Monday, September 7, 2015

Jesus the Carpenter (Charles M. Sheldon)


  If I could hold within my hand 
The hammer Jesus swung, 
Not all the gold in all the land, 
Nor jewels countless as the sand, 
All in the balance flung, 
Could weigh the value of that thing 
Round which his fingers once did cling. 

If I could have the table he 
Once made in Nazareth 
Not all the pearls in all the sea, 
Nor crowns of kings, or kings to be 
As long as men have breath, 
Could buy that thing of wood he made -- 
The Lord of Lords who learned a trade. 

Yes, but his hammer still is shown 
By honest hands that toil, 
And round his table men sit down, 
And all are equals, with a crown 
No gold nor pearls can soil. 
The shop at Nazareth was bare, 
But Brotherhood was builded there. 

--Charles M. Sheldon (1857-1946)
Happy Labor Day!

Image source:  Saint Joseph, charpentier (ca. 1640),  Georges de La Tour, Louvre

Poem source

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