The next day was Sunday, when Dave would deliver the first sermon to his new flock. He had written it on the plane, and as usual, read it to me first, to get my feedback. Dave's sermons were always based on something he had witnessed that troubled him. The one he wrote on the plane was based on the story of the loaves and the fishes, after seeing a dirty, skinny child in Boston begging on the street for money to buy food. Of course he had bought her a big meal, and a bag of groceries to take to her family, but he was so outraged such a situation could occur that he had to try to open people's eyes.
To my surprise, the sermon he delivered that day was based on the parable of the lost sheep. His voice, so gentle at home, thundered out across the pews to the very back of the church. "There are many lost sheep. Some of them may be in this community. Who will find them? Who will bring them to the light of the Lord?"
He paused, and in the silence that followed, a small voice said, "I will. Where are they?"
Dave let the laughter roll for a few moments while he smiled fondly at Travis, before lifting his eyes to the congregation again.
"And a small child shall lead them." He went on with his sermon. At the end of the sermon he invited the congregation to stay and meet his family.
As he shook hands with his parishioners and got some brief details of their lives, he found that most didn't live in the neighbourhood. Of those that did, he enquired about Beth and her family. No one had much to tell. The family kept to themselves. They often heard the man shouting, but seldom saw his wife. She was a quiet woman who had rejected the offers of friendship from the other women in the neighbourhood, so they had quit trying. Beth played in the yard sometimes, but never in the park with the other children. Her brother, Jake, was a few years older, but he didn't join any of the groups their sons did. He came straight home from school and didn't usually come out again until it was time for school the next day. They assumed he was playing video games, like many kids did, or maybe reading. They shook their heads when Dave asked if Beth's family ever went to church, though maybe not this one.
Somehow I wasn't surprised, and I doubt Dave was either. Of course, a lot of people have fallen away from church lately. But some people need it more than others.
YOU ARE READING
A Soldier's Heart
General Fiction"Travis was a soldier with heart. His love for his family, his country and his community is unquestioned. He never hesitated to put his life on the line for those he loved- and he loved many and deeply." So begins Travis Barrett's eulogy. A true her...
