The Cracked Acorn: The Foot Step

The day had been busy and very rewarding.  Uriel’s talent with wood had finally begun to pay off with work that took several days to complete.  The latest was to start repairs on one of the Jerusalem city gates.  The advance of money for materials had enabled him to hire an extra man to help with hewing the rough wood before placement.  Sunup till sundown was about all the body could stand.  Uriel smiled when he saw his young son and daughter run to meet him.  Ezra and Naomi liked to be around the shop but were never allowed inside during the busy hours of the day.

There was always plenty of wood chips and bits of leftover lumber to grace the home fire.  Days were very hot but could be chilly after dark.  Yes, they were having fun hurrying about the shop, sweeping and tossing cedar bits at each other.  Life was good.  Uriel’s wife, Mary, had never felt better.  She had overcome her illness of several months.  She was near collapse one day, and the next day, she was humming about the house.  Busy with the shop’s work, he had never asked and was never told if the doctors had found a cure for her mysterious sickness.  Yes, God was good to his family, and Uriel thought that he should offer up the proper sacrifices at the temple to express his thanks for all their blessings, but why, at the moment, are soldiers at the door?

“Uriel, the carpenter?” asked the soldier in charge.

“Yes, I am he. ”

“I have been sent to ask you to prepare three crosses to be used on the morrow to crucify two thieves and a condemned man.” The soldier’s stare told Uriel it would be done without question.

Uriel did not know why his shop had been singled out for this odious task, a waste of energy and time.  “Yes, I will do my best. I think I have some rough timbers that can be sawed and nailed together within a few hours.” He would have contributed to ridding the area of criminals.

“Sergeant, may I ask who the third man is?”

“Carpenter Uriel, the man is the Nazarene who preaches that he is the son of the Jew’s God, known as Jesus by his followers.”  The soldiers left.

“Ezra, would you help your father bring back one of the workers?  We may have to burn the oil lamps into the night to finish this extra work.”  The son was glad to help his father with the important task.

Uriel felt a tug on his arm. It was tiny Naomi, upset and close to tears.

“Father, the man Jesus is the one who helped mother.  She got through the crowd at the market and pulled on his robe.  Jesus turned and saw her and healed her.”

“Naomi, are you sure ?”  Uriel had never known his daughter to bend the truth.

“I am sure I was right behind Mother and saw him.  The touch of his clothing healed her.  Isn’t there anything we can do?”

Uriah was not sure what he could do. “Jacob, do we still have the extra cedar logs we smoothed for my house? Please bring those out and make sure that there is not one splinter or rough edge to be found on them. I don’t wish to add to this man’s pain by making a small, wide footrest. (This may have happened.)

“And when they had mocked Him, they took off the purple from Him and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him. And they compel one Simon, a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear His cross.” (Mark 15:20,21)