¿Dónde está Jesús? / Where is Jesus? -- Session #8 of Academy #32

At the final session in April for Academy #32, I wondered where I might find Jesus and how Jesus might be dressed.  I wondered how Jesus might participate with the daily themes throughout the week, etc.

It was good to arrive to the Life Enrichment Center, get checked in and settled in, and head to the worship space for our first gathering before supper.

Jesus was already there in the worship space, awaiting our arrival.  The theme for the first day was "celebration" / "celebración".  Jesus was dressed in this colorful coat.  He had prayer beads in his right hand and he was next to the shell for us to remember our baptism.

Directly in front of Jesus was the altar.  For this day of celebration, it was decorated appropriately and beautifully.

 

Later in the week, one of the words for the day was "peace" / "paz".  Jesus was sporting this super cool jacket and was sitting up on the altar. 

 





 

 

Though it was kinda cool to see Jesus sitting around the candle, almost like a campfire, someone thought he might get burned, so they moved things around a little bit.  And, in this second picture you can also notice a beautiful addition-- an original art piece by one of our very own artists in residence.  (Look toward the left top corner.)

 





 

I didn't take as many pictures of Jesus this past session.  But in addition to Jesus being on the altar and the table where we remembered our baptism, Jesus was seen among the people during worship.  Sometimes he joined in for celebration of worship and at other times he simply sat in someone's lap during the service.  It was beautiful!

 





 

Having The Jesus Doll in our midst became part of the Academy experience for me, for us (I think I can speak for all of us).  For me, it became a sacrament as Leonardo Boff describes sacrament (and as I've shared about previously). 

Because of the meaningfulness of The Jesus Doll in this context, I took my Jesus Doll to the retreat I led last week.  Jesus sat in a chair toward the front of the room.  Before I ever could explain what it was and what people could do with it, one of the ladies had found him, picked him up, and brought him over to me exclaiming that Jesus was here.  She was hugging and holding him.  I didn't need to explain.  She got it.  That's why he was there.  Maybe someone needed a hug from Jesus.  Some one on one time. 

Another lady reflected on Jesus during the reflection time and used the physical presence for conversation time.  She got her one on one time with Jesus too.

Yesterday I bought some material so that Jesus could have some cool jackets like the ones at the Academy.  A friend mentioned that she could make the jackets for me.  I can't wait to share them and to use them in worship, retreat, etc. settings.

May there be peace, joy, and celebration in your day! 

May you run into someone today that lives out the tenets of Christ in your life so that you will come into contact with the physical presence of Christ today.

May you also be that physical presence of Christ for someone else today.

Loving God and loving others as the journey continues,

Debra