Story telling and the ecclesiology of a three year old.

I've mentioned here that I am telling my little boy THE STORY. So far we have covered from Creation through the call of Abram. (FYI: I might be off in left field here but does it looks to me that Shem didn't die until after Abram was born. I might be wrong on the math, but check it out.) The little boy doesn't call this the "sad story" any more. Now he calls it "the long story." And it does take a long time to tell it with any detail.

So, in order to speed up the bedtime routine I've been telling little stories from the life of Jesus. The first was the man lowered through the hole in the ceiling. But he has also heard about Jesus telling his disciples to "lower the net on the other side", feeding the 5,000, healing the centurian's servant, turing water into wine, healing the 10 leapers and only 5 saying "thanks", the Annuncation and Nativity. I think that is all. Like the "Long Story" I don't give all the details at first. But by the third or fourth time I tell the story I'm including most or all of the details.

Yesterday, after telling him the story about the man with palsy who was saved by his friends when they lowered him through the roof to be healed by Jesus. (Luke 5:17-28), the little boy said "Tell me about Jesus nailed on the cross." (Most nights he kisses the Icons in his Icon Corner. One of them is Jesus nailed to the cross.) So I told him.

I started on Friday, just after the betrayal. We went through the beatings, the beard pulling, the trials(I kind of merged the trials all together into one event and didn't say anything about priests. I didn't want him to get confused and think that the priests he sees at Holy Trinity are teh people who tried Jesus.), the crown of thorns, the carrying of the cross...

"What is golgatha?"

"It means the place of the skull. It is where Jesus was killed."...

I told him about the crucifixion...

"Real nails? In his hands?"

"Yes"

About the darkness and the earthquake...

"Why?"

"the sun was so sad it did not make light. The earth was crying so hard that the ground shook under peoples' feet."

"oh."

I told him about the thieves. He got very excited when I told him that Paradise where the thief went with Jesus is like the Garden in the 'Long Story'. I told him about the presence of the Theotokos, and St. John, and the other women at the foot of the Cross. I told him about the angels standing by to rescue him at his command but how he stayed on the cross for us.

I told him about Saints Joseph and Nicodemas asking for Jesus' body, about breaking the legs of the theives, about stabbing Jesus with a spear ("What's a spear?" "Its a long stick with a knife on one end" "oh.") to see if he was really dead. I told him about the blood and water coming out of his side. (He was fascinated by this and wanted to know more. I told him that it is like at church when wine and water are both put in the chalice. He accepted that answer and I was able to finish the story.) I told him about putting Jesus in a new tomb.

By this time I was nearly sobbing, and his eyes were as wide as saucers as he said, in a voice of utter amazement, the most beatiful thing, "Jesus trampled death by death".

And I went on to tell about the myrrh-bearing women, and the angel at the tomb, and St. Peter running to the to see if it was really true, and about the empty tomb. And then I said, "And that is the end. Jesus has come back to life."

And then the little boy said. "Tell me the rest, Daddy."

And I thought for a second. And said, "you're right. There is more. A few days after he came back to life Jesus breathed on his disciples, St. Peter, and St. John, and gave them power to make more bishops by laying hands on people, and the power to forgive sins, and the power to tell others about Jesus. He created the Church."

"Our Church?"

"Yes, our Church."

"Our Church by putting hands on people?"

"Yes, St. Peter, and St. John, and the others went all over the world making people part of the Church."

"Our Church?"

"Yes, our Church. It's the same Church that Jesus made. It is really his church."

"By hands?"

"Yes. Bishops make new bishops by putting their hands on them. They make priests and deacons, too. "

"Did Jesus made Bishop Tikhon?"

"Bishop Tikhon wsa made by another bishop."

"But its our church?"

"Yes."

"Is it Jesus Church?"

"Yes, and you andI are part of it. We are part of Jesus' Church."

"The church with the hands?"

"Yep, all the way from Jesus to Ss. John, Thaddeus, Matthew, Peter, and the others, all the way to Bishop Tikhon, father Victor, and you.

"That's good."


Alcohol units: 0
Tobacco units: 0 (I think there is a trend here)
Caffine units: 1
Pills for the neck: 12
Tenant issues: 4
Contractor issues: 1