When we bought our house in Pennsylvania three years ago, one of the features I really liked was the fact that there was an old barn on the property. Probably built around 1902. Most of the boards that constituted the siding were gone allowing you to see through the walls to the inside of the structure. The floor on the main level was uneven with loose boards, the walls were cracked, the electricity was no longer hooked up and their were bats in the haymow (upper level). But it had a solid foundation and roof beams. I had visions of what it could be…yes, that vision included it being a place to house and work on motorcycles.
So, this past fall the work began. Now, I want to be clear that I did not rebuild this barn. I hired a group of Amish to do the carpentry and electrical (yes, I hired a group of people to do the electrical work who did not believe in having electricity…go figure). I also hired someone to do the grading around the property and install a concrete pad outside the overhead garage door entrance. I did install an epoxy floor myself. Not sure I would repeat that experience. A lot of work. But it did turn out OK.
But what I really needed, once the inside was completed, was a work bench. Now I have been dreading this since I decided to do the rehab project. I really needed a bench but my skills in carpentry leave a lot to be desired. Straight and level are just suggestions when I am working on a woodworking project. In the end, it turns out that I am most talented at building firewood. But my younger brother, Paul? He is a whole different story. He recently came up from New Jersey to visit and also to “help” build my bench. When I say I helped, he allowed me to touch the screw gun a few times. When he pulled up to the house he unloaded screw guns, drills, levels, squares, nail guns, skill saws, etc. He had self tapping and self-countersinking screws. If you do not know what those things are, just think right tool for the right job. I have a skill saw with a taped electrical cord. He has all battery operated tools that he can pick up and use without dragging a long extension cord around behind him.
We started this bench building project at around 5 PM one afternoon, shutting down for the night at around 8 PM. We were finished by late morning the next day. If it was me that time would have been needed to just assemble the tools, taking time off to watch motorcycle videos on YouTube. The point is, he not only had the skill to complete the job, but he also had the right tools to get things done efficiently and with great results. THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE RIGHT JOB.
God had a job to do. He had to fix what was broken. He had to rehab his creation which had been weathered and damaged from the storms of sin. We were, and are, a broken people. Nothing like what He had built anew in the Garden in the form of Adam and Eve. We had fallen away from Him. Not only had the outsides grown weathered but our insides were defective. No longer supporting the lives He had meant for us. But how would He be able to accomplish the monumental task ahead of Him. How could He show His creation what was in store for us. And how could He redeem us after millennia of sin and separation? What was THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE RIGHT JOB?
From the first reading from the second letter of St. Paul to the community at Corinth:
“And all this is from God,
who has reconciled us to himself through Christ
and given us the ministry of reconciliation,
namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,“
Now, I want to be clear here. I am not calling Jesus Christ “a tool”! Not in the derogatory sense of the word, at least. But bear in mind that, without the Father using the Son, we would not have a clear idea of what God the Father is like and what He expects of each one of us. God used prophets, kings, visions, dreams, etc. to try to get the message across. Isiah, Jeremiah, Samuel, David, Ruth, Esther, Joseph, Moses, Abraham. All tried to let the Hebrew people know where they were falling short of God’s plan for us. But to no avail. Like trying to pass a square peg through a round hole.
So God sent His Son to us. He was he right tool for the job. He showed us the Father in word and in deed in a way that no human could. He preached. He worked miracles. He died. And, most importantly, he rose. And He formed a Church to proclaim His message across the ages via all those who believe.
And, now, it is our turn to spread the word about the carpenter who was Himself the most excellent tool in the Father’s work belt. A task even more important than building a workbench in a rehabbed barn.
