to me with our reading from Acts for today. “But Peter said, ‘I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.’ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up…” (Acts 3:6-7a). Peter and John are on their way to the temple for prayer. As they go they pass a man, lame from birth, who is begging for alms. Peter’s response is to heal the man, after which Peter takes him “by the right hand” to help him stand up. My question is why is it important for us to know that Peter lifted the man with his right hand? I assume it is pertinent in some way or else Luke, the writer of Acts, would have left it out.

I’m sure there are some interesting theories about this. Perhaps the right hand was symbolic of the right hand of fellowship being offered by the church to all who would accept Jesus. Perhaps Luke wants us to know that it was not the left hand, which has sometimes been associated with darkness or evil. I don’t know. What I do know is that it is in such details that we find God’s grace played out, in scripture and in our lives. These events didn’t happen in Never-never Land or over the rainbow, they happened on real streets in real cities where men and women sometimes use their left hands and sometimes their right. And God was there—really and fully there. And as we journey into the world today, into a culture that sometimes seems driven by details and statistics, God will be there as well—really and fully there. This is a point worth remembering, a detail worth pondering.

Prayer: Lord, be with us this day in all that happens, reminding us that no detail escapes your attention. In Jesus’ name. Amen.