Table for 3 (Me, Jesus & Mary)

    As I committed to myself, below is installment one of the Table for 3 series I thought would be fun to write.  I changed one thing, I decided to flip the bill for Jesus and Mary.  We'll see next time.  Enjoy....

    I was surprised.  His number was PUBLISHED in the phone book Christ, Jesus (there actually was one right below him Christ, Jesus H. but I can’t remember him having a middle name).  I dialed the number and I heard a man’s say hello.
    “Hi, may I, uh, speak with Jesus Christ please.”
    “This is he.”
    Next thing I know, I had invited him and his mother Mary to join me for lunch.  I told him about my table for three project (I figured as long as any more than two of us gathered….).    He said yes.  In fact he mentioned that not many folks these days realized that all they have to do is ask and he would be there, fair enough.
    Early morning, three days later I rose.  We met at Noon at Chevy’s (a chain Mexican restaurant in San Francisco).  He did ask that, if possible, we go somewhere other than a seafood restaurant.  Apparently at some point he had overdid it on fish and bread, fair enough.

    I arrived right at Noon and Jesus and Mary were already there.  The restaurant’s entryway was packed with people but for some reason everyone was mellow.  Nobody was balling out the hostess asking when their table would be ready.   I noticed that the seats were occupied only by the women and the older folks. 
    Mary was seated as she watched Jesus having a conversation with a few people.  Although, curiously I noticed he was mostly listening.  Mary recognized me immediately (I guess she’s in touch with her intuition).  She smiled as I instinctively began to bow and tell her I wasn’t worthy or something else I’d been conditioned to think.  She gently put her hands on my shoulders and made eye contact with me still smiling.  She embraced and greeted me.
    I asked her, in a politically correct voice level, “Is that….him?”
    “Yes, that’s my Jesus.”
    “Boy, he sure does draw a crowd.”
    “It happens all the time.  I guess people don’t remember that they don’t need to see him to speak to or listen to him.”
    My head snapped around back to Mary.  I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly….what was she talking about?  And then I realized I was having lunch with Jesus and Mary.  She was looking right into my eyes.
    “You know something, it seems like I’ve always known that.  It’s when I started to believe it that I forgot it.”
    “Hay-soos for three!” yelled the young lady at the front of the restaurant.
    “Did you put our names in?”  I asked Mary.
    “Yes, I think we’re soon….”
    “Hay-soos table for three!”
    “Jesus, honey, please come here and say hello to Tim”
    The group around him dispersed quietly.  He walked over to me and, again, the bowing, the I’m not worthy bit.  Again, he placed his hands gently and made eye contact.  He embraced and greeted me.  A beautiful moment of peace that was interrupted.
    “Last call, HAY-SOOS, table for three”
    Despite feeling the warmth of my soul and heart permeating my very being, I realized what was up.
    “Wait….do you mean Jee-zuz?”
    “Uh, I don’t know, I just have J-E-S-U-S here.”  She was getting annoyed because it was so busy, even though it was peaceful.  “Wait, is that a heart at the end of the name?”
“I think that would be us”
    She led us through the restaurant to our table. 
    “She is sweet and loving” said Mary.
    “Mom, you think everyone is sweet and loving”  said Jesus.
    “Well, so do you!”  she said playfully.
    “Good point”
    “And thank God for that” I said instinctively.  Oops.  Faux pas control.  “I mean, ummmm like Father, like Son, I mean like Mother, like Son.  I mean, boy how about the weather?”
I finally clammed up and realized that they were both laughing.
    "I'm sorry, forgive me."   
    They were now laughing even harder.
    “Mom, should I or do you want to?”
    “Go ahead, honey.”
    “Tim, don’t sweat it.  In some ways you’re right, thank God or whatever benevolent creator people believe in these days.  No matter what anyone says, thinks or does, love lights their heart.  We’ve learned that getting worked about or judging” as he did the hand quotation marks in the air “it suggests that we have forgotten that we all are love.”
    “Wow, that’s cool.  Hey, were you always so eloquent?”
    Just as he was ready to answer, our server arrived.  “Hi, welcome to Chevy’s my name is Joseph” queue twilight zone music “and I’ll be your server.  Can I start you folks off with one of our mango madness margaritas?  They are not only alliterative, they are sinful!”  Oy vey I thought as I looked down to my menu uncomfortably until I realized, again, that Mary and Jesus were laughing.
“I think we’ll both pass.  Joseph, that’s a beautiful name, my husband is named Joseph.”
    “Really?  It’s a family name, I like it.  Of course my stage name is Apple, anyhoo.  Do you want to order drinks?”
    “No thank you” said Jesus “Mom, are you ready to order?” she nodded “Tim, are you?”
    “Ummm, you guys go first, I’ll be ready by the time it comes to me.”
    “OK, my mother would like the vegetarian fajitas with black beans.  I would like same, but with refried beans, please.”
    “To drink?”
    “Water is fine, Joseph.”
    “Bottled?”
    I looked over at them “Lunch is on me, feel free to get the bottled, or anything else you want.”
    “Tap water is fine, Joseph thank you.  Thank you for the offer Tim.”  For some reason I expected him to call me Timothy….whatever.
    “And for you sir?”
    “Fish tacos with black beans and a side of jack and cheddar cheese and a coke please.”
    “Is Pepsi okay?”
    “Yes, Pepsi is fine, Joseph thank you.”  I realized their very presence was making me more cordial, compassionate almost.
    “Righty-o!”
    As he walked away, they both said at the same time “He is sweet and loving.”  I smiled, they laughed.
    I was still a little bit shocked.  They had not even looked down at the menu.  They hadn’t even discussed their order.  How did they know what was on the menu?  How did they know what they wanted?  I had witnessed a miracle, I was sure of it.
    “Forgive me for saying so” …still conditioned “but that was, well not quite miraculous, but certainly amazing that you didn’t even look at the menu before ordering.  How could you possibly have known?”
    “We come here a lot” said Mary and we all laughed.
    “Ah, I guess it’s one of those things where if I look at a group of random stars long enough, I will see a hunger with a bow and arrow.”
    “Sort of” said Jesus with a smile “at the same time however, love makes anything possible.  From living in peace and harmony to healing the sick to reading the closed menu it’s the same.  If you know it you can do it.  It’s a power that’s not exclusive Tim.  You, Mom, me anyone, anywhere has it.  I used to read everything that came out about me.  Now I read a smattering of it, it started to get repetitive.  I do however, read all of the new writers who write about love like Martin Luther King, Jr., Mohandas Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Thich Nhat Hanh and others.   They are beautiful and connecting and their work is a blessing for all of us.  What I can’t quite understand is when we look up at the stars why we think we need to find anything other than the intrinsic beauty of the stars themselves.  Their inner beauty is without reference.  Like the beauty inside of the hostess, the waiter and you my friend.  I don’t need to find your pattern to see your beauty.”
    “Hmmm....I guess I never got the answer on the eloquent speaker thing.”
    “I guess so”  said Mary  “one thing’s for sure he has always been a super listener.  And, he certainly does enjoy a good story, like I do, and I suppose like everyone does.  I guess that’s the deal, a good story teller is often first a patient listener.”
    “Yeah, but who listens patiently these days?  And, actually, who even really tells a good story these days?  Anywhere?”
    “I’m not certain about anyone else.  For me, as a Mom, I look at how I listen to my son.  I also looked at how I was raised, which is so important in understanding how I act.  I’ve listened best in my life to my son as far as others go.  I admit at times, I have gotten impatient but that’s okay.  I gently move forward on my path.  Because at all times I’m walking, listening, eating, etc. in love.  Do you have children?”
    “Yes, I do, I have one daughter”  I reached into my wallet and grabbed my laminated (yes, it was laminated) picture of me and Zoe in LA.  I handed it to Mary with my left hand, sans wedding ring and all.  I somewhat shamefully and very quickly pulled my hand back.  Before looking at the picture, they both looked at me.
    “It’s okay Tim.  Remember, everything is love.” said Jesus.
    “I know…but isn’t it a…sin?”
    “Look at the stars long enough and you’ll see a hunter, with a bow and arrow”
    “Good point.”
    They both looked at the picture and smiled.  “She’s so beautiful” said Mary “What’s her name?”
    “Zoe”
    “Ah, life in Greek” said Jesus.
    “Is there anything you don’t know?”  said Mary playfully.
    “I don’t know how I got so lucky to have such a cool Mom.”  If it wasn't Jesus and Mary it would be corny, wouldn't it?
    “Tim, Zoe is beautiful.”  Mary said as she handed me the photo.
    “You should meet her”
    “We already have”
    “Good point”
    “Well, here we are.  Let’s see you had the vegetarian fajitas with black beans” as Joseph set Mary’s order in front of me  “And the fish tacos” as he set my order in front of Jesus “And, finally the veggie fajitas with refried beans” as he set Jesus’ order in front of Mary “Is there anything else I can get for you folks?”
    “I think other than our drinks we are all good” I said.
    “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I forgot them!  Sorry.  I’ll be back in a second.”  We all laughed and decided to switch seats for fun instead of exchanging plates.  Eerily enough, Joseph returned and got the drink orders spot on. 
    As I was ready to start eating, Jesus asked me “Tim, do you mind if we take a moment to…”
    “Say a prayer, of course not” I interrupted and backed my chair out to get down on one knee.
    “Tim, my friend, what are you doing?” 
    “Sorry, conditioning”
    “Not a prob, and you don’t have to keep apologizing, really.  How can forgiveness ever be necessary when everything is love?  Anyway, we like to take just a brief moment before we eat to say thanks in our own way to this moment.  This moment that has brought us together for another wonderful meal.”
    “Uhhh, yeah, do we join hands or do we say a prayer?”
    “We can join hands, your call.  And we do it quietly, it’s the easiest way we have found to ensure that everyone, no matter who they are, where they are from, what religion they belong to, etc. etc. is included.”
    “Fair enough”
    Somehow in that moment, at Chevy’s everything stopped.  I closed my eyes and entered the moment.  It’s always been there and always will be.  That moment is love.
    “Let’s eat!” said Mary.
    I noticed that during the meal, nothing bothered either of them.  I also noticed that they never took sides.  I also noticed that they never said someone was bad or someone was good.   It put me at ease.  They accepted me from the moment I met them for the person that I am.  And I am curious, so I had to ask.
    “I’m curious,”
    “We know” said Mary, smiling.
    “What did you guys think about that movie the Passion of the Christ?”
    “Well, it’s always interesting to see someone play you.” said Jesus “That aside, all it really is is one person’s take on a story told a number of times.  I must admit that I wonder why it is the source of such anger, division and protest.  But I guess that’s what lots of folks are choosing as life these days.  Words, thoughts, even actions have energy that is neutral.  People make it mean something and it becomes divisive.  And even considering the fact that it’s not your typical Hollywood ending, there is a line in the movie delivered magnificently by Mr. Caviezel.  He said…what I said….but he looked cooler doing it….’love one another as I have loved you.’  I’m so pleased that the line ended up in the movie.  Tim, I love you unconditionally because I love myself unconditionally, because God loves all of us unconditionally.  It is the truth.  Now, critics may not have loved the film and that’s okay, different strokes for different folks.  But what eternally connects us as children is love.”
“It’s interesting to me that you say children.  When my daughter Zoe was born, I met a being, a light if you will, that knew absolutely nothing other than curiosity, love, acceptance and peace.  In some way, it reminded me that I have it in me.”
    “Remember when we were talking about being a good listener and a story teller?”  I nodded  “It’s about compassion.  Listening, real listening is compassion.  Carefully avoiding concluding on what’s right or wrong, good or bad.  And, I think you’ve touched on something very important.  Look to the children, the younger the better.  They all arrive with that loving acceptance and curiosity, it is love’s nature.  Over time, we are conditioned to believe otherwise.  I promise you Tim, the feeling you had when Zoe was born is God.  It’s love without conditions for another being.  And if you can do it for that little girl, you can do it for yourself.  After all, when you were born, you were the same way, and still are.”
    “It’s hard sometimes because I am bombarded with the concept that others are evil.  And, by the same logic if they can be evil, then so can or am I.  I see it in the movies, the newspapers, the songs, the war, the terrorism, etc.  It feels overwhelming.”
    “We know not what we do, Tim” said Jesus.
    “What do we know then?”
    “We know what we feel.”
    “But it’s hard to explain.”
    “Who said you had to explain it?”
    “Good point.”
    We finished our meals and I paid the tab.
    “Big plans for the weekend?” I asked as we stood outside.
    “Yes, we are going away for the weekend camping with friends and family.”  said Mary.
    “But wait a minute…don’t you have to got to church on Sunday?”
    “Which one?”  asked Jesus.
    “Good point.  Well, thank you both for meeting me.”  I said as I hugged Jesus then Mary.  “Let’s do this again sometime.”  I wonder if they knew about artificiality in the Bay Area.  “Or, maybe let’s keep in touch.”
    “We’re always around” said Jesus with a smile.
    “Good point.” and in the white boy, urban, hip hop worldly way of today I said “Peace” and immediately felt awkward.
    “And also with you” said Mary and Jesus in unison.

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