June 12, 2000
CYBERCOLUMN:
Sharing to learn
___In all likelihood, I will never win a Nobel Peace Prize, sing at Carnegie Hall or climb Mount Everest. But I never will worry again about all that I will not accomplish, because I have been a judge at the Senior Bible Quiz.
___Each year, the Central Texas Senior Ministry sponsors a Bible quiz for the residents of several nursing homes in Waco. A month before the event, participants are given eight pages of questions to study. In a manner similar to a spelling bee, contestants are removed from the line across the front after missing two questions. Ribbons are given to the top threefinishers. Just as in the ancient Olympics, the competition is about glory rather than monetary gain. (The woman who complained about the absence of trophies did not reflect the attitude of most competitors.)
BRETT YOUNGER
___There were door prizes (for which I, as a judge, was not eligible; I'm sure it had something to do with ensuring the integrity of the officials and preventing any "Quiz Show"-like scandals) . The dusting powder didn't look that great, but one of the administrators wanted the dominoes, because as she put it, "You can't run a nursing home without dominoes." I was the judge chosen to draw the names for the door prizes. (I'm not bragging; it's just a fact.) When I facetiously called out my own name for a trip to Hawaii, nobody laughed, although one woman smiled to try to make me feel better.
___Several contestants kissed the congeniality award goodbye early on. I was surprised at the level of trash talking. The nursing home that didn't show "chickened out." One nursing home claimed they didn't get the study questions until the day before, but that was OK because they didn't need any more time than that. When the head official asked, "Will you be friends when this over?" Ann, a delightful woman who took the silver, replied, "We weren't friends before." When encouraged by a friend not to let the other finalist intimidate her, Ann sarcastically feigned fear, "Oh, he's got me shaking."
___I wish that like an Olympic judge I could have given extra credit for style and grace. I would have given points to the contestants who said: "I would have won last year, but I fell asleep." "There's a lot more pressure up here than sitting down there." "I really could use a short-term memory."
___The gladiators knew their stuff. Can you quote the Beatitudes? On more than a few questions, I was glad to have the answers in front of me. You know the old saying, "Those who cannot do, teach. Those who don't know the eight images for God in Psalm 18, judge." The competitor who took the gold, Isador, went 20 rounds without missing a question and had no expectation of ever missing.
___One of the verses they had memorized was Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." While there were elements of "Jeopardy" at the Senior Bible Quiz, this really wasn't Bible trivia (which ought to be considered an oxymoron). Many of the people there have been gathering around the biblical stories all of their lives. The sacred story has become their story.
___Everybody needs a story beyond their own. Thirty years from now, when my generation starts taking our places in the nursing homes, I wonder if fewer of us will have a story in which to see and make sense of our lives. We all need to recognize that our story is part of a sacred story, older and bigger and smarter than we are.
___Brett Younger is pastor of Lake Shore Baptist Church in Waco.
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