Thursday, April 19, 2012

Absentmindedly, out of habit, the preacher kisses his missus goodnight. Sleepless, he battles and loses against recurring shameful thoughts of that voluptuous, fornicating woman in that movie. His review to his congregation will insist that the movie be boycotted for indecency.

In the morning he wraps resentment with hypocrisy of kindness and not so subtly tells his wife she's become fat and ugly. Her spirit dies.

Eloquently, he preaches that day about love and lust and how thou shalt not kill.

At home during Sunday brunch he misses his children, but pretends he's just as well without them. He wishes he had had a son instead of those promiscuous girls. One ran away when she was sixteen. She's a hooker now. The other lives in New York with some guy. Already she's had countless lovers. When she calls, she only talks to her mother.

“The evils of materialism, secularism and technology suffocate us, blind us and deceive us. We will be doomed, unless we open our eyes and repent.” He shouts from his pulpit the following Sunday, as his ego swells with feelings of superiority towards the poor, ignorant sinners before him.

That week his house, car, most of his possessions and his church are demolished by a tornado. He is forced to accept the hospitality of an atheist family who volunteered their home via the internet to victims of the storm.

He holds church under a tent in the park that week. When he stands before his pulpit, which unlike his wife, miraculously survived, he is struck by lightning. Not from the sky but from something that comes from inside of him. Speechless he walks away and never returns.

He likes the space under the bridge but occasionally he stays at the homeless shelter where nothing is expected of him. He is happy now that he's convinced of nothing... except One thing.

13 comments:

  1. ugh..what a tale of our hypocrisy a sad tale that is all too often true...and hope that the moral of your story is heard...really well written myrna....

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  2. Poetic justice had its way! We may not relate unfortunate happenings consequent to some negative episodes we did before. Does it work that way all the time? You brought out the reminder beautifully Myrna! Great write!

    Hank

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  3. oh my...what a sad story.. at least at the end he saw that he was wrong..and how to live with that truth if you never preached a forgiving and loving god...ugh...nice myrna

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  4. Very good Myrna! An excellent piece of writing and a great story. I love the end how he has accepted nothing but the One thing; he discovered something bigger than any one of us it appears. My how we are humbled within some very mysterious Ways! Thank you Myrna for such a great read.

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  5. My dear Myrna,
    How does one find the words to describe this beautiful piece of writing? The ending was moving. Great job my friend.

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  6. Thi spost has me thinking of the Christian clergy who have mangled my life with their talk of holiness while they profaned their faith left and right. I hope they, too, have found One truth.

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  7. heavy is the responsibility of those who presume to teach others. . . .



    Aloha from Waikiki
    Comfort Spiral

    > < } } (°>

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  8. Ah, Myrna, you are quite spot on in describing the inner workings of the ones who have to preach. It is not an easy task to keep the self clean before pointing a finger at the other.
    I wonder what prompted you to write on something as this today.

    Joy always,
    Susan

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  9. Myrna! This is superb and, in my opinion, spot on. My father-in-law is a retired minister. He is riddled with ego and judges others harshly. He is a right-wing pompous jerk who has not had his own bolt of lightening as of yet. They live 40 miles away and we last saw them Christmas 2005 (which about says it all).

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  10. So true of the way things are, Myrna. Sadly not always do tornadoes and 'lightening' come their way...

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  11. when one is in the business of telling others how they should be living their life, self-introspection often goes unpracticed. neat off beat story.

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  12. Sad story, but beautifully crafted, Myrna. Unfortunately for some, it takes a huge upheaval in their lives before they truly look within at the person they are. And, to recognize that God is the true source of our strength.
    Blessings!

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  13. Hi, Myrna! ~

    Very intriguing story...

    I think many, or most, intelligent people can relate to the scenario of the morally corrupt minister. I wonder, though, if so many of us can see ourselves in the villain role of this story?

    It's easy to criticize others, but the truth is that most of us are guilty of hypocritical preaching of one kind or another. In fact, I think a general rule of thumb is that the level of preachiness present could be a pretty accurate way to measure the corresponding level of shame one is feeling around a particular subject.

    For me, the message is about the importance of impartial self-observation, rather than 'pointing fingers' at some archetypal bad guy. thank you!

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