Spiritual Food

All Sundays are special, but I think I'll remember this one for years to come.
The topic of both our Sunday School lesson and Pastor Jim's Sermon was John Chapter 6,
verses 1- 21; Jesus feeds the five thousand.


Half an hour before the 11:00 worship service,
a taxi pulled into the parking lot and paused near the door of the Fellowship Hall.
The taxi's passenger, an elderly black gentleman, motioned for me to approach.
Thinking he might need directions, I asked him if I could help.
"Do you have Black Jesus in there?" he asked smiling, motioning towards the Church.
Surprised, I said "No!"
 "You don't have Jesus in there?"
 "We have Jesus... I don't know about Black Jesus... just Jesus."
He laughed "Would it be all right if I worship here today?"
"Of course!" I smiled "We would love to have you join us."
"It's about 30 minutes until the 11:00 service" I told him.
"We have coffee and snacks in the Fellowship Hall. Would you like a snack?"
He said "Spiritual food is all I need."
As I escorted him towards the Sanctuary I asked him "What's your name?"
He said "Servant."
I felt my heart stop for an instant. I looked into his eyes, trying to decide whether he was teasing me.
Then he spelled his name "C.e.r.v.a.n.t.t."
I said "Oh! I'm pleased to meet you, my name's Dan"
As we walked to the Sanctuary he told me he first came to Atlanta in 1929.
One Sunday, shortly after he arrived, he decided to go to Church.
Being new in town, he decided to go into the first Church he came to.
He walked up Piedmont, which he said was "all black" at that time.
He turned onto Ponce and went into the first Church he saw, not aware it was a "white" Church.
He sat down, but he said the white preacher came up to him and asked him to leave.
The preacher told him he had been a missionary in Africa
but in Atlanta blacks and whites couldn't worship together, it was the law.
Mr. Cervantt said when he was in Atlanta 20 years later
he returned to the site where that Church had stood and it was gone, not a single brick was left.
"Can you guess what was in it's place?" he asked.
"Probably a parking lot." I guessed.
"It was a liquor store!"
No Spiritual food there, I thought.
The service was inspiring, the music heavenly, and Pastor Jim's sermon was real spiritual food.
A young boy's loaves and fishes were offered to our Lord.
Jesus used them to perform a miracle, to feed over five thousand hungry souls.
I didn't think to ask Mr. Cervantt how old he was in 1929.
Eighty years ago he may have been just a boy.
Just like the boy who offered up all he had to our Lord.