Tradition and scripture indicate that Jesus spent most of his life as a carpenter. Prison Fellowship’s Mark Earley wrote a few years ago about an amusing moment in the movie The Passion of the Christ: The scene shows Jesus at work as a carpenter, finishing a table. His mother comes over to examine it. Her opinion? The table is too high. Not to worry, Jesus responds; He’ll build tall chairs to go with it. Mary is not convinced. As she walks away, she mutters, “It’ll never catch on.”
That scene reminds us that part of Jesus’ mission consisted of work. In this case, his work was manual, and we forget it was a service to people.
In the second century, Justin Martyr, an early church leader, said that a common sight in Palestine was that of planters working behind plows Jesus had made when he was a carpenter. What a fantastic thought—Jesus worked with his hands, and he cared greatly about the quality of his craftsmanship!
I don’t know who coined the phrase “the splendor of the ordinary,” but I like it. It captures Jesus’ view toward his daily work.
Does it capture yours?