This is a new blog post of mine that I wanted to post here as well. As noted in my disclaimer below, it has some religious connotations, but I think most people will enjoy it.


The Touch of The Master's Hand


My recent holiday efforts towards charity for homeless veterans, along with recent events in the news got me thinking of a favorite poem of mine. I'll preface this with a disclaimer that it is quite religious in nature, but I think even those that are not religious can find much to appreciate in it.






THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HAND


'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
But he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bid, good friends?" He cried.
"Who'll start the bidding for me?
One dollar! Only one? And who will make it two?
Two dollars, once. And Three!
Three dollars, once. And three dollars, twice.
And going, and going," but no
From the back of the room a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow.
And wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As caroling angels sing.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said, "What am I bid for the old violin?"
As he held up the bow.
"One thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand dollars, and three!
Three thousand, once. And three thousand, twice.
And going, and going, and gone!" said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We don't quite understand
What changed its worth." Swift came the reply.
"'Twas the touch of the master's hand.'"
And many a man with life out of tune
And battered and scarred with sin,
Much like this old violin.
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine.
A game and he travels on.
He's going once, and going twice.
And going, and almost gone.
But the Master comes, and the thoughtless crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul, and the change that is wrought
By the touch of the Master's hand.
--Myra Brooks Welch

How many lives are deemed of no value today and scorned by the thoughtless crowd? How many lives that have boundless potential are deemed worthless and then tossed aside by society? Look at homeless men wandering our streets, look at the elderly left dying and alone. How many times has a man been deemed worthless by society and discarded as such? We should remember when we look at those who are lost, defeated, broken and alone that there, but for the grace of God, go I. Before we express our scorn, cast aspersions or look away in embarassment or disgust, we should remember that the worth of an individual soul, of a life, is....immeassurable.

That's beautiful Kim. And so true.

A news program showed a man who was a drunk living in the bus shelter in our capital of NZ.

A broken man who had once had a home and a high profile job but had lost his job. I don't know whether he had a wife and family.

After this was aired a group of men and women from Mental Health (you see we have nowhere any more for these alcoholics to go so they sleep on the streets) picked him up and and took care of him.

It was around a year later that the news program interviewed him again in the bus stop shelter. He had not been back since.

But he looked great, handsome, professional and happy.

And he spoke of his plight and how he had found himself out on his luck. He couldn't understand himself how that had happened.

Very nice, Kim.

I've never heard that poem before, and I've copied it to file to have another read of it.

Yes, you are so right about how society can view fellow human beings as worthless.

"I expected this reception," said the daemon. "All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us. You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life?
"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

Okay, so the 'monster' is not technically human, in that he was not born the way others were. Still, I believe that young Ms Shelley understood much about alienation. I might just have a gullible nature but I feel so sorry for the 'monster' in this book.

That's a great story, thanks for sharing, Julie.

Great example. To me, the message in 'Frankenstein' has always been to show us who the true monsters are and that concepts such as value and worth have much more to do with what's inside of us than what's on the outside.