Telling the Beads Bead 6 - Episode 1 Jesus the Carpenter

Bead Six In the Waters of the Jordan

B6 - E1 Jesus the Carpenter

As Jesus grew from boyhood to manhood, from being his father’s apprentice to becoming his right-hand man, their relationship evolved into a partnership. They worked happily together from morning to night, making everyday items for the homes and workplaces of their neighbours and fashioning beautiful ornamental pieces when required. They loved their work and took great pride and satisfaction in it. 

Jesus was continuously learning the skills of his trade from Joseph which were renowned far and wide throughout Galilee. He came to know the many different kinds of wood, their names and textures, the colours of the grains and which wood to use for a particular purpose. Coming into the workshop during the day, as she often did, Mary loved to hear them chatting together as they worked. 

The family had settled well into the life of Nazareth with Joseph’s relatives and with the friends they had made but, as for all families, there were times of great sorrow. After many happy years, Anne, then followed not long afterwards, by Joachim, came to the end of their lives. 

They each died with their loved ones around them, whose grief was tempered by the countless memories of the closeness that had always existed between them. Never had a day passed without a visit of one to another. Jesus had spent the whole of his childhood in and out of their home and they had been truly wonderful grandparents to him.

Their greatest sorrow, however, was yet to come. Over the years, Joseph began to slow down and his son gradually took over the bulk of the work. Mary and Jesus nursed him lovingly through his last days and he died peacefully in their arms.

As he was laid to rest in the the earth, they were able to console one another, rejoicing in the love that had overcome so many difficulties, from the birth of Jesus in a stable, having to flee their own country to escape death, then having to resettle in a different part of their land on their return. Always, Joseph had been there, a rock for Mary to lean on and the greatest possible example of fatherhood to his son. 

Jesus took over the reins and became, as his father had been, the carpenter of Nazareth. He was well-liked by the people of the town, especially by the children, who would often come and stand, at a safe distance of course, at the door of his workshop, fascinated to observe him as he planed and polished the wood on the bench, explaining the names of his tools and what each of them did, loving to use the scraps of wood left over from his work to make little toys for them.

However, as he approached his thirtieth birthday, his life was about to be changed dramatically. Throughout the towns and villages of Galilee, news began to circulate about huge gatherings of people by the River Jordan on the far side of Jerusalem flocking to hear a new prophet who was preaching there. 

Jesus and those of his friends who were able to leave their commitments for a week or so began to talk about going to join the crowds to hear the prophet whose name was spoken of as John, son of Zechariah. A small group of them decided to travel together to see and hear him for themselves. Preparations were made and off they set, a few days later, in the early hours of the morning. 

Jesus and Mary had, of course, realised that the prophet was none other than his cousin, John. Mary also realised that John had been called by God to prepare the way for her son. As she watched and waved him on his way, she recognised that this was the moment she had known was coming, the time when her beloved son would begin to tread the path destined for him as the Messiah.