Hey everyone! Before we begin, PLEASE READ THIS NEXT BIT! IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THIS FIC!
Please understand that I wrote this fic for fun. I'm not trying to convert any of you to Catholicism. I just found this aspect of John's character to be interesting and I thought of this story idea after church one day. So please understand that you are entitled to your own belief and I'm not trying to change it.
So anyway, I don't own these characters. So please don't sue me. And enjoy!
Sunday's mass. 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Homily: Father John Brown.
John looked at the Church newsletter and smiled. It's been awhile since he preached a homily. And tomorrow he would get to talk to a whole congregation of people about the readings. He had to decide what he was going to say though…
He was still in Japan so he wondered if his not-yet-so-fluent Japanese would be enough to deliver a message worthy of his profession. But he figured it wouldn't be too bad. He just had to be himself and be personable to the people. After all it was church, a holy solemn place. It's not like anyone would go in and heckle at him or make any noise in general because he was delivering a bad sermon.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"All right, Mai, why don't you tell us why you brought us all here?" Takigawa asked the teenage girl in front of him.
Mai looked to all of the people that she had called to a meeting. Ayako, Monk, and Masako were there but when she asked Naru and Lin they just looked at her like she had two heads that were each spewing chocolate sauce from their ears. But she was okay with the three there because they would make this more fun than Naru ever would.
"Okay, guys!" she said with purpose, kind of like giving a pep-talk. "Here's the deal. John told me that he's doing a sermon for his church and that it's the first one in a while. Apparently this is a big deal for a priest because from what he told me it's like a coming-of-age thing and I think we should go and cheer him on."
"Cheer him on?" Ayako asked. "What do you mean? Isn't he supposed to be talking about serious metaphysical doctrines? How would 'cheering him on' help him?"
Masako decided she should grace everyone with her two cents of wisdom and added, "Yes. That's quite true, Miss Matsuzaki. In fact," she paused and delicately covered her mouth with her sleeve and turned her perfect eyes to Mai as she said, "I wonder where Miss Taniyama got this idea."
Mai ignored the condescending remark and instead pressed on, "Well, I saw these preachers on TV once. They would say stuff and if the audience really liked it they would stand up and say stuff like 'Amen, brother!' and 'Preach it!' and 'Lordy Lordy!' and then the congregation would cheer. So it can't be that different from what John is going to be doing, right?"
She could see from everyone's faces that they were slowly coming around to her idea. But to make sure she made one more point that would drive it home. "And John said that he hadn't done this sermon thing in awhile so what if nobody cheers? Think about how it would crush him inside if no one gave him and 'Amen!'"
Her audience responded with the appropriate look of sympathy as they thought about poor John having his self-confidence being smashed to the ground.
Mai continued, "So I think we should go and support him and cheer." Then she said in the best Baptist pastor imitation she could muster, "So can I hear an 'Amen'?"
"Amen!" Monk, Ayako, and Masako said. But for Mai that wasn't quite enough.
So she said a bit louder, "I said, 'Can I hear an AMEN'!"
"AMEN!" her congregation shouted.
::::::::::::::::::::::
It was finally Sunday morning and John was in the back of the church putting on his appropriate vestments for this time in the liturgical year. He'd read over the passages that corresponded to today's mass and had decided that he should talk about the importance in being able to think reflectively on one's self and one's actions.
He had written all the major points he wanted to discuss on a piece of paper that he could easily get to on the pulpit. And Mai even said that she would bring everyone – that is except for Lin and Kazuya – to mass to "support" him.
He had wondered at the use of that verb for giving a sermon. But he dismissed it and thought that they only wanted to show a sense of moral support and appreciation for his vocation. It even made him happy that they would show interest in what he does enough to come to mass. Maybe one of them would be interested in something he had to say and ask him about the faith.
This idea made John even more excited to give the homily today and couldn't wait until he was able to.
::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mai and company stood outside the church to go over their game plan.
"So we're going to stay toward the back so that if we're the only ones cheering it won't be so obvious that we're cheering only because we're his friends. Also since we'll be in the back we'll yell and cheer as loud as we can so that everyone can hear us. And once they hear us cheering then they'll get just as excited and cheer with us. Sound good everyone?"
The members of the self-proclaimed-John-support-group-just-in-case-no-one-else-cheers group all nodded.
Mai grinned, "Alrighty then. Let's do this!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
And so Mai's team of motivation and self-confidence anxiously awaited the part in the mass where John would grace everyone with his wisdom.
And when she thought the time was upon them and John had approached the pulpit she turned to everyone and said, "Okay guys get ready."
John then started speaking to the congregation, "Good day, everyone."
There were some murmurs of response sprinkled through the congregation. Mai thought this was unacceptable and nodded to her comrades in arms and they all shouted their response from the very back row. "Good Morning!" "Good Day to You Too!" "What's up, blondie?"
There were some uncomfortable shifts throughout the congregation but John smiled at his friends because he was sort of expecting that from the rowdy bunch. But hopefully that was as far as their rowdiness would go…
John continued, "Today I'd like to talk to you all about the importance of reflection." He paused for effect. "How often do we try and analyze others' faults and actions? To see how they could become better."
Mai decided it was about time that they should start "Amen!"-ing and told her comrades this. So they started their encouraging from the back row. They weren't shouting but they weren't using their inside voices. They started with Amen's because they felt it was the safest bet to start out with it.
Mai was slightly deterred by the fact that some people turned around in their seats to stare at them like they were raving lunatics. She also noticed John shifting a little like he was nervous.
He continued, "But how often do we look at ourselves and what our own faults are."
Monk turned to Mai and said, "No one else is cheering, Mai. And John looks like he's getting nervous. What should we do?"
Mai looked at him and answered a little more dramatically then was called for, "Oh no this is what I was afraid of happening. John's sermon is so bad that no one is cheering and he's noticing that." She just as dramatically turned to everyone who was with her and said, "He needs us as friends now more than ever!"
::::::::::::::::::::
"What the heaven happened in there?" Monsignor Cook asked John exasperatedly.
John tried to appease his boss. "Please calm down, Monsignor."
"Calm down? Father Brown, am I to understand that I should remain calm when friends of yours come into our church and turn it into some sort of circus?"
John sighed as he remembered how the rest of the homily had gone. Mai and the others did not stop their cheering. He had prayed to God that they would stop. And John knew that God always answers prayers, but the answer wasn't always yes.
"Monsignor," John began once again trying to pacify the clergyman who was getting increasingly irritated, "please put into consideration that they are unfamiliar with our traditions and what is looked at to be acceptable behavior in mass. I will have a talk with them."
At this Monsignor Cook seemed to release the tension that was building in his body and sighed. Then he said, "You're right, Father. Please forgive my lashing out."
John sighed in relief that his boss wasn't going to explode and that he wasn't getting into too much trouble.
But the monsignor continued, "However, if it happens again there will be repercussions for you."
John smiled and said, "Fair enough."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mai, Monk, Ayako, and Masako all waited for John outside of the church. They were all smiling at each other and patting themselves on the back for what a great job they did in supporting their very good friend.
When they saw John come out they all rushed over. But Mai couldn't help but notice that John seemed serious and a bit somber.
Then he addressed everyone with a slight scowl on his face and said, "What were you doing in there?"
No one missed the very miniscule but still very present tone of irritation that John had. Everyone, and by everyone I mean more specifically Ayako and Masako, immediately started blaming Mai and that it was all her idea and that they were against it from the start and that they were bullied into this crazy scheme.
All the while Mai looked crushed. Had she really done something wrong?
John turned toward Mai. Mai figured if she did do something wrong it would be better to apologize for it right away. She didn't think she could bare the normally sweet and forgiving boy to be angry with her for more than a few seconds.
So she said, "I'm sorry, John. I thought that maybe we should support you and then everyone else wasn't cheering and I didn't want your spirit to be crushed so we got louder and … I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
John's poker face immediately dropped and he gave everyone a brilliant smile. He honestly could never be seriously mad at his friends.
He said, "Mai please. There's no need for apologies. I'm flattered that you guys came out to 'support' me. But promise me one thing, guys. Promise you won't do it again."
And with that being said, all was forgiven. And their strong friendship became a little bit stronger.
See? not so bad. So tell me what you think. *kisses*