Commencement

by Lawrence Cherry

It was another Sunday morning at Greater Apostolic. The Elder sisters of the church - Mother Rose, and Lena, and the other older women were up front leading the congregation in praise songs, and calling people up to testify of God’s greatness in their lives. Allen was sitting in a pew sandwiched between his dad and Tamiko. He was actively taking part in the praise and worship, and as he did, he could not help thinking about his life. His mother had challenged him to read his Bible for a week, and to pray, which he had done. However, he did not see or feel any miraculous change in his life. Allen was not overcome by some feeling, or calling, and he wasn’t totally sure if he had heard the voice of God. Allen was still a Harvard graduate who was working as a porter until he could find a more suitable position. But he did feel that something was different. It was almost as if his eyes and his heart were starting to open to something new. He was beginning to acknowledge God’s authority over his life. Allen’s anxiety over his situation had lessened considerably, since he began to recognize that it was God’s prerogatives that took precedence and not his own. He didn’t know how long he would have to be a porter, or when another really good opportunity would open up, and he was trying to make peace with himself about these facts in his life. Allen was willing to follow this path where God would lead him. Allen also began to develop a different perspective about his work as a porter. It was like Jim and his dad had said. It was honest work, and he would do his best at it, for as long as this was his position. After reading his Bible for a week, Allen understood that God loves a good and faithful steward. He thought about Joseph, and David, who started out in very humble positions. These men were faithful, and God rewarded them for their work. Allen hoped that he would be rewarded for his work, and that God would show him what to do. Allen now understood that he couldn’t do it all himself, and he didn’t have to. However, he couldn’t help but wonder what was next. He just wished that God would explain what He was doing and make His plan clear to see.

  Allen was also beginning to develop a deeper respect for God, and a sense of real humility. Allen fully realized who he was with respect to God. His mother was right. God did not owe him anything. He was God, after all. “It was he who made us and not we ourselves.”1 Since God was the maker, it was Allen who owed God. It was Allen who owed God praise, adoration, and above all else his whole life.

  This new awakening had several secondary affects in Allen’s life. First, since he was no longer as anxious, he began to get along better with everyone around him. His relationship with his parents and his friends had improved (with the exception of Jim, but that is another story). It also opened him up to making a new friend. Allen thought about Davis and the circumstances surrounding their meeting. Here was someone who had had a hard life and who was trying to turn his life around and give it to God. At the same time, here was Allen who was seeking a relationship with God. Maybe God had allowed them to meet so that they could help each other on a spiritual level. Allen recalled that Davis had said that he was going to join this church a few days ago, but hadn’t mentioned it since. Yesterday, when they were having pizza together, the subject didn’t come up. All morning, Allen had been looking around to see if Davis would appear, but the later it got, the less likely it seemed. Maybe Davis felt weird about going to the same church as Allen. Allen felt like maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned that he went to Greater Apostolic. Maybe that’s what scared Davis off.

  Allen’s train of though was interrupted as someone approached his pew.

  “Is there space here for one more?” he heard a familiar voice ask.

  “Of course”, he heard Tamiko say while moving down a space so Tim could squeeze in between them.

  “So you’re back?!” squealed Tamiko who was pleasantly surprised.

  “Sure, why not? It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

  “Here we go”, Allen said under his breath.

  “Allen, don’t be so rude”, whispered Tamiko “I for one am glad that you’ve decided to come, Tim. And you’ve got to come with us to the luncheonette after church. We’re just gonna have coffee and hang out before dinner.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “I bet it does”, Allen scoffed. Allen felt guilty about having such feelings toward his friend, but he didn’t like the idea that Tim was only coming to church to get close to Tamiko, especially when Tim’s motives for getting close to her were not very clear. In fact, Tim was never clear about anything when it came to women. He always started out saying he just wanted to be “friends”, then slowly escalated things, to the point of no return. Then, just when a poor girl thought she had something with him, he’d draw back quickly and dump her. Tim had left a trail of tears and broken hearts at Harvard this way, and he did not want Tamiko to be another casualty.

  Soon the church band started to play the processional hymn and the choir began to make their way to the stage, marking the beginning of the service. As usual, everyone stood and sang along as the choir marched, swaying to the music. Once the hymn finished, the choir was seated and Daniel Joyner came to the podium to lead the church in prayer.

  “Heavenly Father, we come before you once again to thank you for blessing us to be able to come together on another Sunday to praise your Holy name. We thank you for your love, grace, and mercy, without which we would have nothing. Thank you for loving us despite our fallen nature and sending your Son to die on the cross for our sins. Thank you for being patient with us as we walk this long road to salvation; picking us up when we fall and giving us those second chances when we fail. Thank you for chastening us and helping us to see our failings; for living through us and abiding with us and helping us live lives that bring honor and glory to your name. Thank you for being with us through life’s trials and tribulations letting us know you are there, that you have not left us nor forsaken us. And thank you for those miracles that you are going to accomplish in our lives….”

  As Daniel prayed, Allen prayed along with him, and he was touched as Daniel spoke of God being with us through life’s trials. This was exactly what Allen wanted. He wanted to feel that God was indeed with him; directing him and guiding his life. Sometimes Allen could feel His presence as he read the scriptures, and he knew God was there when he prayed and meditated. Allen was much more aware of the presence of God in his life as he spent more time with God. However Allen wanted more. He wanted a special relationship with God, where he spoke to him directly.

  Once the prayer ended, everyone sat down and the choir rose from its seats and led the church in praise once again. They sang, “Lord I Just Want to Thank You.” It was an upbeat song and many of the people in the church started to sing along. Allen found himself singing and clapping his hands to the music. He actually empathized with the sentiments of the song. Instead of being down about his situation, he actually felt grateful to God. After all, he did have a job in one of the worst economic downturns in American history. He had lots of supportive friends and family, and he was semi-independent. Allen was able now to contribute to his household and his parents were not the type to try to dictate what he could and couldn’t do beyond reasonable limits. His life wasn’t as bad as he thought and he had God to thank for it. He was even hoping that maybe Tim might share some of this joy that he was feeling. He looked over at him, but he seemed to be too busy studying Tamiko who couldn’t even stay seated. She was standing and clapping enthusiastically, while swaying to the music. She almost looked as if she was going to go “Lena Sharpe” and get into a full out shout. Soon the song ended, however, but for a few moments after it ended, Tamiko was still standing, and applauding; praising God with loud, effusive Hallelujahs.

  The service went on through its usual course with moments of praise occurring between moments of prayer and meditation. Then there were the customary announcements, and then Mother Rose did the welcome address. Mother Rose loved doing the welcome addresses and she always stood out with her flamboyant attire. Her broad hats, and sparkly outfits were typical “church Di
va” attire. This Sunday she had on a wide brimmed lavender hat with real ostrich feathers and a silk band, which was a perfect complement to her lavender, organza dress with sequins at the top. The whole thing looked more appropriate for Saturday evening than Sunday morning.

  “Praise the Lord, Everyone!” Mother Rose greeted the congregation.

  “Prasie the Lord!” the congregation responded.

  “At this time we would like to welcome all of our new members to the Greater Apostolic Temple. Here at Greater Apostolic, we are honored to be able to spread the message of the Gospel, and it is with open arms that we welcome new sheep to God’s growing pasture. As your name is called, please bless us by standing, so we can welcome you with a hearty praise. Sister Dimas Jones from Brooklyn, NY, Brother Kevin Sanford from Bronx, NY, Sister Grace Anunke, from South Africa, Brother Davis Martinez, from Bronx, N.Y….”

  “He’s here!” Allen thought excitedly to himself. He looked around to see where he was. Allen managed to spot him just as he was about to sit back down. He was all the way over near the back of the church in the pews over on the right side. Allen almost didn’t recognize Davis because he had cut his hair into a curly fade, and was wearing a dark suit. Allen couldn’t wait until the address was over so he could get up and welcome Davis himself. As he was waiting for his moment, he felt a paper slap him in the back of the head.

  “You invited Davis to our church!” Tamiko tried not to whispher­yell, but was unsuccessful. She had switched places with Tim who was looking on curiously from the other side.

  “No. Daniel did,” said Allen still rubbing the back of his head where Tamiko hit him with the paper bulletin. He hoped she hadn’t given him a paper cut in his scalp.

  “What do you mean ‘Daniel did’?”

  “He met Daniel at the Youth Outreach Festival. When he told me about it, he didn’t know that I was a member. Then when I did tell him,

  he never mentioned it again. I just thought that maybe he was uncomfortable with the fact that I was member and wouldn’t show up.”

  “And you didn’t mention this to me because…”

  “I just told, you. I didn’t think he’d show up.”

  “Well, now he has.”

  “Could someone explain to me who this ‘Davis’ is? And why Miko is so upset about him being here?” asked Tim getting into their whisper conversation.

  “I’m not upset. I’m just surprised”, Tamiko said suddenly patting her hair and smoothing her dress. This did not go unnoticed by Allen.

  “You’ve got a funny way of showing it”, said Allen dryly.

  “Are you sure he’s not stalking us?”

  “Tamiko, get a grip”, said Allen rolling his eyes. He noticed the address was over as the audience sent up applause for the new members. Allen decided to head out to where Davis was sitting.

  “I’ll be right back. Don’t let anyone take my seat.”

  “Where are you going?” asked Tamiko nervously.

  “Excuse me, I’m still in the dark, here!” said Tim still waiting for an

  explanation.

  “Tamiko can explain it all”, Allen told him.

  “You still didn’t answer my question!” Tamiko shot at Allen.

  “Because you may not like the answer.”

  Allen walked to the far end of the pew away from the center aisle and used the aisle at the far end of the church to walk toward the back and then to the other side where he saw Davis sitting. Thankfully, the pew was almost empty with the exception of Davis and an elderly woman who was sound asleep at the end. Allen excused himself to the somnolent elderly woman as he made his way to Davis.

  “Hey, man. I hope I’m not disturbing you.” said Allen taking a seat next to Davis.

  “Allen! Hey! Nah, man you not disburbin’ nothin’. I was looking for you when I came in. I saw you was up front, but it looked a little crowded so I decided to sit back here. So, What’s up?”

  “Just wanted to give you a personal welcome. It’s good to see you here man. You clean up pretty good.”

  “Yeah. I didn’t want to come in disrespecting God by lookin’ like whatever, ya know?”

  “Don’t sweat it man. It’s the heart He’s lookin’ at anyway.”

  “True that.”

  “I’m going to leave you to get your praise on, but before I go, let me ask you something. How would you like to meet with me and some of my friends after the service? We’re going to the luncheonette over on 6th to have some coffee before dinner.”

  “I don’t know man…I got studying to do and everything…”

  “C’mon man. It’s not a lot of people. Just me, Tamiko, who you already know, and our friend Tim. He’s cool.”

  “Aiight. But just for a few.”

  “Cool. Meet us in front over by the gate.”

  “You got it, man.”

  By the time Allen walked back to where he was sitting, the welcome address was over and the meditation was about to begin. As Allen sat down, Daniel had just signaled the start of meditation. Upon sitting down, Allen bowed his head and closed his eyes to participate in the meditation. He tried to meditate, but he couldn’t help but feel Tamiko’s eyes burning a hole into his face. He knew she wanted to know where he went, and if it had anything to do with Davis, and he was glad for the forced silence imposed upon the church, so a possible whisper argument could be avoided.

  Once the meditation was over, it seemed that Tamiko must have forgotten the subject of her interest because she did not look Allen’s way at all. In fact, for the rest of the service, she spent a lot of time whispering back and forth to Tim who was now seated on the other side of her.

  When Pastor Bynum came out to deliver his message, she even shared her Bible with him. Allen tried hard to put away his apprehensions about what was going on and focus on the sermon.

  Today the Pastor’s subject was holding on through the storm. The reading was from Matthew chapter 14 vs. 22-33, Allen had remembered reading this passage previously one evening before going to sleep. It referred to when Jesus was on a boat with his disciples, and the storm was so fierce that the boat seemed like it would capsize. During the storm, Jesus was asleep on the boat and the apostles woke him up because they were afraid that they were going to drown. So Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves, calming the storm. That being done, Jesus then rebuked his apostles for their lack of faith. They should have had faith that Jesus loved them so much that he would never let anything happen to them that contradicted what he had already promised them. After all, hadn’t he already told them that they would be fishers of men? Hadn’t he already chosen them as his apostles? Pastor Bynum preached that their faith should have told them that Jesus would protect them in their commission. The whole sermon succored his spirits and helped to reinforce his own faith. Allen was just beginning to trust God. Sometimes, it took everything within him to hold onto his faith. There were times when doubt lingered and played around at the back of his mind. Like the Apostles on the boat, the circumstances around Allen often distracted him, and they would almost take him under. He realized he had to stop thinking about what “the world” said about his situation and try to think about it from a biblical standpoint. So Allen listened attentively, and at one point found himself jotting down notes from Pastor Bynum’s sermon on his program. The more Allen learned about the Lord, the more he wanted to learn. Many times he was left with more questions than answers, but Allen did not find this in the least discouraging.

  Soon the service was coming to its conclusion. Pastor Bynum wrapped up his sermon and then there was the altar call. This Sunday, Allen did not go up. He had already dedicated or rather re-dedicated his life to the Lord. But he did notice a familiar face headed in the direction of the altar. Allen leaned over to tell Tamiko about Davis, when she started up from the pew with Tim.

  “Wait a minute. Where are you two going?”

  “To the altar.”

  “You mean you convi
nced Tim to get saved?!”

  “Not so much. I just told him that maybe it wouldn’t hurt if daddy said a prayer for him.”

  “You want to be prayed for?!”

  “It’s like Tamiko said; it couldn’t hurt.”

  “O.K., but I don’t know if the Pastor will have enough time for a case like you. They might need to take you to the Upper Room.”

  “Very funny, Allen”, said Tamiko rolling her eyes.

  “Wait a minute. What’s this ‘Upper Room’?” asked Tim nervously.

  “It’s just a place upstairs where people tarry in prayer. They pray for hours at a time.”

  “Your dad’s not going to take me in there, is he?”

  “Don’t be silly. Let’s go”, said Tamiko, dragging Tim by the arm.

  Allen shook his head and laughed. Then after a moment he bowed his head for a quick prayer.

  “Heavenly Father, my friend Tim is one of my best friends in the world. He has one reason for being here today, but as he goes up to your altar, give him another reason for coming. Open his eyes and circumcise the foreskin of his heart to bring him into the knowledge of who you are. I know he’s a challenge, but Father God, I know there’s nothing that is too challenging for you.”

  Once the altar call was over and the Pastor had given his final benediction, the people began to empty out of the church. Lena gave Allen a quick kiss on the cheek, before she headed off with Vernon to the parking lot. Pastor Bynum, headed into the inner sanctuary with his wife to perform a baptism, which left the three young people to themselves and their afternoon plans. They walked out of the church and toward the gate where Allen stopped them.

  “Hold on, guys. I told Davis, we’d meet him here after the service. I invited him to have coffee with us.”

  “You what?!” exclaimed Tamiko.

  “So you’re saying you don’t want him to have coffee with us?”

  “No. I’m just saying that you could have given me some warning”, she said, anxiously smoothing her clothing.

  “I just did. Anyways, why are you trying to make this drama?” asked Allen, although after knowing Tamiko as long as he had, he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

  “I don’t know, maybe it has to do with the fact that none of us really knows him all that well”, offered Tim “And given what Miko has told me about what little she knows, don’t you think this will be a bit awkward for him.”

  “Oh, really? And just what has Miko told you?” asked Allen.

  But before Tim could answer Allen’s question, the person who was the subject of their discussion approached. Here was Davis, and to Tamiko’s astonishment, with a very new look. Davis was wearing a black suit jacket with a grey oxford cloth shirt, and matching black tie. He also wore dark grey twill pants and black, square-toed leather shoes. It was a stark contrast to the look he had the other day at the Museum library.

  “Hi, Davis”, Tamiko swallowed hard. “Love your new look.”

  “Thanks. You look real nice, too”, Davis said shyly “And I don’t think I met you before”, he said referring to Tim.

  “Davis, this is Tim Russell. He’s an old friend of mine from college”, said Allen introducing them.

  “Whassup, man”, said Davis putting his fist out for the pound.

  “Nice to meet you, Davis”, said Tim extending his hand for a shake.

  After an awkward moment, Davis took Tim’s hand and gave him a firm shake.

  “So let’s hit the café. I could use a cup of Joe right about now”, said Allen.