THE SOUND OF MUSIC
A king had a
beautiful and intelligent princess as his only child. When she grew up, he
announced that she would be married to a prince who proves his wisdom in a test
to be held in his palace. On the appointed day, a large number of princes from
different kingdoms reached the palace, hoping to marry the princess and become
the heir to the throne.
The princes
assembled in the royal hall and introduced themselves. Suddenly the whole place
was filled with the melodious music of a bird. The king led the princes to a
neighbouring hall where the singing bird was kept. Two cages were hung from the
roof at one end of the hall. The princes watched the birds from the other end
of the hall. After a while, the music stopped. The king led the princes to the
cages and showed them the birds. One was a very beautiful and -multi-coloured parrot
with fine feathers and attractive features. The other was a small grey
nightingale with brownish feathers and no apparent beauty. The princes were
then led to the court and asked the same question, "Which of the two birds
had sung the sweet song?"
All the princes except one emphatically
replied that the pretty parrot was the gifted singer who filled the place with
the enchanting music. Only one had a different answer. That prince affirmed
that the song was sung by the nightingale. This prince who correctly identified
the singer without bias and prejudice was declared as the winner. Others were
influenced and misled by the extraordinary beauty of the colourful parrot. They
assumed that a sweet voice could arise only from a pretty bird. The wise prince
married the princess and after the king's death, ruled the country
successfully. During his rule everyone had equal rights and opportunities and
his period was recorded in history as a golden age of peace and prosperity.
Prejudice, discrimination, racism and
judgement by external appearances have plagued humanity for centuries. Such
biased judgements do not reflect truth or reality. God does not show partiality
or favouritism. St. Paul teaches, "God judges everyone by the same
standard" {Romans 2:11}. God
expects us to behave like Him. We must use intelligent interpretations and just
judgement to arrive at sensible conclusions and wise decisions.
St. Paul affirms,
"So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and
free men, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus
{Galatians 3: 28}. "I solemnly
call upon you to obey these instructions without showing any prejudice or
favour to anyone in anything you do" {1
Timothy 5: 21}.
After the vision, St. Peter met Cornelius and
declared publicly, "I now realize
that it is true that God treats everyone on the same basis" {Acts 10: 34}. St. James {James 2: 1-4} exhorts the believers that they
must never treat people in different ways according to their outward
appearances.
The Pharisees falsely judged Jesus by His
appearance and so failed to recognize His divinity and receive the gifts He
offered {John 9: 16}.
............................................................................................................
©
By: Dr. Babu Philip,
Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue,
Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu,
Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally, Leo.
S. John, St. Antony's Public School, Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally,
Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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