At Strange Things Seen Today

[after Luke 5:26 and John 1:46]

 

Most surely, we have seen strange things today.
This carpenter, well known in Galilee,
seems able to do more than just repair
farm implements. He has an awesome power
to heal the sick. I watched, more than an hour:
despite the kind of problem or affliction,
they all have been restored to health. No fiction
this---I have seen myself what others say
about him is true, and he has a way
with words. I can imagine (if I dare
to), he may be able to conquer death.
And yet one nagging question pesters me;
others have asked it (some, repeatedly)---
can any good come out of Nazareth?

 

Starward

 

[jlc]

 

 

Author's Notes/Comments: 

The mention of repair of farm implements in the third and fourth lines alludes to a tradition among early Christians of (so I have been told) the late first century A.D.: that Jesus' stepfather, Joseph, provided repair carpentry to the various farms in and around Nazareth or beyond in Galilee, and that Jesus was apprenticed to that kind of work. It is interesting that in His parables, very little of what we would associate with carpentry appears; but farm imagery, although Jesus was not a farmer, appears repeatedly. I suggest this imagery arose from His travels with Joseph repairing farm implements.

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