It was father and son time in the Reed household.
Since Billy was a baby, that was the way things were.
It could be Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, all day long, but it was all Daddy when it came time to
go to bed.
"Billy. What do you want for your bedtime story tonight," Mr. Reed
asked.
No proper day came to a conclusion without Bill senior telling Billy junior a
close-my-eyes story.
Billy had calling them close-my-eyes stories since he was old enough to talk practically.
It all started when his father started telling him the stories, and at the very beginning,
would tell Billy, "Now close your eyes and see if you can imagine the people I am
telling you about."
From then on, they became "close-my-eyes" stories. There were adventure
stories, funny stories, little animal stories, but tonight, Billy had a special
request.
"Daddy, in Sunday School yesterday, they told us about how people waved palms when
Jesus came into town. They celebrated and yelled and worshiped him," Billy
said.
The look on Billy's face let his father know a question was coming. His eyebrows were
arched, frown lines were across his forehead. Something was bothering Billy.
"What happened the next day Daddy. What did Jesus do on this day, Monday,"
Billy asked. "Could that be my close-my-eyes story for tonight?"
Big Bill had to think about this for a bit. What did Jesus do next? He
searched his memory, trying to rewind past sermons, rekindle past Sunday School lessons.
Then he remembered!
"Jesus went to dinner the next day Billy. He went to a friend's house to have
dinner, just like we do when we go to Uncle Nat's and Aunt Gertie's.
"I bet Jesus was really hungry after all that riding on a donkey, and having people
wave palms at him and all" Billy questioned.
"He was hungry," his Dad explained, "But it was not a quiet
supper."
"He went to Lazarus' house for dinner. You remember, Lazarus was Jesus' friend,
who Jesus brought back to life after he had died?"
"Yes, I remember Lazarus," Billy said. "But did Lazarus need to eat?
Wasn't he dead?"
"Yes, Lazarus needed to eat. He was very much a living breathing person
again," his father explained "And he needed to eat. Jesus was very much man and
very much God and Jesus needed to eat too."
"They were all at the table," his father continued, "when Lazarus'
sister came and poured expensive perfume all over Jesus' feet and then she wiped it
with her hair."
Billy's face had a funny look on it. "Did Jesus' feet smell that bad," Billy
asked. "And didn't they have any paper towels?"
Big Bill had to smile at Billy's question. He forced a serious look on his face and
replied, "No she did it to honor him. To show him how much she thought of
him." .
"Judas, one of Jesus' disciples, did not like her doing that. Judas said
she should have sold the perfume and given the money to the poor rather than waste it on
Jesus feet. But Judas, who held all of the group's money, really only wanted
the money so he could steal it," Billy's father continued.
"I don't think I like that Judas," Billy said. "What happened next
Daddy."
"A big crowd started to gather Billy and that pretty much ended the dinner.
People learned that Jesus was in the house and they wanted to see him. When
they learned Lazarus was there too, then it really became a mob scene.
"A lot of people did not start believing in Jesus until he brought Lazarus back from
the dead. The leaders, who did not like Jesus, wanted to kill Jesus and Lazarus to
keep people from believing in Jesus."
"Daddy, I think I understand why Lazarus' sister put her expensive perfume on Jesus
feet," Billy said.
"Why do you think she did it Billy," his father asked.
"She wanted him to be able to smell how sweet it was. If she waited until Jesus
was dead, He could not have smelled it. She wanted Jesus to know how much she
thought of Him.
"It is like when we took flowers over to Miss Margaret. I remember when she
asked you what the occasion was, you told her because "you are you."
"On the way home, you told us you liked to give flowers to people when they could
still see them," Billy continued.
"I think Lazarus' sister wanted to give Jesus the perfume while He could still smell
it," Billy said.
"Daddy I love you," Billy said.
Now it was Billy's father's turn to have the strange look on his face.
"I know you love me Billy, but why did you choose to remind me of it now, instead of
just saying Goodnight Daddy like you normally do," his father questioned.
"I just wanted to tell it to you while you still could hear it," Billy said with
a smile. He pulled his blanket up under his little chin, indicating he was finished for
the day. "Daddy can we spend Tuesday with Jesus too," Billy asked.
"Sure Billy," his father answered, as he moved to the door, and flicked the
switch that darkened the room.
"Tomorrow's close-my-eyes story will be what Jesus did on Tuesday," he
said softly as Billy fell to sleep, with a peaceful, satisfied look on his face..
