The Country Funeral

The Country Funeral

As a young minister in Kentucky, I was asked by a funeral director to
hold a grave-side service for a homeless man, who had no family or friends.
The funeral was to be held at a new cemetery way back in the country, and
this man would be the first to be buried there. I was not familiar with the
backwoods area, and I soon became lost. Being a typical man, I did not stop
to ask for directions.




I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the open grave, but
the hearse was nowhere in sight. The digging crew was eating lunch.

I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and stepped to the side of
the open grave. There I saw the vault lid already in place.


I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long, as I told them
that this was the proper thing to do.


The workers gathered around the grave and stood silently, as I began to
pour out my heart and soul.

As I preached about 'looking forward to a brighter tomorrow' and 'the
glory that is to come,' the workers began to say 'Amen,' 'Praise the Lord,'
and 'Glory!'
The fervor of these men truly inspired me. So, I preached and I preached
like I had never preached before, all the way from Genesis to Revelations.

I finally closed the lengthy service with a prayer, thanked the men, and
walked to my car.
As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I heard one of the
workers say to another, "I ain't NEVER seen nothin' like that before, and
I've been puttin' in septic tanks for thirty years!"