“There’s no point in being a fisherman if you don’t want to catch fish.” Pastor Aloeham was chastising the Sunday School group. He was also making a point with the congregation at large!
Standing on the platform, either side of the lectern, the children were shifting about uneasily. But then again, so were some of the adults sitting in the pews!
“If we don’t know or don’t have the tools to be fishermen and women, then all we are saying is; we have no interest in being fishermen. And who are we saying it to? To each other? No! We are saying this to Christ in the most emphatic way possible.” In the awkward silence that followed his statement, you could hear the pews being polished by some rather restless, squirming rear ends.
I thought back to a few Sunday’s ago when I had accompanied the Sunday School group on an outing to the nearby stream. Pastor Aloeham had been discussing the elements of ‘temptation’. Christianity had to be tempting.
Now a few Sundays later, the group of children were standing in front of the congregation to tell us about what they found to be tempting in Christianity. The less than successful result had prompted the rather stern rebuke.
“Perhaps some of the adults would like to help you out?”
The nervous shifting in the pews turned to instant frozen bodies, petrified in fear. All that is except for Marge. One of the dear old ladies that worshiped our young and handsome minister. She instantly got up from her pride of place in the rear pew and made her way forward to the pulpit. Without hesitating, she reached for the microphone that the Pastor Aloeham had been holding expectantly. Raising it to her lips, she spoke slowly and clearly.
“I’ve always found that a slab of nutty chocolate to be very tempting indeed.” The beaming smile on her face as she gazed at the Pastor dissipated in the howls of laughter that rolled down the aisles. Confused at the general reaction, Marge wasn’t sure what had just happened.
Pastor Aloeham lent over and whispered something in her ear. Marge in turn then whispered something in his ear.
“Right!” He paused for silence to return to the congregation. “Right, there we have it I suppose.” A snicker emanated from the left side of the church that was instantly met with a frown of annoyance.
“Marge reckons chocolate is a form of bringing people closer to God. I don’t suppose any of you thought that just like a hearty meal may be the way to a man’s heart, so chocolate could be the way to a Christian’s soul. Tell them Marge.”
“Well I always take a slab of chocolate with me when I do my visits. Whether it is to the sick or just those in need of a bit of attention. A simple cheap slab of chocolate goes a long way to breaking the ice and relaxing the atmosphere. The rest comes so much easier.”
Pastor Aloeham thanked Marge and allowed her to return to her seat. This time as she walked back along the aisle, there were even a few friendly touches and handshakes.
“The irresistibility of chocolate. I’m so pleased that we have taken this direction, because now we can move from what the children were supposed to be doing with ‘temptation’. This is what I would like all of you to consider. ‘The concept of being irresistible’. What is it in Christianity that moved us from being ‘tempting’ to being ‘irresistible?”
The time the silence that descended on the congregation was one of pensive thought rather than nervousness.
“Yes Professor. What would you like to say?”
“As you all know, I teach at the university. As a scientist, I deal with facts every day. I don’t accept ponderable’s or probable’s until they have been proven. The whole basis of my research is about proving theorems. I was led to Christianity through the fact that God would not allow me to know Him except through ‘Faith’. For once in my life, there was one thing that I had to accept at face value. The strange thing is that as soon as I accepted ‘Faith’ as the cornerstone of my belief in God, He set about ‘proving’ to me that He existed. Over and over again. But first, I had to have Faith in Him. That, to me is what I find irresistible about God. I never had to prove Him to others because He was too busy proving it to me.”
“Excellent! Jim, what would you like to add?” Jim was already standing waiting for his chance.
“For me it was Christ’s suffering on the cross. I knew and was taught that he suffered and died on the cross for my sins. What really captivated me was the thought that even though this all happened 2000 odd years ago, He is still suffering on the cross. And, worst of all, not for others but for me. Every time I was disobedient to His will, every time I sinned, every time I allowed matters of the world to take preference over His business, I was causing Him to suffer once more on His cross. Every time I turned, even partially away from Him, I was putting Him back on the cross. That thought, keeps me irresistibly linked to Him.”
“Amen to that!” There was a slight pause while everyone digested what had been said.
“Mary, would you like to say something?”
“Thank you Pastor. Not all of you know my background. Perhaps it is time you did. You see, my father used to abuse me, physically and mentally, socially and financially. In every way that he could think of, he took delight in seeing just how much pain I could take. Then one day just after I turned seventeen, it all changed. It changed because he was involved in a mine accident and lost both his legs. For the first time in his life, he was at the mercy of others. For a short time, he lived in fear, waiting for me to exact my revenge. One day, I overheard him praying. He was asking God to forgive him. In his words, he told God he could never ask me to forgive Him as he could not in his wildest imagination think that I would ever be able to, but he knew God could and would forgive him. The realisation that God was prepared to forgive him and accept him into heaven one day, made me realise that it was possible we would both be in Heaven together one day. It was possible that I may not be in Heaven if I did not forgive him. That made me understand that concept of forgiveness for me, was unconditional and irresistible. I could not deny God or my father. I forgave him, and with God’s forgiveness I still care for him.”
Mary bent down to the man in the wheelchair next to her and gave him a gentle squeeze and a kiss. His hand reached up to squeeze back. God’s healing power of forgiveness had blessed them both. Forgiveness flooded through the congregation as they looked on.
“Uhem!” Pastor Aloeham coughed. An emotional catch in his throat was struggling to clear itself.
“Thanks Mary, Jim, Prof. I think you have given us all a great deal to ponder over in the week ahead. For the children, I don’t think they could have asked for better examples of ‘irresistibility’. Perhaps you will want to be ‘fisherman – catching fish’ after all.”
The children finally got their chance to join the rest of the congregation as they left the stage area in front of the pulpit.
The service wrapped up quickly with a hymn and a blessing. There was something else in the air as the congregation quietly broke up to leave. The usual groups of friends that formed up after a service, failed to materialise this Sunday. Everyone slowly went their own way, drawn irresistibly to their cars.
I suppose some would have said ‘there was an air of irresistibility around.’
