I had a great birthday celebration (my 33rd) this past weekend -- seriously, one of the best birthday observances that I've experienced in years...  But it all got me to thinking about some deeper stuff, too.

My 16th birthday was my Driver's License Birthday.  My 18th birthday was my Voting Eligibility Birthday.  My 21st birthday was my Legal Drink Birthday.  My 25th birthday was my Quarter-Century Birthday.  My 30th birthday was my Gateway to Middle Age Birthday.  But my most immediate association with the age of 33 is the Crucifixion of Jesus (who was, as far as we can tell, 33 years old at the time of his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection).  So I guess you could say that I just celebrated my Crucifixion of Jesus Birthday.

It's kind of an odd association, I realize.  But there is something powerful in the realization that this is what Jesus might have felt like -- what his body might have felt like, the thickness of his beard, the beginnings of ache in his joints, the slowing metabolism... and how his mind might have processed the events around him, the compiled power of memory, his sense of mortality, his ability to see humor in circumstances that might have previously frustrated or scared him, his perception of those older than him and younger than him -- in that last year of ministry, leading up to the climax of his ministry.  Maybe these thoughts seem a little bit morbid, but it somehow helps me to connect with the Passion of Jesus in a different way, during this season of Lent and preparing for Easter.

He was so young (at least from my way of looking at things!)!  There was so much of the world that he never got the chance to experience.  And yet, he made such a profound impact on the world with his 33 years.  Yes, of course, it helped that he was the Son of God and everything -- but still, he was absolutely human at the same time, and by the age of 33 Jesus had changed the course of human history.  It's amazing and humbling to consider.  And although I hope that I will not have to face  a crucifixion in the coming year, I do hope that I can follow Jesus more and more, every day.