St. Peter is standing at Heaven’s Gates when an angel comes to him with a message that he needs to attend to.
Not wanting to leave the Gates unattended, he looks around for help.
Just at that moment, he sees Jesus coming around the corner so he calls him over.
“Hey Jesus, can you help me out? I need to take care of something. Could you manage the Gates for a while?”
“Sure,” answers Jesus.
“Just tell me what you need me to do”
St. Peter explains:
“It’s pretty easy. Every time someone wants to enter Heaven, you sit down with him and have a little chat about what he used to do when he was alive, who his family was. That sort of stuff. And then you decide whether they are allowed entry or not”
“Sounds ok, I got you.” Jesus says.
Thanking Jesus, St. Peter leaves.
After a few minutes, the first person, an old man, approaches the Gates of Heaven.
Jesus welcomes the man and invites him to sit down.
“So” Jesus starts
“tell me something about yourself. What was your profession during your life on earth?”
“I was a carpenter.” the old man answers.
“Hey nice! Just like my father” Jesus remarks.
“Tell me something about your family”
The old man sighs and looks sad. “I used to have a son, but I lost him.”
Kindly, Jesus asks him “Can you tell me more about your son?”
“Well,” the old man says, taking a deep breath.
“It was kind of a strange story. He was born without being conceived and he had holes in his hands and feet.”
Stunned, Jesus leans forward and looks at the old man, his voice a mere whisper.
“F-f-father?”
Full of hope, the old man looks up into Jesus’ eyes and whispers “Pinocchio?”