St. Paul tells us that Jesus was like us in all things except sin. Therefore, Jesus was fully human and did not know everything. He had to learn the skills of his trade from Joseph. He was a craftsman as his father was and probably a builder who worked with stone, wood, and even iron. He repaired roofs of thatch and clay, knew how to tighten beams, build doors, window, benches, chests, and maybe helped to build the terraces needed in the hilly country for the vineyards. There was not enough work in Nazareth so he would have been to surrounding villages to find work. He also must have helped in the fields when extra hands were needed.
The fact that Jesus did not marry must have upset others as Jewish men were expected to begin their own families. Jesus, until he finally felt he had to leave home and seek out John who was baptizing before Jesus left Nazareth, did nothing extraordinary but he was learning to listen to God and respond. He went into the desert to find John but also to listen to God. John was admired by Jesus for John had a vision of a new covenant with God's forgiveness. John's baptism was a rite of conversion and radical forgiveness. Jesus, according to Pagola, was impacted by this vision.
No comments:
Post a Comment