F
rom the moment Jesus entered the folds of the curtain, Eben felt apprehensive. Only a few seconds passed before he began to call, Jesus . . ? Jesus . . ? Jesus! He dared not call above a whisper. He did not want to be discovered here. But Jesus did not hear. The curtain was too heavy, muffling any voice as tiny as the boy made. Eben waited looking anxiously at the doorways into the Holy Place. It seemed he waited forever while Jesus remained silent inside the curtain. To Eben, it seemed the giant curtain had swallowed his friend. Then he heard voices. Footsteps coming. He had to hide. Behind the big altar. Sure enough, two priests entered the room and walked directly toward one of the tables. The two men spoke to one another of liturgical arrangements while Eben huddled on the floor behind the altar, hoping he would not be discovered. Would they go inside the curtain and find Jesus? What would they do if they found him? He wished with all his heart that he had not been separated from his parents. He closed his eyes and prayed, “Lord if you let me out of here, I will never . . .”
Before he completed his short prayer, the men were gone. He called to Jesus again. No answer. He wanted to follow his friend behind the curtain, but the fear in him precluded that. He could not move, let alone take a step toward the curtain. Why doesn’t he come out? What’s keeping him? Did he leave me and go off on his own? Was he caught by someone on the other side? Jesus! He whispered loudly.
Nothing.
What to do? Since he did not know what had happened to Jesus, Eben made the decision to extricate himself from this situation as best he could. He made his way toward the door through which the men had exited. Peering out into the Court of Israel, he saw people moving about, but no one looked in his direction. He slipped out and down the stairs into the Court of the Women unnoticed. There, miraculously, he saw his father, his mother and his older sister. When they saw him, they were angry. “Where have you been?” his mother demanded.
“Playing with Jesus,” he replied, volunteering nothing more. He still did not know of Jesus’ whereabouts. He did not want to betray his friend. Perhaps he was safe with his parents as well. He hoped so.
“Don’t you ever wander away from us again,” his mother scolded. “You may become lost and who knows who might find you. Some terrible thing could happen to you.”
“Yes, mother.”
