Thought for Today
Exodus 3:15 God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.
Isaiah 44:13 The carpenter stretches a line, marks it out with a stylus, fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he makes it in human form, with human beauty, to be set up in a shrine.
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.
Matthew 11: 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Jesus lived more than 2 millennia ago. That was a long time ago. The Greek word ὁ τέκτων, (tech tone) means a carpenter, builder or craftsman. “Carpentry in Jesus’ time was a profession that encompassed construction work and craftsmanship. While wood was available in ancient Jerusalem, most structures were made of stone, suggesting that carpentry may have involved working with limestone rather than timber. Carpenters in Jesus’ time were similar to modern-day handymen, skilled in various building and repair tasks. Jesus is described as a carpenter in the New Testament, and he likely learned the trade from his (step)father Joseph. Carpentry tools during Jesus’ time often included a combination of hand tools such as saws, chisels, and planes, as well as primitive versions of power tools like the bow drill and adze “ (internet search)
Another internet search tells me, “The most commonly used metals were copper, bronze, iron, and lead. These metals were used for various purposes such as making weapons, tools, and household items.” I suspect that the use of sharpened stone axes was also still very common. Irrespective of materials of construction, for all of them, the motive power was human muscle.
I am rarely allowed to undertake carpentry or other building or craft projects, because when I do it almost always produces skinned knuckles and/or cut fingers, to say nothing about the quality of my handiwork. But, when I do undertake projects, I have access to electric tools, almost all made from alloyed steel. If I don’t have the requisite tool, a quick trip to the hardware store or home goods, big box store resolves the issue.
A truism for us all is that we never live in the world in which we grew up. 2024 is almost unimaginably different in many respects from the decades of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Yet, there are significant similarities. Think for a minute about how different all of those decades are from the decades of the 10s, 20s or 30s (not the 1910s, 1920s or 1930s – the 0010s, etc.). No electricity, no steel, no television, no radio, certainly no AI!
For us as Christians, however, our lives are centered around and focused on a world radically different from our own. Additionally, that world was far away, a civilization more oriental than occidental.
Christians do not view this as ironic, do not see any disconnection or inapplicability in the words, teachings or miracles of Jesus. Whether we were raised in the big city or on a farm, we understand the metaphor of a light yoke. Whether we were raised in families who worked close to the earth or in families involved in commerce, we understand the value of the words of that long ago carpenter.
Jesus appeared at a particular time in a particular place. Jesus’ insertion into history, into God’s Creation (John 1:3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.) was at a specific time and place . . . yet, Jesus’ words, his teachings, his miracles are timeless in their applicability.
The truth which will set us free (John 8:32) is not about technology, not about metallurgies or any other creation of our ancestors. The truth about our God and about Jesus, the Son of God, is an eternal truth, “John 1:3 . . . What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” Life eternal is not about things or stuff, it is about the love of God and the grace of God.
Stay safe, walk in God’s Light, trust God,
Pastor Ray