The Welcoming Door

Finally in paperback, this is the first novella in the Parables of the Carpenter series previously available only in hardback. In this, the first entry in the series, Kenny Kemp deftly places a young Jesus of Nazareth in the very stories he will one day teach the world. On this occasion, Jesus (or Jeshua as he is known in his native Aramaic) has been hired to repair the front door of a wealthy landowner's mansion. While there, Jeshua learns of a family in crisis: the younger brother Reuben has taken his inheritance and left his family, wasting his means and life in a foreign land while his older brother Simeon remains behind, bitterly but faithfully fulfilling his family obligations. Their father Eli, saddened by his two disappointing sons, seeks answers from his rabbi, a traveling merchant, and finally, from the young craftsman Jeshua. This remarkable and unique take on the most famous story of all --- the Prodigal Son --- takes the reader into the world of the New Testament in a way seldom attempted and even more rarely achieved: fascinating characters, a fully-realized time and place, and an unforgettable look at the most famous teacher of all: Jesus of Nazareth.