Minister from Boston

As a young minister from Boston, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a graveside service for a homeless man with no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery way back in the woods and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there. As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost! And being the typical man I did not stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the backhoe and the crew, who were eating lunch. But the hearse was nowhere in sight.

I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and stepped to the side of the open grave, where I saw the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long, but this was the proper thing to do. 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 preached, and I preached, like I'd never preached before.... From Genesis all the way to Revelations. I closed the lengthy service with a prayer and walked to my car. As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "I ain't never seen anything like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

Have a great day!