"...For I was already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure had come. I had fought the good fight, I had finished the race, I had kept the faith. From now on, there was laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, would award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who had longed for His appearing. Amen."
In the solemn church, the elderly pastor finished reciting the lengthy eulogy. More than a dozen old men and women dressed in black slowly raised their bowed heads.
Sitting in the very front was an elderly nun. Though her face was covered in wrinkles and age spots, her back remained perfectly straight. There was none of the kindness one might expect from an old woman on her face; instead, she looked stern and cold, inspiring fear at first glance.
"Making you a pastor was truly a mistake. You turned such a simple eulogy into this. If Green knew about it down there, he would start cursing you again."
Hearing the nun's mockery, the pastor on the stage set down the Bible in his hands and spread them helplessly.
"I told you long ago that I wasn't cut out for this. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate for you to deliver the eulogy?"
The nun shook her head.
"I am a nun of the church. I cannot do a pastor's work."
The pastor's lips twitched upward. He wanted to laugh, but did not have the nerve, so he could only mutter inwardly.
I, a fake pastor for one day, am somehow worse than you, a fake nun of over forty years.
"All right, we may sing a hymn to send Green off," the nun instructed.