We don't tend to think of Jesus in artistic terms, but I think we underestimate how artistic Jesus was.
For starters, Jesus created the heavens and the earth. Looks pretty good on your artistic resume! But let me put it in incarnational terms. During his tenure on earth, Jesus spent most of his time as an artisan. He was in carpentry much longer than he was in ministry. Almost a 10:1 ratio. And I'm pretty sure he took pride in his carpentry craft. He sanded till the wood was perfectly smooth. He measured twice to make sure the angle was just right. He cared about color. He cared about contour. He cared about quality. And like any carpent, I'm sure he wanted his work to bear his unique signature.
I love the way Dorothy Sayers said it: "No crooked table legs or ill-fitted drawers ever, I dare say, came out of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth."
I think we underestimate how much his artistry influenced his ministry. Read the gospels. Jesus was a wordsmith right? He chose words like an craftsman. Each word was measured like a carpenter measures wood. Any way you slice it, Jesus was an artisan first. And his ministry was shaped by his artistry.
I guess I'm just trying to make a case for artistry as a dimension of spirituality. Pretty cool to think about our heavenly carpenter preparing a place for us right now!
For starters, Jesus created the heavens and the earth. Looks pretty good on your artistic resume! But let me put it in incarnational terms. During his tenure on earth, Jesus spent most of his time as an artisan. He was in carpentry much longer than he was in ministry. Almost a 10:1 ratio. And I'm pretty sure he took pride in his carpentry craft. He sanded till the wood was perfectly smooth. He measured twice to make sure the angle was just right. He cared about color. He cared about contour. He cared about quality. And like any carpent, I'm sure he wanted his work to bear his unique signature.
I love the way Dorothy Sayers said it: "No crooked table legs or ill-fitted drawers ever, I dare say, came out of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth."
I think we underestimate how much his artistry influenced his ministry. Read the gospels. Jesus was a wordsmith right? He chose words like an craftsman. Each word was measured like a carpenter measures wood. Any way you slice it, Jesus was an artisan first. And his ministry was shaped by his artistry.
I guess I'm just trying to make a case for artistry as a dimension of spirituality. Pretty cool to think about our heavenly carpenter preparing a place for us right now!
3 Comments:
I've really thinking about God as the creator lately and the artistry behind the world around us. Thanks for sharing this Mark.
Soooo true. ...I've got about 90 thoughts running through my head right now, I'm not quite sure where to start. =) Art. Creativity. Worship. Beauty. There's something to it... Thanks for thinking this out loud.
Yes! Jesus was amazingly smart: the stories he told, the way he mobilized his students, the responses he gave to people questioning, and so on. Good mediation! You are also a wordsmith! Enjoyed it!
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