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The Resplendent Angel

Jeb slept in this morning. Sunday is a day of rest after all. All the more so since, according to his devotional booklet, today is the Sunday of Peace.

The sunlight made a halo around his curtains. Since he was typically up before sunrise, he rarely had an occasion to see this effect. It reminded him of when the Ghost of Christmas Present’s arrival appeared to Scrooge as a blazing corona around the edges of his bedroom door.

Scrooge had been frightened by the phenomenon but Jeb took it as the sign of something genuinely wonderful that was coming his way. The talk he had with Pastor Greg on Friday had really lifted his spirits. It wasn’t until recently that he’d even given the slightest thought to how lonely he was.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized it was his own fault. He had always avoided people. He didn’t understand them and he was afraid of getting caught up in their petty games. The kids at school were always playing dreadful head games with each other. He was having none of it.

Fortunately, he had already started selling his pieces when he was in high school. His dad helped him set up a business. He could just stay home, do his work and let the rest of the world be crazy without him. That suited him. He didn’t feel the need for company. He had Mom and Dad.

When they moved out to the Gulf Coast to enjoy their golden years in their idea of paradise, he certainly missed them but he also treasured the solitude. It wasn’t until recently that he began to feel differently about it. There was a new sensation that he couldn’t quite place. It had been growing all summer and he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

He had gone to the doctor for a checkup but he was healthy. He touched base with his cousin. That made him feel a bit better. It occurred to him that not having Mom and Dad around to provide a reassuring presence had left him a bit cold.

Jeb wasn’t one for making friends but he had regular customers. They’d stop by to pick up their pieces now and again. He found himself looking forward to the company. He’d invite them to stay awhile and share a glass of iced tea or lemonade. Business picked up. They bought more often and gave him more referrals. He supposed there was something to be said for not being a weird little hermit on the outskirts of town.

He ran into the new pastor at the grocery store back in July. Pastor Greg’s gregarious nature was a bit overwhelming to Jeb but he had personally invited him to come to the service. That was about as close to having made a friend as he’d ever done. It felt strangely pleasant. Having honored the invitation, he found the church to be a kind of surrogate family. He didn’t necessarily want to be drawn into their extraneous chatter but there was something comforting about the fact that they engaged each other in this way. It felt homey and comfortable.

God works in mysterious ways. Pastor Greg had said as much and cited Romans 11:34. He was glad to have a friend like Pastor Greg. He seemed to respect Jeb’s need for solitude but visited often enough to take the edge off of the growing sense of loneliness. When he did, he brought wisdom and comfort.

It brought a pang of guilt to Jeb when he suddenly realized that he had been repaying kindness with selfishness. Pastor Greg put a lot of work into his sermons and his words brought a new dimension of human understanding for Jeb each and every week. How did he thank him for this? He snuck out the side door like a petulant child. Even though he had apologized to his friend on Friday, he genuinely wanted to change his ways.

Jeb was going to join the community today and shake Pastor Greg’s hand and thank him for his friendship and the wisdom shared every single week. Today was going to be different. Advent was working a miracle in his life this year and he was more than ready for it.

Jeb had picked out a moss green turtleneck. He didn’t care for the full-length turtlenecks but he’d found this one with the shorter collar at the store. It was a bit chilly out this morning, so he put on of the sweaters his dad had left behind. The two looked alright when he checked himself on the way out the door.

“Look at you, Jeb. Very festive.”

“Thanks, Pastor. I’m feeling the holiday spirit more and more every day.”

“Good for you, buddy. I’m glad to see you this morning. I worked up something special this week.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” He shook the pastor’s hand and made his way into the nave.

The bright morning sun streamed through the stained glass windows lighting the pews with a riotous rainbow of God’s favor. He looked for an open spot. Change would have to come a bit more slowly than anticipated. He still felt a bit uneasy about simply landing in an occupied pew. There was one that largely empty. Somebody with hot pink hair was sitting at the far end. How odd. He didn’t know anyone with hot pink hair. Well, she was sitting way down at the other end so he figured he’d take his chances.

Jeb slid into the seat. He grabbed a couple of the bookmarks from the slot in the tray mounted on the back of the pew in front of him. Even church had some prep work. He looked at the plaques mounted on either side of the altar. The hymns were listed. He put a bookmark in the hymnal for each of the songs listed. Next, he checked the readings in the program he’d been handed and found them in the bible that was perched in the tray next to the hymnal.

Hmm, Isaiah 40:1-11, Romans 11:25-36 and Mark 1:1-8 today. That’s funny, he had been thinking about Romans as he got out of bed this morning.

He stole a glance leftward to see what kind of person had hot pink hair. He was figuring on a nose ring and a tattoo that ran down her neck like a snake or a vine.

To his surprise, it was just Aundrea.

Aundrea?

It occurred to him that the pages of the hymnal and the bible had been hot pink because of the light from the stained glass windows. The interior lighting dialed up slowly to offset the psychedelic effect of the stained glass morning sun. She settled back into a more normal semblance of herself as church lights brightened. She looked like a beautiful Christmas angel to him.

His heart skipped a beat. He was going to ask her to slide over next to him but the music began and everyone stood up to begin the first hymn. He set the notion aside for a moment as he retrieved the hymnal.

There was some kind of commotion a couple of pews back but he was busy sliding the bookmark back into the slot where he’d gotten it from. The only thing he could think about was the hymnal in his hand and the resplendent angel at the far end of the pew. A pair of acolytes passed by with their tapers lit as the music began.