This Morning

If you read this somewhere in the future, please make note that this was written in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 when our world changed abruptly without knowing the duration. With that being said, our Sunday morning worship services were cancelled this morning in person but were available through the magic that is Facebook. Spring Break officially starts for us tomorrow but in actuality, it started two days ago on Friday when we had teacher in-service and the kids stayed home. As many schools and school districts have similarly decided, WCS will have school online in the week after our break so we spent Friday preparing for that. Our administration explained that our custodial service will do a deep cleaning on our facility so we had until the end of the weekend to get whatever we needed out of our classrooms.

This morning, I was in my room/our building from roughly 6-9 AM, grading some tests and straightening up. Since I drink a great deal of water and coffee early in the day, I made several trips to the nearest bathroom for males. Several times, I was faced with detailed instructions for the washing of hands, instructions on the wall above the sink that only appeared in the very recent past. I followed the guidelines as far as I could- we don't use paper towels so that part is out. I'm always careful to wash my hands after visiting the boys' room  but I admit I'm more thorough now. Pandemics have that affect. (Or is it effect?)

I grew up in a family in which our parents LOVED to sing and specifically church songs. Since Dad was the preacher, the home playlist was probably a mirror of our congregational favorites. One that has stuck with me is very  applicable in our current climate. I Washed My Hands This Morning, which is also called Little Feet, Be Careful, was written and published by Lucinda M. Bateman in 1886. It went like this:

1. I washed my hands this morning
   So very clean and white,
   And lent them both to Jesus,
   To work for Him till night.
   • Refrain:
     Little feet, be careful
     Where you take me to;
     Anything for Jesus,
     Only let me do.
2. I told my ears to listen
   Quite closely all day through,
   For any act of kindness
   Such little hands can do.
3. My eyes are set to watch them
   About their work or play,
   To keep them out of mischief
   For Jesus’ sake all day.
   
   Pretty amazing in the context of our present world! And it's Biblical! Both James 4:8 and Psalm 24:3 connect clean hands with a pure heart. Jesus was criticized by a Pharisee in Luke 11 for not washing His hands before dining but commentators tell us the washing referred to by the host was a traditional, ceremonial ritual to get rid of possible contact with Gentiles rather than actual cleanliness. It looks like the Pharisee wanted Jesus to at least go through the motions of the legalistic rite. I've gone through the motions all of my life at the sink. I'm reformed now- twenty seconds at least! Plus, I want that pure heart!

To hear an adorable 2 year old child singing this hymn, click or copy/paste the link below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyALZcrkko0


Applicable quote of the day:
If I wasn't writing poems, I'd be washing my hands all the time. 
Sherman Alexie

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
E-mail me at shawley@westburychristian.org