Hand of God

Auguste Rodin

The power of this sculpture lies in Rodin's choice to leave much of the medium uncut and unpolished. Two figures intertwine in a loving embrace that culminates in a kiss that is immortalized in stone. All the while, the "hand of God" is the place where this sensual interaction is created. Again, the power of this piece is in its ambiguity. Love, beauty, and passion are at the very core of creation. There is no finished product in love because the goal is the very activity itself. And the activity itself is caught up in creating things that have not yet come to fruition. Love begets love; beauty begets beauty; passion begets passion. But these activities would continue regardless if they begot anything.

The "unfinished" stone not only emphasizes the active and creative nature of love, but it also emphasizes God's hand in the whole process. God does not cause the two to be caught up in such ecstasy, but is the place where that ecstasy takes place. The most brilliant embrace of rapturous sublimity can only take place within the hand of God. This is because God is co-creating in this activity. All of our notions of love, beauty, and passion exist because they are the offspring of previous actions of God's of love, beauty, and passion. Indeed, our very existence and continued sustenance is maintained within God's loving embrace with all creation. And we touch the hand of God any time we find love, beauty, and passion within the embrace of the body of Christ.