where is Jesus?

I remember a joke I once heard about two boys who were more than a little ornery. They were best friends and found themselves in trouble over and over again. They especially liked stealing things...candy from the stores, toys from the neighbors, change from their parents. The one boy's mother was very concerned and went to her pastor. After explaining her son's behavior, she expressed her fear that this was really a spiritual matter. Her son, now 10, should know better. Maybe he didn't know Jesus.

The pastor decided to go to the boy and talk with him. His approach was simple: he walked up to the boy and said, "Where's Jesus?" The boy didn't know what to say. What kind of question was this? Before he could answer the pastor spoke a little louder, "Boy, where's Jesus?" The boy started to tear up. "I don't know," he spoke softly. The pastor, feeling as if he was making progress, now yelled at the boy, "WHERE IS JESUS?" The terrified little boy took off. He ran down the block to his friend's house, busted through the door, and ran up to his friend's room. Without even giving his friend a chance to say hello, he burst out, "We're in big trouble this time! Jesus is missing and they think we stole him, too!"

What, you may ask, brought this joke to mind? Well, we've been looking for Jesus. Literally. Jesus from one of our nativities has been missing for two days now. I figured that Markus had something to do with it. A couple of weeks ago, he took another Jesus. It was the Jesus from my Fontanini Italian-made nativity. Well, Markus decided to take that Jesus for a ride in his toy Tonka dump trunk.

After telling a friend of ours that Markus was playing with the fancy nativity, she very graciously gifted us a plastic nativity set that was designed for kids to play with. For a couple of weeks, Markus and Belle played with the nativity quite a bit. More than once, we found a toy airplane or hotwheels car in the nativity, too. No big deal. They were having fun.

On Saturday while preparing the house for the parsonage open house, we realized that Jesus was missing again. This time it was the plastic Jesus from the toy nativity. Though it wasn't of great value, I was a little concerned. What's a nativity without a baby Jesus? We suspected Markus had something to do with this disappearance, too. So we asked him. All he would say was that baby Jesus went nite-nite. We figured that meant he had hid it somewhere in his room and would bring it out eventually.

This evening as Tara was changing his diaper, we found baby Jesus. He may have been tucked into Markus' bed or nestled away in a toy car at first. But here's how we found baby Jesus:

Baby Jesus is no more. Markus and our cockapoo (Teddy Bear) ruined plastic Jesus.

Though slightly mortified, I had to laugh. Markus' antics often leave us worn out, but often leave us laughing, too. (I'm not sure where I'm going to find a 1" plastic Jesus though.) I'm just glad that the memory of looking for plastic baby Jesus will far outlast any nativity we could ever display. Oh, the joys of parenting!

thoughts on "The Story of My Life"

This past weekend I attended a benefit show, "The Story of My Life," at the Parkersburg Actor's Guild. The show was directed by veteran guild director John Lee, and starred two veteran actors, R.J. Lowe and Josh Martin. I have to admit that I wasn't expecting the show to be all that great, not because of the actors or director, but because of its short Broadway run of five regular performances (18 total). Was I wrong or what? This show was amazing!

The story highlights the lifelong friendship of Alvin and Thomas, who met as misfits in the first grade. The show opened with Thomas trying to write a eulogy for his friend Alvin who died mysteriously. Though Thomas is an award-winning author, he can't seem to find the words appropriate for such a person at such a time. In a "flashback" style, this memory musical features stories that Thomas has written and replayed on-stage by Alvin's ghost and Thomas.

The show's focus is on the undying bonds of friendship. Though Alvin and Thomas go different directions after graduating from high school, they are drawn back to each other time after time. Like many friendships, theirs grows apart for a time. Told with great passion and humor, this light-hearted show really challenges the audience to think about their life as a story of relationships, some still alive and well and some faded over time.

When the curtain went down, I was speechless. Those around me were, too. I think that's probably why it didn't make it on Broadway: it's serious and bittersweet. No big flashy show tunes; instead, numerous reminiscent ballads and light-hearted tunes were shared. No great costume or set changes; the only costume change was the donning of suit jackets and the only set changes was the moving of a library ladder and a podium. The set itself consisted of a few bookshelves, a desk and chair, a library ladder, and a podium.

The simplicity of the show and the depth with which the issue of friendship and loyalty is explored made this an absolutely amazing show. It caused me to wonder what the stories of my life will be, who my lifelong friends are and will be, and what words will be said of me when I'm gone. No light matters, for sure. But matters of life...real life.

party crashers

I admit it: the story about Tareq and Michaele Salahi (the couple who crashed a state dinner at the White House last week) has captivated me in so many ways. (For the latest, check here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_uninvited_guests.)

First, how in the world did they make it in if they weren't invited? Come on! This isn't like sneaking into Disney World or Busch Gardens without a ticket. This is the White House! Security reports from that evening describe three checkpoints BEFORE guests even made it to the door of the White House (where the infamous and questionable guest list was checked - not so carefully!).

Second, what's with their friend at the Pentagon? It's great to have friends in high places, but the story sounds fishy. Wouldn't this woman have caught on to the fact that she was being used? The emails sound like they speak for themselves: the couple was pushy, she was put in an awkward position and told them they probably wouldn't get an invite, and the couple went to the White House anyway.

Third, the level of arrogance and self-perceived importance is certainly remarkable. Not only did they use their friend at the Pentagon, they publicly disputed cold, card evidence (the chain of communication through emails between the couple and their friend is indisputable). And then, to make matters worse, they are selling their first interview to the network with the highest bid. IF they really wanted to avoid possible criminal charges and IF they really did think they were invited, wouldn't it make more sense to be busting down the doors of anyone who would listen so that the story would get cleared up? Instead, they are looking for their moment in the spotlight and a chance to make a few bucks.

All this has lead me to ask the question that has become synonymous with evangelical Christianity: what would Jesus do?

Well, on one hand, I think Jesus had a pretty awesome sense of humor. So, he'd probably laugh a bit. All the hype about national security and we can't even keep party crashers out of the White House? In some strange way, this sounds like something Jesus and his motley crew of disciples would've done to poke fun at the Pharisees.

But maybe I'm being too soft. Wouldn't Jesus have been appalled by the outlandish show of self-importance and pride? Wouldn't he have cautioned them of thinking more of themselves than they ought? Wouldn't he have told some parable to humble them a bit?

Well, he did (sort of). A parable from Luke's gospel has been running through my mind since this story surfaced. Hear how Eugene Peterson puts it in the Message Bible:

^7-9He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honor, he said, "When someone invites you to dinner, don't take the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. Then he'll come and call out in front of everybody, 'You're in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.' Red-faced, you'll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.

^10-11"When you're invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then when the host comes he may very well say, 'Friend, come up to the front.' That will give the dinner guests something to talk about! What I'm saying is, If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face. But if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

No doubt, the place of honor didn't belong to these two party-crashers. I'm humiliated for them. I imagine most people with any sense of self respect would be. What a lesson! Jesus' words are pretty clear (even if paraphrased): "If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face."