Day 17: The Note

The Prompt:  Someone gives the pastor a note while he's preaching.  What does it say?

Pastor Reynolds did the best he could to stifle another yawn.  He only had to preach this last sermon, and he would be done for the day.  For a split second, he regretted staying up past 2:00 in the morning to revise his sermon, but after the reception it had gotten in the first two services, he knew he would do it all over again.  That was part of his job description, after all.  He had a duty to his congregation, and he was willing to make whatever sacrifices necessary to serve them.

The final hymn ended, and Pastor Reynolds rose to face the congregation.  It was a nice full service again, but the third service usually was.  People liked staying up late on Saturday nights and slept in on Sundays as much as they could.  Pastor Reynolds thanked the worship team and opened his Bible to begin with the sermon.  His notes laid next to the worn Good Book on the pulpit, but he was barely referring to them.  By this time, he had the whole sermon practically memorized.

No one could guess that the pastor had slept for only three hours.  His eyes still twinkled with the joy of his message to deliver, and the sermon was as animated as it normally was.  It was undeniable that Pastor Reynolds was running on pure Holy Spirit by this time.  The church was quiet, save for the occasional coughs and sneezes.  They gave their pastor their undivided attention.

Just as Pastor Reynolds was getting to the climax of his final point in the sermon, Becky, one of the worship leaders nudged her husband's arm.  He looked at her confused.  She pointed at her watch then glanced at Pastor Reynolds.  Her husband nodded, as realization hit his face, and he rose from his seat at the far right of the front pew.  Becky had turned around for a minute and stared at the back door.  A few nodding heads reassured her that she was doing everything according to plan.

Pastor Reynolds was not phased by any of the actions thus far.  He was quite use to any distractions in church and simply focused on those who were still listening to him.  He was confused when Becky's husband walked up the steps to the platform, but he still continued preaching.  Then he was tapped on the shoulder.  Slightly irritated, he covered up the microphone, leaned over, and whispered, "What is it, Todd?"

"I'm sorry, Pastor Reynolds," he whispered sincerely, "but I needed to give you this.  It's urgent."  With that, Todd passed him a folded-up piece of paper and went back to his seat.

Pastor Reynolds quickly unfolded the paper, while part of the congregation started wondering in hushed tones what was going on.

"Look outside the church," the note read.

Pastor Reynolds stared at the paper, as if expecting that this would make more writing appear on it.  He looked at Todd and Becky for help, who were staring expressionless back at him.  With a slight sigh, he announced, "Please excuse me, everyone, for just one moment.  I need to step outside."

Embarrassed, the pastor stepped down from the pulpit and walked out the side door.  As soon as he had his back turned, those that knew what would be waiting for him rose excitedly and walked out the front doors of the church, hoping they would make it in time to see the pastor's reaction.

"Livvy, what are you doing here?" Pastor Reynolds asked, sliding his hand through his graying hair as he often did when he was nervous.  "I thought you went home after the second service.  You said you were ill."

His wife smiled.  "I had to tell you that, otherwise you would have suspected."

"Suspected what?"

Olivia turned around and called towards a tree, "You can come out now!"

There, emerging behind the tree, was a shorter man of about 24.  He was still wearing his uniform that he had flown back in, and walked with a slight limp over to the astonished man.  "Happy Birthday, Dad."

"Evan, you're home!" Pastor Reynolds cried as he held his son in a tight hug.  "I thought you said you couldn't be on leave until next month!"

"Uncle Rick was bale to pull some strings for me.  You didn't think I'd miss my own dad's fiftieth birthday, do you?"

"This is the best birthday present you could ever give me."  He squeezed his son tighter.

"Dear, I think you should turn around."

Pastor Reynolds did as his wife advised and saw a large banner along the side of the church that read, "Happy 50th, Pastor Reynolds!".  Balloons were tied in the bushes, and Pastor Reynolds could see picnic tables with food and more balloons set up behind the church.  By this time, the whole congregation was outside, standing either in the front or the back of the building.

"Happy Birthday, Pastor Reynolds!" they cried in unison.

The pastor was speechless.

Becky walked up.  "Pastor Reynolds, you're a wonderful man.  You have done so much good for us, the church and this town, and we wanted to do something for you for a change."

"Sorry we had to interrupt the sermon," Todd added, "but we didn't want to keep Evan waiting any longer."

Pastor Reynolds wiped away the tears.  "I am overwhelmed with such a gesture of kindness and love from you all.  Thank you," he addressed the crowd.  "Thank you from the bottom of my heart!"