As I was leaving church
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Editor,
A strange thing happened as I was leaving the church. Something alarmed me and I turned with a lurch. A voice from the shadows called out soft but clear, and my immediate reaction was one of real fear. A man shuffled toward me with a strange sort of grin, with all sorts of slobber all over his chin.
When this guy was only a few feet away, I held up my hands; I had something to say. I opened my mouth, out came the word “Hey!” But all of a sudden something got in the way. I heard something strange, a voice rather nice, that had a quality about it that made me think twice. The worlds I remember because they seemed so sincere, and I knew by the tone I had nothing to fear.
The voice was compelling and also so kind, as it suggested that I think about changing my mind. This caused me to think, as I stood by JourneyBe, just what was John’s message and was it for me?
It was Palm Sunday and the story is old, about Jesus, Jerusalem and how events did unfold. I looked at this man, who is really my “brother,” according to Jesus who said, “Love one another.”
As I stood there thinking about the service we had, I suddenly looked at myself and felt a bit sad. It was just moments ago that I walked out the door and immediately, Jesus’ message, I chose to ignore. This man standing before me is no different from me. We are all in this classroom and trying to be, the best that we can, all happy and free. But often it happens, along the way, that we need each other to make things OK. We spoke with each other with smiles and some tears. There was no room for doubt, for reluctance or fears. I thought back to my feeling as I had “turned with a lurch.” Indeed, “A strange thing happened as I was leaving the church.”
Bob McClellan
Polson
