Chapter 8 The Pulpit of Father VIII Maple

Suddenly, the door of the church opened, and a tall and healthy old man walked in through the rain and snow. He was Father Maple, who was beloved by whalers. He was a sailor and javeliner in his youth, and later devoted himself to the church. There was a magical radiance on Father Maple's face, that gleam like green buds bursting out of February snow, which, I believe, can only be found in rejuvenated people. Even if you don't know anything about Father Maple's past, you will be deeply moved by his temperament, and once you know his life at sea, you will be more interested in him.

He took off his almost soaked hat and coat, hung them up one by one, changed into the clothes he should wear on such an occasion, and walked to the edge of the pulpit. The pulpit is very high, no different from other pulpits.However, there are no steps that occupy a large space on the side, but a ladder hanging from the pulpit, which is the same as the ladder used to climb from a small boat to a large ship. This ladder was made from the gangway of a whaling ship, and was sent by the wife of a whaling ship's captain. Father Maple paused for a while beside the ladder, grasped the knots on the ladder with both hands, and climbed up the ladder in a sailor-like posture that did not lose his priesthood.

Unexpectedly, after stepping onto the platform, Maple squatted down again and put away the ladder one by one without haste. The move seemed to cement his elevated position. Does he rely on this physical distance from people to show his extraordinary spiritual world?Didn't he already have an otherworldly name for his holiness and sincerity?Such a small trick is really puzzling. The soft ladder on the pulpit is not the only feature of the pulpit. On the wall above the pulpit, there is a large oil painting between the stone tablets. In the painting, a big ship is bravely moving forward against the wind and waves. , An angel's face appeared on the splashing foam.

The angel's face envelops the big boat in the turbulent waves with warm care.What a magnificent ship!The angel sighed like this, hurry up and set sail, the sun will come out, and the moment when the clouds will clear and the fog will clear is just around the corner! At this moment, the pulpit seemed to be the helm of a big ship, and the majestic captain stood on it.The protruding panels resembled the flat prow of a ship, and the "Bible" placed on the sloping board resembled the iron mouth of the prow of a battleship. The pulpit is the leader of the world. It is the first to discover the wind and rain in the world. It always faces the huge waves of the sky and the unpredictable abyss, and turns God's test of human nature into a soothing and beautiful day.

The world is a big ship, and the voyage has no end; the pulpit is the helmsman at the bow, always leading the ship forward.