Snippet #2356950

It was Saturday, with another sermon prepared and told to the Echelon masses. This time, he made a reference to 1 Corinthians 13, the Passage of Love, wording it exactly as written in his Bible:

"And now I will show you the most excellent way.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a canging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I can have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it I not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophecy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put my childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. NOw I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."

He gave an entire sermon on that passage, afterwards. It was one which took a boldness in tackling the spiritual problems within Echelon. He even went so far as to condemn the current political climate between the tribes, calling the act of hatred towards fellow people the most blasphemous of all crimes against God. The entire assembly within church walls was moved by his words, as it always is. It would not be long before the same boldness Zechariah the Disciple displayed in his sermons spread across the rest of Echelon territory, at this rate. Each Saturday, the crowd becomes bolder in defying the norm of hatred towards one another, resorting instead to respect and compassion, even beyond the tribe's territory.

The sermon ended with music, Zechariah being one of the male singers and guitarists, giving praise to the Lord. Once it was all finished, the Disciple bid everyone a great week and stayed behind to clean up the chapel, as out of habit. He and the other Head Priest made friendly chatter as they worked to tidy things up.

"Zechariah the Disciple, you continue to impress me. I may not agree with all of your sermons, though I admire your passion in giving them to the crowd."

"When you know what you believe to be true, you will defend it to your grave."

The church was clean within a half hour, and he was off to walk beyond Echelon borders, which did not take long, since the church he gave all his sermons at was close to the Dryads. Zechariah soon came across a pair of children playing with wooden swords and hatchets, whom he greeted with a wave, the children doing so in response. It was rather convenient that the Disciple's cross was on his chest, since it meant that it was always hidden so people focus on him instead of where he comes from. Eventually, his walk led him to where young Dryads practiced archery and whatnot.

There, he caught a glimpse of the current piper of the Dryads, Artemis the Huntress. There was something about her that made him grin from ear to ear, his heart accelerate. Perhaps it was her beauty in the all-natural clothing, or perhaps it was her attitude and strong personality. Whatever the reason, he felt as though he was meant to spend the rest of his life with her. Alas, he knew the odds of it. The other suitors already failed to win her heart, yet somehow, he thought he would succeed where they failed.

Walking up to Artemis until he was about ten feet away from her, he tipped his hat and said, "Good morning, Miss Artemis! How are you, this fine morning?"