Home Maker

As part of my Christmas decorations this year, I decided to try to make a replica of a 1^st century house in Bethlehem out of Lego. This has proven relatively difficult as there are no Lego plans for such a design, most of the sources on the internet seem to disagree with each other, and because I keep changing my mind on how I want to do it. The first thing that has struck me is that it requires a lot of grey bricks. The second is that it’s really quite small. This is good news for me as it’s taking long enough as it is, but it makes you wonder how they managed to fit whole families inside.

 The third thing, is that there isn’t much furniture. Like none. And that’s not just because I didn’t know how to make it out of Lego. No beds or tables or chairs. Which is odd because Joseph and Jesus were carpenters. Just not that kind of carpenter. Really, they were builders, they made buildings. As this thought occurred to me, I left my Lego bricks scattered across the floor and went to my window to look down the street and watch the builders working on my neighbour’s house. Jesus a construction worker, now that’s an interesting thought.

As I continue to build a replica of the type of house Jesus might have been born in, I can’t help thinking about the houses that Jesus must have built. There’s something poetic about the one who made the world, coming to live in it and then building houses for others to live in. To think that the one who declared; “behold I stand at the door and knock” spent years putting up door frames. He who said He was going to prepare a place in His father’s house had worked on more than a few houses during His life. And before He promised Peter that He would build His Church, he had built all kinds of buildings, probably including a synagogue or two. It’s strange to think isn’t it.

And this time of year, when we think of Jesus as a little baby, there’s something comforting and yet powerful about knowing that God knows not only huge and the impressive, but also the small and unnoticeable. That the hands that made the whole world and all that was in it, made homes for ordinary people like you and me to live in. More that, he would live in us and make our hearts His home if we let Him. The only question is, will we open the door?