What will you be when you grow up?

“So, Jesus, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Joseph asked.

“Christ,” Jesus answered, finishing the last of the bread on his plate.

“I told you, dear.”

***

What does that mean, growing up into Christ? as a daily practice? as a foregone conclusion? as a ‘calling,’ a compulsion, a drawing out.

How did he know? Did he wonder? doubt? struggle? argue?

All we know (from the book that tells us about him) is that, at 13, he sat in the temple in his Father’s house, listening to and speaking with the elders there. In fact, he lost track of time.

How did he know his time had come? — his mother hinted after he started strutting his stuff at a wedding in Cana, changing water into wine.

How did he know “his time was up?” — he begged his Father to change his mind about calling him in for dinner, but came obediently anyway.

What do I want to be when I grow up?