That Sunday afternoon was very boring. I sat idly, watching my Sunday class students colour their books. It was a picture of Gabriel talking with Zachariah. Some were exhibiting their artistic abilities and some simply said with their faces that colouring was complete waste of time.
Nothing was heard in the underground room except for the picking and dropping of pencils.
Isaac broke the silence. "You cannot colour the angel's hair brown. It ought to be golden or silver."
Jeremy looked at me with his face so solemn that he reminded me of a sinner who had come to make his confessions.
"Why do you say so Isaac?" I asked.
"Brown is for satan." he replied so cooly and continued with his colouring.
I looked at my own fringe of hair that fell onto my cheeks. Jet black. So all angels are blonde? If brown hair is devil, then what is black supposed to be? Wait a minute, Isaac's hair is also brown.
"Who told you that?" I asked.
"My grandma." he replied.
Am I supposed to explain him that angels look so like humans that they were often mistaken to be humans? Did not Abraham, Gideon, Manoah and many others mistook them for humans? What about their wings? Hmmm... except for the wings of Cherubims and Seraphims, there is no mention of the wings. At least as far as I can recall.
"Well, your hair is brown too." I tried not to sound offensive.
"I am not holy enough." he replied with a sigh.
Maybe his grandma was being too imaginative. Doesn't the Bible say that no sin is so crimson that His blood cannot wash? Aren't our most righteous acts rags in His eyes?
"So holy people have golden or silver hair?" I asked keeping up with the conversation.
"Yes. Like our pastor." he replied.
I suppressed my laughter.
"Is your grandma's hair silver?" I asked.
"Yes." he replied with a proud smile.
With a great difficulty, I tried to explain him the concept of grey hair and how it blossoms as we age. He only seemed to be confused more.
"In God's eyes black, brown and white are the same." I said. "Remember the story with birds and water?"
Only the week before, I told them Noah's story.
"Yes. When Jesus was baptised, the Holy Spirit landed onto Him like a dove." he said. "SILVERY WHITE"
Never thought that he would come up with such an apt example. Maybe his grandma told him that too. I should have added animals along with my reference to birds and water. My mistake.
"Remember the Noah's story I told you last week?" I asked.
"Yeah..." he replied with a doubtful voice.
"See how Noah gave equal importance to the raven and the dove? One black and one white?" I asked.
"But grandma said ravens are unclean." he said.
Now, how am I supposed to explain him the concept behind Peter's vision and how God had made everything clean?
Not a good idea. Think hard.
"Remember the story of Elijah when he was fed by the ravens in the Kerith ravine? Everybody is equal in the eyes of God, irrespective of the colour of their skin or hair or how they look or who they are." I told him.
He thought of sometime and gave a nod.
After sometime, he coloured Gabriel's hair the same shade as his. And so did the rest of the class.
Nothing was heard in the underground room except for the picking and dropping of pencils.
Isaac broke the silence. "You cannot colour the angel's hair brown. It ought to be golden or silver."
Jeremy looked at me with his face so solemn that he reminded me of a sinner who had come to make his confessions.
"Why do you say so Isaac?" I asked.
"Brown is for satan." he replied so cooly and continued with his colouring.
I looked at my own fringe of hair that fell onto my cheeks. Jet black. So all angels are blonde? If brown hair is devil, then what is black supposed to be? Wait a minute, Isaac's hair is also brown.
"Who told you that?" I asked.
"My grandma." he replied.
Am I supposed to explain him that angels look so like humans that they were often mistaken to be humans? Did not Abraham, Gideon, Manoah and many others mistook them for humans? What about their wings? Hmmm... except for the wings of Cherubims and Seraphims, there is no mention of the wings. At least as far as I can recall.
"Well, your hair is brown too." I tried not to sound offensive.
"I am not holy enough." he replied with a sigh.
Maybe his grandma was being too imaginative. Doesn't the Bible say that no sin is so crimson that His blood cannot wash? Aren't our most righteous acts rags in His eyes?
"So holy people have golden or silver hair?" I asked keeping up with the conversation.
"Yes. Like our pastor." he replied.
I suppressed my laughter.
"Is your grandma's hair silver?" I asked.
"Yes." he replied with a proud smile.
With a great difficulty, I tried to explain him the concept of grey hair and how it blossoms as we age. He only seemed to be confused more.
"In God's eyes black, brown and white are the same." I said. "Remember the story with birds and water?"
Only the week before, I told them Noah's story.
"Yes. When Jesus was baptised, the Holy Spirit landed onto Him like a dove." he said. "SILVERY WHITE"
Never thought that he would come up with such an apt example. Maybe his grandma told him that too. I should have added animals along with my reference to birds and water. My mistake.
"Remember the Noah's story I told you last week?" I asked.
"Yeah..." he replied with a doubtful voice.
"See how Noah gave equal importance to the raven and the dove? One black and one white?" I asked.
"But grandma said ravens are unclean." he said.
Now, how am I supposed to explain him the concept behind Peter's vision and how God had made everything clean?
Not a good idea. Think hard.
"Remember the story of Elijah when he was fed by the ravens in the Kerith ravine? Everybody is equal in the eyes of God, irrespective of the colour of their skin or hair or how they look or who they are." I told him.
He thought of sometime and gave a nod.
After sometime, he coloured Gabriel's hair the same shade as his. And so did the rest of the class.
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You may also like Much more to Genesis (click to view)
Awesome story dealing with the most difficult subject of weighing people from appearance. To the mistake even Prophet Samuel was not exempted from. It's good to inject this in the minds and hearts of children while they are still young. Good job and good story.
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