The first Sunday he was back in church, Peter sat in the vestry quietly during the pre service prayer meeting, not saying a word, allowing his assistant pastor Tom Kindred to lead it. He had brushed off the questions from the elders over whether he was returning too soon. Preaching and ministering was all he knew, it was his life, all he wanted to do and he wanted, needed to get back into it.

They had wanted him to have another weekend off but he had insisted on preaching. He was all too aware of how close to dying he had been and that it had taken a miracle to get him out of the car. He had no recollection of how he had done it, he just knew that one moment he was in the trunk and the next he was lying on the ground next to the car. He was incredibly thankful his life had been saved and to show that he wanted to get back to serving his Lord as soon as he could.

Two minutes before the service was to start Thomas stood up and led the way into the church. He nodded to Beth and her parents sitting in the front row and then walked up onto the platform.

Peter stood up and moved slowly into the church. As he did so almost the entire congregation as one began applauding him. He stood still colour filling his cheeks, then he turned and walked back into the vestry. He leaned against the wall, not wanting the adulation they were intent on giving him.

Beth got to her feet and looking apologetically at her father ran into the vestry after Peter. She looked at him and then moved over to him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s not your fault,” he said quietly. “I just don’t want or need that. And this isn’t the place for it.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “But they think you’re a hero.”

“I’m not,” he said. “You and I both know that don’t we?”

She nodded. “But they don’t.” The organ started playing and the first hymn began. “Look why don’t you come and sit with us for now, just go up when you need to preach.”

“Kay,” he whispered. He got up with her and they slipped back into the church.

When it was time for the sermon Peter stood up slowly and walked onto the platform. This time there was silence as he stood there. He took a deep breath. “When I planned the sermons for this quarter they followed one after the other going through John’s gospel. Again I divided them between myself and Thomas as normal. Today’s passage when I came to study it seemed to leap out at me.”

He looked at Beth and then back out into the congregation. “John 15:13 says ‘Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.’ It doesn’t make you a hero. It doesn’t make you special. What I did... what I did was the only thing I could do. How many of you could just stand there and do nothing under those circumstances?”

Beth looked down at her hands as he spoke.

“What I did wasn’t heroic or special. What I did was done out of love for a friend. I would have done the same for each and every one of you.” He looked at Beth again. “I did no more than the firemen and policemen do every and they do it with little or no thanks.”

Then he placed his Bible on the pulpit and opened it. “If you could all turn to John chapter fifteen...”