Carpenter's Son

The little shop at Nazareth,
The peaceful life for which it stood,
The clear, strong, ringing hammer-strokes,
The droning saw, the riven wood,
The murmur of the smoothing plane,
The scent of shavings freshly curled –

When Thou hadst left them all behind
And gone Thy way into the world,
Where men would hate Thee and revile,
And betray Thee with a kiss,
And one deny, and all forsake,
Was there one added pang in this,

That tools of Thy familiar craft
Should be the things that wounded Thee –
The hammer and the driven nails,
The wood of that accursed tree?
Ah, no! Thou Crowned and Crucified,
Thou Power of God that seemed to fail;
'Twas not of wood Thy cross was made,
'Twas not the hammer and the nail
That drove the blows and fixed Thee there,
And pierced thy hands and feet at last;
Man's hatred and man's sin the cross,
And love – Thy love – that held Thee fast.

Annie Johnson Flint

Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son?...

Luke 23:33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him…

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us...

photos and graphics by Mary Stephens
vintage graphic: source unknown
posted 7/20; CA