A little humor that came my way...

Thanks to Fr. Rick Andrews, Pastor of St. George Greek Orthodox Church, St. Paul, MN

As a young minister, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a grave side service in a new cemetery for a derelict man with no family or friends. He had died while traveling through the area. The funeral was to be held way back in a new country cemetery. This man would be the first to be laid to rest at this new cemetery.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost. Being the typical man, I didn't stop for directions. But I finally arrived an hour late. I saw a crew and a backhoe, but the hearse was nowhere in sight. The workmen working on the grave were eating lunch. I apologized to the workers (who looked puzzled) for my tardiness, I stepped to the side of the open grave, to find the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold them long, but having a prayer service was the proper thing to do.

As the workers gathered around, still eating their lunch, I poured out my heart and soul. As I preached the workers began to say "Amen, Praise the Lord and Glory." I was feeling good that they were enjoying my sermon. I preached, and I preached, like I'd never preached before. I began from Genesis and went pretty much all the way through to Revelation. I preached for two hours and 45 minutes. It was a long and lengthy service. I closed in prayer and it was finished. The workers thanked me as I left the grave.

As I was walking to my car, I felt that I had done my duty and I would leave with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication, in spite of my tardiness. As I was opening the door to my car and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "I've been putting in septic tanks for 20 years, and I ain't never seen anything like that before. "