ON LIVING IN A HOUSE WITH "JESUS"

I often wonder what it must have been like to live with Jesus. I mean to really LIVE with Jesus. Now I have a glimpse of that life although 21st century style!


Some months back, Boy 3 was asked to audition for the part of Jesus in his school's Passion Play. He came home that afternoon equipped with the script and began furiously studying and memorizing the lines. Within two days his lines were committed to memory and he was beginning to add the gestures to the script. After weeks of anticipation audition day arrived. Boy 3 attended the audition and blew the play director out of the water! He was precise, loud, reverent and just the kid for the job. The part was his!   

                             B3 21st Century Style



As we sat for dinner that night I looked at my young son and thought to myself "I am eating dinner with Jesus." Kind of a daunting feeling. Now I knew that B3 was not really Jesus, but I knew that he had really begun to embody living as Jesus would have lived. He was practicing humility, compassion, love, and respect. He was in the early stages of  really living the part that he would play.

Fast forward a week or so.

After being reminded to take care of his daily/weekly chores and him not getting up quite as fast as I thought he should, I walked over to the TV where the PS3 was blaring and said in a rather stern loud tone of voice "Get up NOW and get your chores done. NOW not later. NOW." In a snap B3 looked and me ans said "Mom, you just yelled at Jesus!"  He didn't even skip a beat. I wonder if he had rehearsed that in his mind or if he had some Divine intervention. It didn't matter, it floored me. I mean how do you respond?
I think my response went something like "Yea, well I don't think Jesus would have made Mary ask him twice do you?"

In the weeks since we have had a few more of those Jesus moments. Some of them, I have to admit, B3 has used to his benefit! Like the day I said "today is the day to clean bathrooms" and B3 said "Jesus didn't clean bathrooms!" Oh.My. Or the day I told him if he ever tried drugs I'd beat him within an inch of his life and he said "you'd be hitting Jesus" Then there was the time he was plainly in his annoying little/big brother mode and I began parenting rather loudly in the car....you know what the next thing out of his mouth was....no need to explain!


This is how he will look on Holy Thursday.

                                                   

So as we close in on the week before the Passion Play, I reminded by "Jesus" this morning that I have a costume to make. Now this rose to some really lovely early morning dialogue. A ranting on just what did Jesus wear on the way to His crucifixion. I did a little research Googling and found that he had on a loin cloth. So I summonsed my thirteen year old Jesus and asked him if THIS was what he had in mind. I just wish you could have seen the look on his face! That chiseled jaw dropped and those brows rose and he said two things: "Mom,I'm a kid" and "Mom, I go to Catholic school." As I tried to persuade him that if he wanted to look like Jesus as well as act like Him, he would have to be willing to wear a beard, a crown of thorns and some sandals and a loin cloth. NO DICE! He was having no part of the loin cloth. So we settled on a white loosely made robe tied with rope and then he was willing to wear the various other accouterments to accessorize. We have success!

So today I am still pondering exactly what it must have been like to live with Jesus as a 13 year old boy. Was He always reverent to his parents? Did He ever have those annoying outbursts? Was He ever "slack jawed" and rammy?  He was human, yet divine and holy. As B3 continues his practice in order to play the role of our Lord, I continue to pray that he is truly filled with God's grace and that when Holy Thursday comes and he is in the limelight, B3 will shine with holiness and make the Passion Play come to life for all those who attend.

Right now, I am off to the fabric store and craft store to begin the making of my 13 year old Jesus' garments. All in the life of a busy mom in a busy blended family.

Have a Terrific Tuesday!