- The Pastor - Part 1 - "Buddy and the Pastor"
- The Pastor - Part 2 - "The Boys in the Door"
- The Pastor - Part 3 - "Gilding the Lily"
Pastor Andrews managed to bury the memory of his encounter with Fred Jenkins at Hannaford’s the previous week. That is, he thought he had. As soon as he sat down to write next Sunday’s sermon, he could not do it. Their conversation was blocking him from creating the customary Righteous Indignation his flock had come to expect. His rigid Old Testament beliefs had been rocked to their core.
The pastor sat motionless for a spell. Fred Jenkins’ question
pitting the contrary notions of God’s Will against the concept of Free Will combined
with the Infallibility of God; well sir, that pushed Pastor Jenkins into a
minor spiritual breakdown.
Several minutes of silence later, the good pastor came to a
realization. He could use the right words to feed his flock the necessary
weekly ration of righteousness and fealty to God. But he was having trouble understanding
the conflicts his own words stirred up inside himself, never mind what they might be
doing to the congregation.
If a Heathen he considered clueless about God could mess with his head so easily, he needed to reevaluate his own self importance. Jacob felt a need for a deeper understanding of God’s goals and how he, as a man of God could help his Lord in Heaven attain those goals. Pastor Andrews understood before he could shepherd his congregation now, he had to resolve this new conflict in his own mind first.
The moments of silent reflection calmed him. The Pastor could feel
the anxiety ease and drain away with each breath. He got up from the kitchen
table, found the ceremonial wine, poured another glassful and sat back down.
Taking a another moment of calm, he considered what it might take to mesh these
contradictions logically into his long held Old Testament views of his
relationship with God.
Pastor Andrews picked up his pen and wrote the date of next
Sunday’s services at the top of the yellow legal pad in front of him. Again he
sat silent for a moment. He then wrote down in Italics, “God’s Will versus Free
Will”.
He stared at the blank page. His wife Sylvie came into the
kitchen.
“How’s the sermon going?”
“I’m stuck.”
Sylvie’s eyebrows lifted. Her husband never had a problem coming
up with the Hell and Damnation his Old Testament sermons were full of.
“What is the problem?”
Jacob looked up at her.
“How many glasses of wine have you had Jacob? You know how you get
when you get into, what is it you call it, the Devil’s Brew?”
“Calm down Sylvie, only my second glass. ……… The problem? I am not
sure what the problem is yet. But earlier today I had my beliefs and faith
challenged and it unsettled me.”
“Well, what and who challenged you?’ Sylvie sat down across the
table from her husband.
Pastor Andrews looked at his wife. He loved his wife. He did not
respect her though; what with her being a woman and all. Women should not
question their men. The first words out of her mouth should have been, “Oh dear
Jacob, how can I help?” Instead, she asked what the problem was. Without
thinking, he blurted:
“Being female, I am sure you would not be able to help me resolve
the deeper conflicting concepts of God’s Plan.”
Sylvie’s eyes narrowed. She hated when he brought up the “Females
are Chattel” schtick. But she kept her calm.
“Such as………?”
Pastor Jacob looked again at his wife. He immediately knew he had
stepped over a well established line in their relationship. She knew how he
felt what a women’s place was. And he knew what she thought that place should
be. Long ago, in order to reduce future conflict and possible physical harm to
the good pastor, Jacob had finally learned to keep his mouth shut about women
and their place for over a decade. His true opinion, he saved for those rare days
when he was yukking it up in a backroom with the sextons. The look on his
wife’s face told him one more word in that direction and …… He stopped thinking
about what might come next.
“Uh, well…. Such as the idea of God’s Will in relation to the notion
that God has also granted us Free Will.”
Sylvie’s glare did not diminish. Through tightened lips, she hissed:
“Well, being but a child bearing domestic and all, anything I say
will surely fall on deaf ears. Sounds like your problem, not mine. Personally I
have no problem with either.”
“You are not bothered at all by the obvious contradiction between
the two? And on top of the, …….. what does it say about God’s Infallibility?”
Sylvie smiled.
“ No, Jacob, I am not bothered; nor should you be
either. Your flock are simple folk with uncomplicated minds. They are just
trying to get by. They come to church not so much because they believe, but
because you offer some of them hope and entertainment. But most of
all, they come because they get to rub shoulders every week with friends, relatives
and enemies. Church is a social gathering first and foremost. …..You can’t
possibly think you make a difference, can you?............. You are just the
ringmaster. Get over yourself. ........... Write your usual drivel and move
on.”
Once again Sylvie smiled and moved to leave the kitchen.
"Don't stay up all night."
Jacob was silent. He glared at his wife's back and watched her walk down the narrow hallway of their trailer. The pastor looked down at the empty sheet of paper. A moment passed before he began writing. When he was done and drained hours later, 31 crumpled balls of lined yellow paper laid haphazardly around the now empty legal pad. Jacob stood up, stretched and awkwardly stumbled out of the kitchen to join his wife in bed. ( @ 1000 words)
Hopefully another installment sooner than later ..................
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Music for this post was a struggle. I had the tune chosen, but I wanted to use a cover. As it turns out, I decided Depeche Mode's original version of "Personal Jesus" suited me best. I almost used Broken Peach's version. I'll sneak in some Broken Peach at some point.
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