Duty First

Once, there was a priest in a village. He was a great devotee of Jesus Christ and prayed to him everyday. He was regular in his work.

He was known all over the village for his devotion and dedication. His fame was so well spread that the people in the neighboring villages too knew about him.

Due to this fame, he never felt proud. He only became more humble. His only concern was his parents whom he had left alone to become a priest.

He felt sorry and prayed for their wellbeing. Apart from these, he was free from any trouble and concern.

In the same village, there lived a peasant who was the worst devotee in the entire village. He never visited the church and so, rarely worshipped Jesus and that too when he felt like it.

So, he was not liked much by the villagers. The priest tried to talk to the peasant about the greatness of Christ and tried to convince him to be a regular Christian but it was all in vain.

He remained the way he was. He barely gave a hoot to the priest’s word. The villagers felt that he was a shame to the village. However, the peasant would visit the church every Christmas without fail.

Once, the priest had a dream in which Jesus informed him that he would take his greatest devotee to Heaven on the approaching Christmas. After saying this, Jesus disappeared and the priest woke up.

The priest was delighted to hear this as he and the whole village believed that he was Jesus’ greatest devotee.

So, he felt very happy and sent a message to his parents that he was to go to Heaven that Christmas but got a reply from their neighbor that they had passed away a month ago. He was pained at this news but slowly forgot about it.

That Christmas, the whole village had gathered in the church to witness Jesus. After some time, they saw Jesus appear above the priest. Jesus said that he had come to take his greatest devotee to Heaven.

As the entire village waited, Jesus chose the peasant who was irregular in his worship. The entire village was shocked. The priest asked Christ why he had done so.

Jesus explained that the priest had left behind his aging and sick parents to become a priest. They had passed away in his absence and he did not even know about it. The peasant never abandoned his parents and looked after them.

Though he had a secret desire to become a priest, he worked for his parents and so did not even come to church. After saying this, Jesus vanished.