The Bible verses contained in the following imaginative consideration are not exact translations, but rather an invitation for readers to look up the texts in order to deepen their experience with this article.
I imagine Jesus at 22 or so cherishing every ordinary day in his “hidden” life and making the everyday holy.
“Jesus, dear, would you mind doing the dishes tonight? I don’t know why I am particularly tired. “
“I like to do that, mother. You cooked a delicious meal for us. “
I listen to Jesus and imagine his tone of voice when I do the dishes today. He says, “We thank you, Almighty God, for all your favors.”
I imagine its surroundings. The smell of roasted vegetables is in the air. The setting sun casts faint shadows over the barren space. The air feels dry and warm. Jesus collects everything that was used to prepare the meal and brings back the bucket for the dishes. He pours some water from another bucket near the door over the dirty utensils. Subdued light casts shadows on his task. “Even if I am walking in a valley of darkness, Abba, you are here.” Jesus ponders Psalm 23. Did he memorize it from his mother?
His prayers go on as he picks up a bowl, and with a circular motion and a tired looking cloth, he works out the dirt. He smiles at the circle that is the Trinity. “You are holy and worthy of praise.”
Jesus pauses. When the water trickles over his fingers, he imagines the fountain in the center of town from which his mother drew this water early in the morning. A verse from Isaiah comes to mind: “We shall joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation” (12: 3)
Jesus reaches for another cooking utensil and mumbles: “Your love overflows in me”. He thinks of the free gift of water deep in the earth, which no one has put there. Another Bible verse comes to mind: “Adonai! You are a source of living water ”(Jeremiah 2:13)
Jesus rubs soap herb stalks on the particularly stubborn spots. He prays in his own mind: “Father, you provide us with everything we need. Thank you, lover. You are right here. “
Jesus grabs a handful of sand for a stubborn stain. “Do not let the hearts of our people become stubborn as they did in Meriba, where they tried you, O Abba. They saw the miracle of the water rising from a rock, but their hearts remained like rocks ”- Psalm 95: 8–9.
When the last dishes have been washed, Jesus dries everything with another cloth. He takes the dirty water through the back door and pours it into the garden. “You split the waters of the Red Sea,” he prays. “You have done wonderful deeds.”
“Honey, you must have spent a long time eating a few dishes,” calls out his mother.
Jesus laughs. “I just enjoyed some time with my Abba while doing them. It makes cleaning easy and the burden easy. “
“Hmm,” thinks Jesus, “maybe that’s a good way to describe why people should turn to my Abba.” Suddenly he sees the image of a yoke in his carpentry shop and puts the last judgment back in its place. He makes another mental note and carefully sits down next to his mother lying down.
She smiles. “God gives us our daily bread. My soul thanks the Lord. “