The One Fingered Salute

Heads are being scratched at the Frinkton Corps (HTD) as the scriptural command to bear one another’s burdens has been followed in a most unusual way.

The strange tale began at last week’s Sunday evening Salvation Meeting, when Major Abraham Jones gave an appeal following his address. One of the Sunday night regulars, a homeless man known only as Eric, went forward to kneel at the Mercy Seat, as was his usual practice.

Major Jones recounted the events to The Salute.

“This one particular night I was eager to get home to watch a game of football. When Eric comes to pray everything is held up, and when I saw him stumbling forward my impatience got the better of me, and I said, “Eric, you must leave your burden at the Mercy Seat. Don’t pick it up again and take it with you!”

“Eric knelt to pray as usual. He doesn’t normally like anyone going to pray with him, so I instructed the congregation to keep singing the song—I Surrender All, I think it was. I felt bad for saying what I said to Eric, so when the next verse finished, I asked if anyone else had a burden to bring to the Lord.

“At that moment two things happened. First, young Jonah Dolittle got up to come and pray. Second, Eric leapt up from the Mercy Seat, shouted, “Hallelujah!” and went back to his seat. He was standing tall and walked straight. The smell was gone. He was a new man! He’d done as I told him—he’d left his burden at the Mercy Seat!”

There are conflicting accounts as to what happened next. As far as The Salute can ascertain, Mr Dolittle, a recently-graduated architect, knelt to pray. Major Jones asked the pianist to play O Save Me, Dear Lord! and directed the Corps Sergeant Major, Brother Tom Henderson, to come forward to pray with Mr Dolittle.

Mr Henderson made his way to the Mercy Seat, but when he got there, Mr Dolittle stood up. His transformation was as stark and complete as Eric’s. “His face looked grey, he was hunched over and he looked twenty years older than when he went forward,” Mr Henderson reports. “And the stench! The only person I remember ever smelling that bad was Eric!”

At that moment Eric yelled, “Put it back boy! That’s my burden! You leave it there!”

Confusion took hold. Several people ran forward to check on Mr Dolittle’s wellbeing, but he ignored them all and headed out of the hall and into a nearby tavern. Eric, seeing more people head towards the front of the hall ran back to the Mercy Seat in order to stop more people kneeling and picking up any burden left behind by Mr Dolittle.

On top of all this the pianist, who is reportedly a terrible sight-reader, finally found the music to what turned out to be a completely unfamiliar song.

Major Jones says the evening wasn’t a complete loss. “It was a strange night alright. At least Eric’s got himself saved. Perhaps next week I’ll actually get to watch the footy!”