The Priest with no Sermon by Lovis Kwasi Armah

Many many years ago, there lived a priest who preached good sermons in a village chapel. Many gathered every Sunday to hear him. On one of such days, He saw a lady in a white transparent dress seated therein. She sat in the middle and held a big book akin to a compilation of all holy books in the chapel. The priest became scared as she appeared invisible to all congregants. However, this freed him from the anxious feeling that he had not prepared any sermon for use today.  

“Praise him,”   the Priest manage to say when he rose to preach. The congregants seemed relaxed and joyous and he felt isolated with fear. 

When the congregation responded, “Halleluyah,” the lady in white stood up with her big book clad to her chest. She kept her penetrative gazed on the priest, and opened her book so the Priest could read.

 “The saved,” the priest read loud. The congregants took this to be the title of his sermon. The Chapters of her book were names. Some of which the priest Read loud: “Hezekiah, Isaiah and Clairissa.” The Priest did not notice that the first elder, their Prayer leader, and Clairissa responded to their name call. They moved close to the pulpit. Clairissa was a young woman who still could not speak in tongues and often was prayed for week-on-week to receive the Holy Spirit. 

“Turn the Chapter to Isaiah,” the priest asked, making eye contact with the lady in White for the first time. And at this the flock picked their bibles whilst the Lady in White flipped to Isaiah’s Chapter.” 

 “Isaiah organized prayer and fasting sessions at least twice in the week,” the Priest read, and at this the prayer leader took two steps to receive what he interpreted as their priest’s recognition of his efforts. 

The priest continued reading, “But he could not make the saved list, his prayer efforts were self-directed- he encouraged church members to curse their enemies instead of plain instructions to love them, he encouraged members to hope for miracles where they needed hard work. These dim the overall light of their society- created hatred and encouraged laziness.”

“Unbelievable,” the Priest exclaimed, and which surprisingly the congregation responded with a resounding Amen.

 “Unbelievable,” the Priest repeated. “No one can make it then,” the priest thought after the lady in white flipped many chapters. 

“Turn the Chapter to Clairissa,” the priest asked, out of curiosity as her chapter looked different. The flock now realized that something was wrong - Clarisssa was not a chapter in the Bible. They were awakened. 

“Clairissa made the saved list. She is stoned daily in the village because she is on the side of truth- she protect the village rivers, reports illegal tree cutting, reports wrong application of pesticides on crops by village folks. The only Holy Spirit she need is the one she has. ” 

“What Sermon is this?” Hezekiah and Isaiah who felt embarrassed asked.

 “Sorry Church, the sermon is that, no one goes to the Father except those that have through their righteousness moved their society forward. Only they can make the save list,” the fearful Priest told the awakened congregation. The lady in White closed the book and disappeared with Clairissa.