So, a friend (Totep!), reminded me of a blog I wrote ages ago. That and a recent experience I really want to write about led me to rediscover this interest in blogging. So here goes...
I was invited to be the quiz master for a parish's Bible Quiz Bee recently. It is quite an honor for me to be entrusted with such a role. (Roles, actually; since I wrote the questions, made the PowerPoint presentation for the quiz, hosted the quiz, and served as sole judge for technicalities.) Suffice it to say it was a challenging afternoon for me, to say the least. What I'd really like to say it was controversial.
It was controversial because come the difficult round of the quiz, I met a lot of questions (protests) over some technicalities. The easy and average rounds were smooth, no one asked questions since these earlier rounds were in multiple choice type. You write the letter corresponding to the correct answer, you score; you mistook the answer, no score, as easy as that. Then came the difficult round which is identification type. I prepared questions, the answers to which will either be names of people or words, even sentences directly taken form the Bible.
So with the difficult round came the technicalities. What if the participants did not get the answer word for word? What if they wrote Peter when the Bible read Simon? When I asked who knew the day and the hour according to Mk. 13, what if they answered "God," instead of "the Father?"
What made it more difficult for me was, when I was expecting there would be a panel to judge these technicalities and decide which answers to consider or not, there was none. There were questions, there were protests as I mentioned. In the end, I had to decide, and I had to assert my decisions.
When the contest ended, I was asking myself questions. Are my decisions over technicalities the sole determinant of the winner? (The champion won by only one point over the runner-up) Had I been to harsh on some instances, too lenient on others? I was looking the faces of the losers; would some of them blame me that they lost because of technicalities? Will I ever get over this experience? Will they, can they, get over and move on from their loss? So many questions, but the answers are so few (oh wait, did I just sing a love song?).
When the coordinating committee was awarding the winners, I wanted to take the microphone and ask for some time for few words, a message to all of them. But it wasn't part of the program, I didn't dare ask. But here's what I wanted to tell everyone if I had the chance:
The Bible should be a source of unity. Scripture teaches us peace. The Word of God directs us to love.
These things happen all the time, in all contests; some win, others lose. But I guess they already know that. A Bible Quiz Bee is a unique situation. They read, we all read, the Word of God. And the end of the day, the Bible should teach us not really to compete or to fight with each other. Not quarrel, over mere words or names written. Not to feel mad over some technicalities. Not to be hurt over some award or certificate. I've seen this in may instances. It hurts when division results out of our reading of the Bible. This is not the way it should be. I will just repeat, I feel there is no more need to expound more: The Bible should be a source of unity. Scripture teaches us peace. The Word of God directs us to love.
I am not fond of weaving Biblical texts. But let me just end this article with a few verses that we can all weave for ourselves.
The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone (2Tim 2:24)
Avoid foolish arguments, genealogies, rivalries, and quarrels about the law, for they are useless and futile. (Ti 3:9)
What is important is faith expressing itself in love. (Gal 5:6)
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