WASHINGTON \u2014 The elderly black woman began preaching moments after the train left the Capitol South subway station.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cPraise the Lord. It\u2019s a good day,\u201d she said, starting a 20-minute sermon as her rush-hour congregation rolled toward the Maryland suburbs.<\/p>\n\n
Her voice was calm, strong and serious. She was carrying a cane and, I wouldn\u2019t dare make this up this detail, a fragrant box of spicy fried chicken. I didn\u2019t take precise notes, but what follows is real close to what she said. My father was a Southern Baptist preacher and I have a knack for remembering sermons.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cGod\u2019s grace is real, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can just keep on sinning and sinning and sinning,\u201d she said, gazing straight ahead. \u201cGod is watching all the time. God sees all of you. \u2026 Our God is a Holy God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
People kept their eyes down, reading their newspapers and paperbacks. A young black woman across the aisle giggled. \u201cOh no, it\u2019s church,\u201d she whispered to a friend. New riders glanced around in surprise, as they boarded the crowded car. But no one challenged the preacher or asked her to stop.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cGod doesn\u2019t ask that much of us,\u201d she said. \u201cHe wants us to love each other and take care of each other and follow the commandments that are in His Word. Is that too much to ask?\u201d<\/p>\n\n
A youngster listening to rap on headphones said, \u201cPreach it, sister.\u201d Surely the collision between the pounding music and the sermon was causing a storm in her head. At first she was amused. Then she began shooting daggers at the preacher with her eyes.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cI know what you\u2019re thinking,\u201d said the elderly woman. \u201cYou\u2019re saying, \u2018How are we supposed to know how we\u2019re supposed to live?\u2019 \u2026 You know what the Bible says: \u2018For God so loved the world, that he sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.\u2019 You all know that verse, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n
No one answered.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cSweet Jesus is all the guide we need. But God also gave us his Word. You open up your Bible and read it and tell me that God hasn\u2019t made himself perfectly clear how we\u2019re supposed to live. The Bible is God\u2019s book. There\u2019s no other book like it. Some of you may go to church and you may read your Bible. But have you ever let it get inside you and change you? That\u2019s what I\u2019m talking about. We\u2019ve got to change on the inside. We\u2019ve got to change how we live.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
I moved to the Washington, D.C., area six months ago and I have, in that short time, seen many people reading worn-out Bibles on trains. But I think I have seen exactly one white person reading a Bible. I wonder how many white believers ride around in the political capital of the world looking at these faithful black Christians, wondering who they are, why they are marking up their Bibles, what churches they go to and why we seem to live in separate worlds.<\/p>\n\n
Come to think of it, I haven\u2019t read my Bible on the Metro either. I wonder what this preacher would think of that? I was reading a stack of religion-news magazines and wearing a cross. I wondered: Was this good, or bad? Was I a fake, to her?<\/p>\n\n
By the time we reached the last station, out by the Beltway, many people had left their seats and were lining up to exit \u2014 even quicker than normal.<\/p>\n\n
The preacher brought her message to a close.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019m saying is that God loves you and sent his Son to die for you. But I know that many of you are not listening,\u201d she said, still in her seat. \u201cMaybe one person will go home tonight and think about what I am saying. Maybe God will touch one person\u2019s heart and they will go home and talk to their children about Jesus. Maybe one person will pray with their children tonight.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m saying what I\u2019m saying. If one person hears the Word, then this is worth it. Just one person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
She was the last person to leave the train.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON \u2014 The elderly black woman began preaching moments after the train left the Capitol South subway station. \u201cPraise the Lord. It\u2019s a good day,\u201d she said, starting a 20-minute sermon as her rush-hour congregation rolled toward the Maryland suburbs. Her voice was calm, strong and serious. She was carrying a cane and, I wouldn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n