This is my favorite story about my little brother, Bart. I thought I'd put it here for posterity.
People who have known me for any length of time are aware that I have a younger brother, named Bart, who is three years younger than me and has "intellectual disabilities." Essentially, Bart functions at the level of a four-year-old most of the time. He lives in a group home/apartment situation about ten miles from my parents and has such a busy social life that he has to squeeze us into his schedule. Or, at least it seems that way sometimes. (:
Years and years ago (when we were teenagers), Bart was attending a school for disabled children that was religiously based. At the very least, he had a religion lesson on a regular basis. One day, around Easter time, Bart came home from school appearing very sad. When my mom asked him what was wrong, he said, "Jesus died." Apparently, Bart had learned the Easter story that day...but all he understood was that Jesus had died. He hadn't grasped that Jesus rose again. Of course, Mom responded with something along the lines of, "But then Jesus rose again, and Jesus lives in our hearts." No dice. When my dad came home, he tried to explain to Bart that Jesus died, but he rose again. All he got was, "Jesus died" and a very sad expression.
The next day, my mom asked Bart's religion teacher to re-explain the Easter story to him. She did, but Bart just couldn't understand the concept of the resurrection...he couldn't move from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. My parents tried again...I even tried...to no avail. "Jesus died", and that was it. Eventually, we gave the situation over the God, because we were at our wits end.
Fast forward a few months...for my birthday that year, my parents took the family to see "Jesus Christ, Superstar" at Wolf Trap (big outdoor arena in Northern Virginia). We packed a picnic, sat out on the lawn, and enjoyed the show. If you've never seen "Jesus Christ, Superstar", then I'll tell you that it's a musical (very loosely) based on the last week of Jesus' life. Lots of poetic license.
At the end of the show, Jesus is on the cross, and the background changes and soft music plays as he is lifted up into the rafters. Bart was with us, of course, and I could see him looking sad as he watch this. Jesus had died, after all. The show was over, and Jesus was dead.
The show may have been over, but there was more excitement to come...
What happens at the end of every dramatic performance?
The Curtain call
In groups and pairs, the performers came back on stage for their bows. Finally, the actor who played Jesus walked onto the stage to thundering applause and a standing ovation. As pseudo-Jesus came out, Bart's face lit up and he exclaimed, "Jesus lives! Mom, Dad, Patti...Jesus lives!" And we heard him proclaim that for the rest of the evening...as we left the lawn, as we rode the shuttle to our car, as we drove home...we heard Bart proclaiming, at the top of his lungs, the essence of the Gospel: that Jesus died, rose again, and still lives today.
Sometimes God works in the most amazing and unexpected ways to touch our hearts and open our eyes, including curtain calls of Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals.
1 comment:
Awesome! That really is a good story!
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