Apparently leaving a bar at 2:30 am on a Monday night in Mission Hill screams "Lost Soul" to one particular Boston city cab driver. It couldn't possibly scream that I got off work and had a beer and now just want to get home safely, but anyway, Albert, as I came to know him, began chit chatting with me once we dropped Marcy off at her home. She apparently isn't in need of saving. Just me. After I informed him that I'm relatively unimpressed with my current career path, he began his sermon. "Please forgive me, I don't mean to cross the line, but God has a plan for you, you just have to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior." Yep. With that simple sentence Al began the process of saving my lost soul. Those of you who know me well, know that I am fascinated by religious people, particularly those who are so passionate that they feel the need to reach out to try and convert random people they encounter so clearly I was quite intrigued. Nobody had ever actively tried to save me before so I assured Albert that he wasn't crossing the line nor was he offending me.
He continued on about how he loves me, and Jesus loves me, and there is a very real devil who is trying to keep me from reaching salvation and he uses his people - the Godless people - to lead me away from Our Lord Jesus Christ. Now please note, dropping Marcy off and getting to my house takes no more than 7 minutes at that hour of the night so once we arrived at Rena St., Albert stopped the meter and asked if he could continue. I told him by all means to continue saving me. He then asked me to pray with him and I agreed. I then repeated after him, and asked God to save me. Amen. He told me that his name, Albert, means "noble" and to him that means his inherited higher character is what encourages him to save lost souls. He then asked what my name means. "An officer of the court." I replied to which he had no response except "Well, isn't that nice."
Albert then gave me a piece of paper and a pen and asked me to write the following on one side:
Jesus loves me!
1-800-759-0700
Ask for a higher calling
and on the other side:
iumi.org
He then informed me that I have a God shaped hole in my heart that can not be filled with money or fame and will only be filled when I accept God into my heart completely. He told me that while he loves Mr. Barack Obama, he is bringing America quickly to its downfall as he is not running it as a Christian nation and had Mr. John McCain been president we'd be at least on a path towards salvation as the founding fathers wanted this nation to be a Christian nation despite any evidence I could come up with to contradict that and if we don't become a Christian nation again, we will meet our demise. This is where things escalated out of control as Albert simply just started listing passages I need to read in the bible and they are as follows:
John 8:58 - "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
John 14:6 - Jesus answered "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me"
Isaiah 9:6 -
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Micah 5:2 -
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times."
Genesis 3:15 -
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel."
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel."
Exodus 3:14 - God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
Deuteronomy 18:15 - The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him
By this point, it was after 3:30am and I needed to get to bed as I had to work in the morning so I thanked Albert for everything, he asked me if I was saved, and I said "I think so." Apparently that was the wrong answer. "NO!" he exclaimed, "You ARE saved. You've accepted Jesus into your heart, right?" I couldn't tell him that I was really just partaking in his exercise in futility because I was fascinated by him and wanted to know exactly what went into saving someone's soul through the glass of a cab window. "Yes." I responded warily looking to the sky awaiting the lightning strike from above. Albert and I parted ways with him convinced he'd done God's work and converted one lost soul.
For those of you who aren't going to call the number, it's for the 700 Club or the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Feel saved yet? For those of you who do, Albert's website has a Salvation Confirmation Form you can fill out so he can congratulate you and welcome you to the family of God.
Jesus Marie! That's awesome, Btighe. Great reportage. Love you!
ReplyDeletePS. I was listening to an interview with Richard Price who wrote clockers and worked on some episodes of the wire.
ReplyDeleteHe was talking about hanging out with cops, even though he didn't often ascribe to their worldview. He said, "I'll hang out with anyone who'll have me." I wrote it down cause I thought it was a good insight into an important part of being a writer.
Your story is evidence of how rich those kinds of experiences can be. Thanks!