He turned his thoughts from the college to another unaccustomed experience when Debbie, who sat beside him on the front seat, directed him to the parking lot of Bethel Church. According to the sign over the door, the church had been built in 1910. When Micah followed Debbie and Laurel up the center aisle into the small sanctuary, he admired the Gothic-style architecture of the windows and the ceiling, as well as the ornately carved pews. They sat beside a stained-glass window placed in memory of the Cooper family.
The soft strains of the organ music were peaceful, but Micah momentarily longed for the soft stirring of the wind and the sounds of nature that he usually heard when he worshiped. Sitting between Debbie and Laurel, he felt confined like a bird with its wings clipped, as if his spirit could never soar again.
He probably would have bolted if he’d had free access to the door, but when an usher raised all the windows in the sanctuary, he could hear birds singing. A gentle breeze wafted the strong scent of honeysuckle into the church. He breathed deeply of the fresh air and relaxed.
Micah took a quick survey of the congregation, seeing only one man, other than the minister, who had on a suit and tie.
Laurel handed Micah a hymnal when the preacher announced the first song. It was a song he didn’t know, but he followed the words on the page as he listened to Debbie’s strong soprano blending with Laurel’s alto voice. Micah had been told by a high-school music teacher that he had a pleasant speaking voice, but when he sang, he croaked like a frog. Thereafter, he’d never joined in group singing, but when he was out on a job alone, he’d belt out the words of any song that took his fancy, with or without a tune. A croaking frog was acceptable in the great outdoors.
When the pastor asked for unspoken requests before the morning prayer, Laurel lifted her hand. The haunted expression Micah had seen in her eyes when they’d walked yesterday morning had returned. And during the prayer, he sensed her lips were moving in silent petition.
Micah had a Bible somewhere among his possessions, but he hadn’t carried it on his travels, and he hadn’t read it for a long time. His parents had instilled a belief in God in his heart, but even as a child he’d avoided group worship. Everything he photographed, especially the different species of animals and plants he’d seen in various parts of the world, had filled him with wonder and awe at the majesty of the God Who had created the world.
Bruce Jensen, the preacher, was an unpretentious, thin, middle-aged man, but he was sincere and his obvious knowledge held Micah’s attention. He listened eagerly as Pastor Jensen started his sermon.
According to the preacher, Jesus and His disciples had been traveling through Samaria when they’d encountered a woman with a bad reputation. She had attempted to conceal her lifestyle by comparing the Jewish method of worship with the way the Samaritans worshiped.
Intrigued by this subject that was of importance to him, Micah listened intently when Pastor Jensen read a few verses from the Bible, giving the reference as the fourth chapter of John.
“A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is a spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
According to these words, his method of worship was as valid as the way Laurel worshiped. But doubt arose in Micah’s heart as the preacher explained the passage more fully. In summing up the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, Pastor Jensen said that Jesus turned the subject from the place where one worships to the Person who is worshiped. He explained that God is the Lord of all, and that He can be worshiped anywhere. But the only acceptable worship involves the entire heart, mind and the truth of God as revealed in the Scripture.
To that point, the preacher’s message and Micah’s method of worship seemed compatible. But when Pastor Jensen continued, Micah conceded that he may have missed the essence of true worship.
“When people asked Jesus to show them the way to God, He had replied, ‘I and the Father are one. He who has seen me has seen the Father.’ At a later time, Jesus had said, ‘No man cometh to the Father except by me.’”
Pastor Jensen concluded his message by quoting another Scripture, “‘He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.’ Until people accept Jesus, the Son of God, into their hearts, there can be no worship.”
As the congregation rose for the benediction, Micah realized that if the preacher’s words were true, his methods of worship had not pleased God.
Micah had his hand wrung by most of the congregation at the end of the service, and he had many invitations to become a part of their fellowship while he was in the community. While Laurel and Debbie visited with their friends, he circled the building looking with interest at the architecture. If he accepted a position at Walden College, he might research historic churches of the South for an article or a TV feature. Bethel Church could be included.
“Where are we going for lunch?” he asked as he opened the car doors. Again, Laurel took the back seat, leaving the front for Debbie.
“You call it, Mom. Where do you want to go?”
“How about that nice Sunday buffet at the restaurant on the road to Knoxville? They have a good choice of food.”
“Give me directions, Debbie,” Micah said.
As he started the engine, she said, “Oh, wait. Here comes our cousin, Kevin. He must want to meet you.”
But the man approached the passenger side of the car. He opened the rear door and handed an envelope to Laurel.
“I was worried I’d miss you today. This letter came to my office last week. I’ve intended to drop by Oaklawn and give it to you, but I’ve been busy.”
Laurel took the envelope and glanced at the typed address. “Mrs. Jason Cooper, c/o Kevin Cooper, Attorney at Law.” She hadn’t had a letter addressed to Mrs. Jason Cooper for a long time. Her hands stiffened and her eyes blurred. Could this have anything to do with her mysterious phone call?
She was thankful for a moment to compose herself when Debbie said, “Cousin Kevin, did you meet our tenant? Kevin Cooper, Micah Davidson,” she said.
Kevin Cooper extended a hand across the front seat and gave Micah a hearty handshake. Kevin was the only man other than the minister who’d been wearing a suit. He was a tall, portly man with a mane of shoulder-length gray hair and a full gray beard. His appearance reminded Micah of an antebellum Southern planter.
“Going to stay long at Oaklawn?” Kevin said.
“Two or three months,” Micah answered.
“Everything going all right, Laurel?” Kevin asked affably.
“Yes, the wedding plans are moving along quite well,” she said with an effort.
“Glad to hear it,” her cousin-in-law said. “I’ll try to stop by this week. Glad to meet you, Mr. Davidson. It relieves my mind that you’ll be around Oaklawn this summer. When the apartments are empty, I worry about my cousins living in such an isolated place.”
Kevin closed the door and Micah drove out of the church parking lot.
“Cousin Kevin is a nice guy,” Debbie said. “He was my daddy’s second cousin, and he’s been very good to Mom and me after my grandparents died. If he’s worried about the two of us living alone at Oaklawn, I don’t know what he’ll think when Mom is there by herself.”
Laurel remained silent.
Following Debbie’s instructions, Micah left the narrow county road and accessed the highway. Micah had been prepared to dislike Debbie, because he’d gotten the impression that she imposed on her mother. Or at least he’d gathered that Laurel carried the whole burden of family decisions. After chatting with her about college life and her upcoming marriage, he decided she wasn’t a spoiled brat, but an intelligent, compassionate young lady.
