I’ve spent the last week developing a number of new and useful skills doing some remodeling work. At the end of each day, I excitedly jump into the shower to clean the grime from everything I’ve scraped, sanded, painted, nailed, and screwed. The work I’ve been doing doesn’t require much skill, and is usually given to a day laborer, maybe an illegal alien of bearded homeless dude.
You’ve probably know that Jesus spent his career as a carpenter, but I’ve heard that a better translation might be day laborer. In other words, someone whose low on society’s totem pole, covered with dirt and flies signs at intersections when he can’t find work. The greatest Rabbi of all time, founder of a major world religion, son of God–Day Laborer.
Although you won’t find many church leaders that will admit this, I can’t help but get the sneaking suspicion that the three main requirements for being on a church staff is: 1) having a Master’s of Divinity degree, 2) being well dressed, well groomed and reasonably good looking, and 3) being married.
Now, if my sarcastic categories were applied to Jesus, most churches wouldn’t look twice at him, except maybe to scoff at the Hebrew joke written on his cardboard sign as they rode their camel through the busy intersections of Galilee. Without a high school diploma he wouldn’t have gotten through the stack of resumes. Being single he wouldn’t have a shot at Youth Ministry. Isaiah makes it clear he wasn’t very good looking, which would make it hard to stare at him on a large screen at a video venue Church campus.
It makes me wonder, when we pretend to ignore the guys flyin’ a sign, and turn our nose up at the gentlemen waiting outside home depot, what are we missing out on?
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