Here is the second part in the ‘Erasing Jesus’ series by p.s. tryon. You can read Part 1 here.
What did you come to see? The question raised itself as she sat there.
She did wonder why she had come. The hard wood pew, the man squeezed in next to her, stink of sweat. A 3-year-old in the pew in front of her, snot smeared across his cheeks. Constant hacking coughs around her.
She settled on gazing at the stained glass window to the left. Joan of Arc, riding a white steed with a victory flag in her hand. It was the horse that she focused on. Nostrils flared, battle prance, eye of fire. The most interesting aspect of this Sunday event.
The minister’s voice in a sing-song artificial lilt, intoning the heavens with repetitions and ritual. Bells ringing occasionally, the tinkle of bright music against the somber backdrop of strange vestments and the heavy odor of incense.
Well, what did you come to see? she wondered.
Jesus was there on the cross at the center of the altar.
Examine your soul. If you have sinned today, refrain from partaking in the bread of communion. Which was not really bread, but some thin tasteless wafer. And if you take that wafer in a state of mortal sin, you may be damning yourself to hell.
She smiled at the thought of mortal sin. Are we not all mortal? I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t, she thought with amusement. As the lines queued up for communion, she slipped out the door. A splash of cold air assaulted her face and she stepped into sunlight.
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