Hypocritical Oath for Pastors
Part 5
Being a Hypocrite
Mark stepped up on the ledge so that both he and Ethan were on the same level. He gave a silent thanks for the Tai Chi course that had improved his sense of balance. Still, it is a long way down. I do hope that Ethan is wrong and that there is a God who cares about what is happening.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Ethan’s eyes grew in size. “Get down from there. You could fall.”
Ethan moved forward towards Mark. He started to reach out, but then drew back. “Don’t come any closer, Mark. I don’t want you to get hurt. I just want the world to hear the truth for once.”
“You asked me a question, Ethan. The answer is I do feel like a hypocrite, sometimes.”
Since Mark didn’t have a microphone, the crowd below could only hear what Ethan was saying, scattered words of half a conversation, as they watched two people balanced as on a high-wire on the bell tower ledge.
“I think,” Mark continued, “it is one of the unspoken burdens of the ministry. We are not given the luxury of taking a few months off when we are filled with doubts. Rather, we have to stand up each Sunday morning and try to offer hope and courage to a people who are desperate for some good news that will help them survive.”
“So you know it’s a lie, but you do it anyway.” Ethan said. For a moment, he had hesitated, but now he seemed to recover his anger. Again he lifted the rifle moving it between Mark and the crowd below.
“I didn’t say it was a lie. I do feel like a hypocrite at times, but keep acting like a pastor because people need a reason to hope.”
“Bullshit, a lie is a lie.” Ethan hurled the words like bullets at Mark
“Just a moment ago, when I stood up on the ledge and you thought I might fall, you almost stopped what you were doing and tried to reach out to keep me from falling.” Mark leaned in as if he could push his words into Ethan’s ears. “Both of us have our doubts, but we also want to keep others from falling.”
