The Boy Who Called Himself Jesus

 Memory: THE BOY WHO CALLED HIMSELF JESUS

Eddie was weird. Like really weird. Oh and what a drama king he was. You see back in the day, Eddie (you may know him as Glenn), use to watch with his family all the movies around the holidays that told the story of Jesus. He was particularly moved by the movies "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and the mini-series they showed around Easter called "Jesus of Nazareth." He loved a good story and this was a great story. This story of Jesus. He was better than any superhero for sure. And he offered something to us that Superman and Batman never could. Eternal Life. And he did so much good! He was perfect. And everyone loved him. Or so Eddie thought. More on that later. But in the mid to late 70s, Eddie was looking for a role model and this guy Jesus seemed to fit the bill. So Eddie, that weird little kid that use to kiss his Christmas tree branches, decided that he was going to not just act like Jesus, but he was going to BE JESUS. Yes you heard that right. From a certain point, Eddie started telling other kids at school who he was. He was Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth. And for weeks, everyday, Eddie would act out a scene at school where he could show everyone how he had been transformed from the kid they bullied at school, to their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The kids at school didn't know how to respond but they laughed and even went along with the "joke." Kid after kid would come up to Eddie and ask Eddie who he was. "Why I am Jesus...Jesus of Nazareth, my child". And they laughed again. Eddie was even asked his name by teachers and he would respond the same way. "I am Jesus Christ, and I forgive you for all your sins." Sometimes the teachers laughed, but mostly they thought he was just looking for attention. And they were right. Eddie was looking for attention. He was tired of being bullied, but he remembered how Jesus handled his bullies. He just forgave them and let them do what they had to do. And strangely, the bullies laid off him a bit. I mean, who wanted to punch someone or give a wedgie to a kid that calls himself Jesus? Eddie's most dramatic moment came when he decided he was going to run the "money changers" out of the "temple" (cafeteria) one day and then re-created the famous scene where Jesus upsets the tables at the temple and calls out the high priests for desecrating God's holy place. Though the School Administrators generally looked the other way when Eddie was "Peaceful Jesus" just claiming he was Jesus, they took notice and were disturbed when Eddie starting flipping tables in the lunch room and calling out the unrepentant by referring to them as the "Whores of Babylon" and saying they were going to hell unless they gave up everything and followed him. That incident, triggered the Administration (Eddie referred to them as the "Roman Empire" and the Principal as "Pontius Pilate") to suspend Eddie and to have a conference with his parents. Eddie came from a big Catholic family, and his Grandmother was devout. Concerned for many reasons, His Grandmother, asked the local priest for an intervention. Eddie, seemed to get the fact that maybe he was in a little over his head, decided that he didn't want to have a priest attempt some kind of exorcism on him, so he decided to acknowledge to everyone, that maybe he wasn't the second coming and that he never really believed he was THE Jesus. So Jesus of Nazareth, suddenly became just Eddie of Watertown. For years, Eddie's friends called him the "kid that thought he was Jesus." His greatest role to date. And the funny thing is, when he was acting out that part, he really tried hard to be kind and compassionate toward others. He just tried to emulate Jesus. He forgave those who bullied him and he tried to help those who were bullied. In short, he was a better person. For a few weeks, he emulated Jesus, and just like the real Jesus, he was persecuted for it. (He was smart enough, however, to drop the "I am your savior" routine once he thought the crucifixion was imminent) We all had role models growing up. Was it bad that Eddie chose Jesus as that role model? And it, in many ways, it made him a better person. We admire people ---actors, firefighters, astronauts, sports stars, etc. and these were imperfect choses. But Eddie chose Jesus...and well...that was unacceptable. Not because he acted like Jesus, but because he wanted to BE Jesus. And to our modern world, that makes him crazy. Weird. Strange. Like I said. He was (I was) a weird kid. Happy New Year!

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