Wednesday, April 29, 2020
“But principled people hold tight, keep a firm grip on life, sure that their clean, pure hands will get stronger and stronger!” (Job 17:9, The Message Bible)


                Wash your hands, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo
                Wash your hands, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo 

                If you are a parent of young children or grandparents of young grandchildren, you, more than likely, know the children’s song “Baby Shark”. If not, google it and I promise you that it will stick in your head for the rest of the day and pop up uninvited during the rest of the week. Just ask my daughter-in-law, Krista who is two-year old Declan’s Mommy. Declan loves Baby Shark and insists on it being played frequently, regularly and often - in that order! Can one socially distance from a two-year-old?

But the song has been adapted for our Covid19 times to remind children to wash their hands, use soap, dry their hands and so on. I hope I put enough “Doo Doos” in; I can never remember. And I wasn’t going to look is up; it’s still an ear-worm.

We are all being constantly reminded to wash our hands these days. When I go to the grocery store there is someone who meets me and has cleaned the handle of my grocery cart with sanitizer and then sprays some on my hands before he or she lets me into the store. When I come out and have loaded the bags into the car, before I drive off, I use a bottle of sanitizer which I keep in the car and then also use a sani-wipe after that on my hands and I then I wipe down the steering wheel with it. When I get home and after I bring the groceries in, I go into the bathroom and thoroughly wash my hands again with soap and hot water.

There hasn’t been this much fuss over hand-washing since the Pharisees chastised Jesus and his disciples for not washing up before dinner. (cf. Mark 7:2) I wonder how many of you still shout out before dinner, “Wash up! Supper’s ready!”

Mind you, Jesus was critical of the Pharisee’s fetish over their hypocritical cleanliness in fear that they had touched something unclean or contacted someone who they deemed to be dirty in some way, especially gentiles. They certainly practiced their own version of social distancing. They seemed to care more about that than their attitudes towards others. But the Pharisees would be right in their element in these modern times, “See, I told you so!”

There is the old saying that cleanliness is next to Godliness. Although it perhaps sounds like something from the book of Proverbs, it isn’t. My quick research showed that Sir Francis Bacon first used the idea in 1605: “Cleanness of body was ever esteemed to proceed from a due reverence to God, to society, and to ourselves.”

Then there was Pilate who washed his hands of the whole debacle of Jesus’ conviction and ensuing punishment. He reminds me of a few modern-day politicians who can’t seem to take responsibility for applying appropriate safeguards and want to get on with “normal” living, ignoring the reality.

But I digress.

Physical cleanliness is very important right now. Keeping our hands literally clean is critical in our defence against the virus. But the metaphorical meaning is also important. 

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

And who shall stand in his holy place?

Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,

    who do not lift up their souls to what is false,

    and do not swear deceitfully. (Psalm 24:4, New Revised Standard Version)

             Clean hands and a pure heart – a heart that loves; a heart which is free from evil and sin; a heart which is compassionate and caring; a heart not diseased or stained by hatred, prejudice, intolerance, judgment and ignorance.

                Wash up! It is important! 

Dale