Get Up! (Audio)

Short story about Jesus and I going to NBC.

Get up!

Copyright 2008 by Stefan Bolz.

I kneel, alone, on one of the wooden knee benches in a small, dark chapel. My hands are folded. I am deeply immersed in prayer, quietly and very sincerely reciting lines after lines of scripture. I am wearing a robe and worn sandals. As I kneel facing the alter, the door in back opens and a figure walks toward me. I see that it is Jesus. He stops next to my bench. I think that he might want to sit next to me and pray. But instead he says, 'get up'. He doesn't say it harshly but the authority in his voice is unmistakable. 'Get up', he says again as he steps away from the benches to give me space to come out into the isle.

As I step out, still confused over what this is all about, he turns toward the door. 'Shall we?' He puts his hand on my shoulder as we walk toward the entrance. As he opens the door, I realize for an instant how dark the chapel was for now the light blinds me and I close my eyes for a few seconds. As the light diminishes, loud traffic noise forces me to open my eyes again. I find myself on a very busy sidewalk in Manhattan, in a crowd of pedestrians. Jesus, now dressed in a designer suit and carrying a brown leather suitcase, walks next to me.

'We are going to a meeting,' he says as I look at his hair, bound into a pony tail. He does look like a business man: slick, tanned, and confident. Ray Bean Sun glasses, the suit is probably Armani. 'Where are we going?' I ask. 'It's right here,' he answers as we turn toward a building. Just as we enter the front door I can see the logo above the entrance: NBC. We are going to a meeting with NBC?' I think to myself. 'Yes we do,' he answers. 'It might be better if you let me do all the talking for I am the one who knows the business,' he tells me, an amused smile on his face. 'And what business would that be?' I ask. 'The business of people.' he answers as we enter the elevator.

Inside the elevator, I look at myself in the mirror. Suit, tie, black and polished shoes. 'Pretty cool', I think to myself. 'I thought you might like the outfit,' Jesus answers my thoughts with a smile. The door opens and we step into a large room, a reception area. Leather couches, a coffee table, a receptionist behind a desk.

'You may go right in,' the girl tells us in a very friendly voice and demeanor. 'First room on the left. I'll let them know you're coming. So, we walk down a hallway to a door that is being opened as we approach it. 'Good morning everyone,' Jesus opens the conversation. We sit down at a large table. On the other side of it sit 5 or 6 executives. 'Shall we', says one of them. 'Sure', Jesus answers while opening his briefcase and sliding it over to them. One of the executives takes out what looks like a screenplay. Then another and yet another. There are 4 all in all. I see that these are scripts I had written over time. They nod, put them back into the suitcase and hand over an envelope. Jesus takes it and opens it. He nods then gives it to me.

'Thank you', he says, bowing slightly to them. We get up. 'We're done', he tells me. 'Okay' I answer, still flustered. We leave the room. In the elevator he says, 'That went well, don't you think?' 'Yeah', I reply. I still hold the envelope in my hands. 'Don't spend it all at once', he says. As I open it I realize that he probably meant it. The check says 'one million dollars and 0 cents'.