The Moment of Truth

Chapter 5

Sunday morning found Samuel in church attending the service. He noticed with surprise that the Rev. Ayuk Peter looked too okay for a man who recently isolated himself for three days during which time he had acted strangely. He must have got over his worries, Samuel thought.
     Clad in a navy suit over a pink shirt, the pastor looked very cheerful that morning and even more so during praise and worship. It seemed for a brief moment he had forgotten about all his worries as he danced and worshipped his God with a joyful heart.
     He ascended the pulpit and read the Gospel text he had specially selected for the occasion from Matthew chapter 18, verses 15 through 17. After the Scripture reading, he paused briefly to recall what he had to say. He then cleared his throat and shouted, ‘Praise the Lord.’
     The Christians too shouted even louder, ‘Alleluia!’
     ‘The Lord is good...’
     ‘All the time!’
     ‘And all the time….’
     ‘The Lord is good!’
     ‘Yes, brethren,’ he said, ‘indeed our God is good. He is a merciful God who is ever ready to forgive us. He is slow to anger and rich in mercy. In the book of Isaiah chapter 1 verse 18, He says: “Come now, and let us reason together: though your sins be as white as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
     ‘Also, in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 7, we are made to understand that we are made clean from our sins by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, I cannot quote all the parts of the Scriptures that assure us of God’s riches in mercy and forgiveness, because our God is ever ready to make us whole again if we can approach His throne of grace and beg for mercy; for the Bible tells us in Romans chapter 3 verse 23 that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
     ‘Tell me, brethren: if God is ever ready to forgive us our sins, is not only right for us to forgive our fellow man when they offend us?’ He paused to give the church a once over before proceeding. ‘I have erred,’ he said, expecting some kind of reaction from the congregation who remained silent except for an old man at the back who coughed twice. ‘For a brief moment I… I had… I had fallen into sin by giving in to the desires of the flesh.’
     The Christians started whispering to one another, wondering what the pastor was up to, for he had never before said such a thing in church. Sensing the rising tension, the pastor retrieved the brown enveloped which was mysteriously delivered to him four days earlier and took out the damning photos. Then, brandishing the photos for the congregation to see, he tried to speak but it seemed his own voice had deserted him, for his heart was now heavy with guilt and his throat tight with shame.
     It was then that the entire congregation broke into frenzy, whispering their ardent disapproval to each other. Samuel himself was completely taken off guard. His mouth fell open in awe as he beheld the photos. He could hardly believe his eyes. For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating; so he closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again, hoping everything would be restored to normal. But then the pastor was still brandishing the photos and he finally accepted that what he was seeing was the harsh reality.
     The pastor’s wife felt the colour drain from her face as she beheld with stupefaction the show he was putting up.
     The pastor’s confession of having fornicated – given that he was a married man who had wedded in church – was a pill too bitter for them to swallow.
     Finally finding his voice, the pastor tried to pacify the angry mob. He implored them in a gentle voice: ‘I hope you can forgive me, brethren. Some unknown person wanted to use these photos to manipulate me, but I thought it wise to come clean with you. I would rather have God punish me than let man do so, for our God is merciful.’ He paused and seeing that the agitation had subsided a little, he found the courage to go on.
‘This unknown person wanted me to announce to you, children of God that this holy Church, built on the foundation of our faith in God through Christ Jesus, is nothing but man’s futile attempt at salvation after turning his back to the Church formed by Christ: The Catholic…’ He was cut short as a bullet from nowhere tore through his forehead and he fell backwards with flailing arms.
     The entire congregation was thrown into pandemonium as everyone scrambled to the doors for escape, kicking away the plastic chairs and shoving aside whomever obscured the way. Many people who fell were mercilessly trampledupon by the others making for the doors with the speed of light.
***
News of the recent murder had spread throughout Buea and environs, and was the talk of the day in the drinking spots, beauty salons and other places where people gathered.
     Everyone was of the notion that the Roman Catholic Church had struck again, for the recently-murdered pastor himself had said he was coaxed into confessing the sole legitimacy of the Roman Catholic Church. The fact that he, too, had fornicated had completely lost its relevance to the fact that he was shot dead in church.
     When the media publicized the news the following day alongside the incriminating photos, it was no news to anyone. It only went further to confirm their notion that the Catholic Church was responsible for the murders.
     That Monday evening, the church committee of the Full Gospel Mission Church Molyko converged for an impromptu meeting with regards to their pastor’s death.
     During the meeting, it was discussed that since the time when the Christians of the Presbyterian Church Molyko issued a formal letter of complaint to the police, they had not got any feedback.
     It was, therefore, decided that they themselves would address their own letter to the Governor – Mr. Ndze Lucas Ewe, stressing the gravity of the situation. In the letter, they were to mount pressure on him to act fast and bring the perpetrators to justice; else, the other Pentecostal churches shall remain invulnerable to the evil machinations of the Roman Catholic Church.
***
Samuel was emotionally distraught by the pastor’s death. He wept for days on end, and still could not believe the pastor was dead. Beltus consoled him and urged him to gather himself, saying he might fall sick; but Samuel could care no less.
     The pastor had been of immeasurable help to him after his mother’s demise. Their counseling sessions were very fruitful and likewise strengthened their bond of friendship.
     The pastor’s sudden death had, therefore, shattered Samuel’s spirit so badly that he became a moving corpse: he lost his appetite, had difficulty with sleeping, spent a lot of time by himself, crossed the road without looking left or right for approaching cars, and took no notice of the blaring honks of irritated drivers who nearly knocked him down. No, all Samuel cared about now was that his life would never be the same without the pastor; that is, if he ever thought of any moment for himself beyond the present.
     One day Sylvia spotted him in class and sat next to him to express her heartfelt condolence and sympathy. Yet he maintained stone silence and did not even seem to acknowledge her presence. He acted as though he were somewhere else altogether.
     After class, she managed – yes, even she barely managed – to lure him into having lunch with her at a classic restaurant on campus. As they ate, she noticed that he was slowly beginning to loosen up.
     ‘I am so, so sorry for your loss, Sam.’ she said. ‘But you really have to pull yourself together and concentrate on your studies. If you continue like this, you would surely fail the exams and that would be even worse!’
     ‘The pastor was like a father to me,’ he said as he stared at his food reflectively. ‘He gave me all the help I needed after my mother’s death.’ Meeting her gaze, he continued, ‘Were it not for him, I don’t know what would have become of me. He made me understand that God has a purpose for everything; that He has set a bright future ahead of me and I have to be strong and move on.’
     Sylva saw the tears descending his cheeks and offered him an unused immaculate white handkerchief which he used to clean his face. She smiled faintly and said, ‘He was just like my brother Roland. But please, Samuel, you have to take heart.’
     They ate on in silence. After a while, she said, ‘I guess you must now be thinking of changing your church.’
     Samuel was taken aback ‘Excuse me?’
     ‘Come on, Sam. Don’t tell me you intend to continue worshipping in a church whose pastor was a fornicator. You deserve better. I wish you had grown up a Catholic so you would come to experience the love and guidance of the Church. I can help you join. It’s a simple…’
     ‘I can’t believe you could say such a thing, Sylvia,’ he cut her short, regarding her now like a complete stranger. ‘Have you no conscience? How can you speak that way of a man of God who was just recently murdered?’ Getting to his feet, he said, ‘I guess everyone was right: you Catholics can be so mean and self-righteous,’ and with that he stormed out.
     ‘Sam!’ she called after him. ‘Sam, please come back. I’m sorry!’
     He did not look back.