THE CARPENTER OF
NAZARETH
I.
The
carpenter laid his hammer down
brushed
sawdust from his clothes
slouched
onto the rude wooden bench
he’d
been working on
and
ran calloused hands
through
his dark, wavy beard
It
seemed he’d misjudged
his
beloved, his betrothed
her
purity, fidelity, her forthrightness
Earlier
that day
the
tender voice he knew well
spoke
softly of pregnancy
an
angel...overshadowing
of
some holy thing
It
was too much for him
incomprehensible,
even incredible
Joseph
leaned back against the rough wood
stretched
his sinewy arms
gazed
with resignation toward the heavens
He'd
hand her a bill of divorcement —
wash
his hands. It was over. Finished
He
rose, shook his head
and
returned to work
In
the night
tension
dissolved
into
welcome sleep
Deep,
deep in its midst
a
flurry of wings and light
wrapped
him in wonder
A
stirring voice resonated
“Fear
not...
Take
Mary as your wife”
Words
swirled as he tossed
“for
the Son conceived in her
is
of the Holy Spirit."
Then
distinctly, Joseph heard
“Name
Him Jesus…
“He
will save your people from their sins”
II.
Mary
placed a few belongings into a sack
She
and Joseph were about to leave
for
Bethlehem, for the census
She
felt a hardy kick
from
inside her swollen belly
and
reflexively caressed the spot
“A
knee,” she smiled
God
had chosen her for a purpose
she
could barely comprehend
and
the birth would be soon
She
neatly folded soft, clean cloths
and
packed them
just
in case her time would come
during
the journey
Traveling
was arduous
by
foot and donkey-back
over
hills and rocky terrain
Joseph
was attentive
stopping
periodically for rests
but
evening was fast approaching
Finally,
they could see the town ahead
Suddenly,
Mary felt her stomach stiffen
Was
this the sign
Elizabeth
had told her about
Her
back ached. She was weary
Soon,
her stomach tightened again
then
again, but stronger
She
told Joseph
who
touched her, tenderly
and
bid her not to fret
Lodging
was close by
But
when they arrived
the
innkeeper told them
the
place was packed with travelers
Seeing
their dilemma
he
offered shelter and privacy
in
the livestock cave out back
Joseph
helped her off the donkey
and
into the dark rock-hewn cave
Hurriedly,
he gathered fresh hay
and
prepared a makeshift nook
apart
from the animals
then
sat at Mary’s side, cooling her brow
as
contractions intensified
III.
In
the evening chill
amid
moon and star and lantern-light
the
musky odor of straw and dung
rhythmic
sounds of
braying,
bleating
and
occasional shouts and laughter
emanating
from the inn
the
carpenter rolled his sleeves
and
delivered the Promised One
Joseph
presented the healthy boy child
to
his virginal wife to nurse
then
emptied a rugged old trough
and
filled it with sweet-smelling hay
all
the time thinking
of
the fine, smoothly sanded cradle
back
home in Nazareth
"Jesus,
someday I'll teach you
how
to select the finest woods
how
to build and saw and sand
You'll
be a fine carpenter, Jesus
a
very fine carpenter…"
Joseph
carefully placed Jesus
in
the makeshift cradle
then
fashioned a spot for himself
on
the floor of the cave
and
soon fell fast asleep
Thank you for this gift, Maude. It is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Barbara. I’m so glad that my poem about Joseph touched your heart.
ReplyDelete