#BTColumn – Apologetics (Part 3 of 3)

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados TODAY Inc.

by Jade Gibbons

“Do you know what are Jews? Do you know what are Jews? Jews are from the tribe of Judah.”

I repeat myself, “Jesus is not a Levite. He is from the tribe of Judah.”

“Name Isaac’s twelve sons!”

Under my breath I mutter, “Jacob.”

Another miracle happens: Mohamed heard that I’d corrected him as the biblical Isaac only had two sons: Esau and Jacob. And it was Jacob, who is also known as Israel, that had twelve sons.

“Yes, sorry.” This was the softest he had spoken since beginning.

If only it were to last.

He resumed shouting, “Name Jacob’s twelve sons!”

I opened my mouth to speak but before a sound could find its way out, aggression ripples through my ears.

“Issachar! Let me hear you! Benjamin! Huh, huh, I can’t hear you!”

I closed my mouth. I closed my mind. And turned my head from looking at Mohamed. I had been making eye contact with him up until this point. I had respected him up until this point. I straightened my head to look across to the other aisle. Inside of me, my soul screamed: You are belligerent and aggressive, so I’m finished. You do not want to hear what I have to say, so I am finished. You are a typical male, chauvinistic, and aggressive and care not for what I think, so I am finished. I done.

I steeled my body and re-focused my being to the task of tidying-up. Once I was finished tidying, I had to close out the cash register and Jas always complained that I took too long to close out the register, so I needed to hurry up.

Mohamed stepped in closer to me. My personal bubble had been totally invaded and violated. “Jesus was just a man! You are worshipping a man!” I could feel his breath on my face.

My skin was hot, and my heart was trying to force its way out of my chest. My pulse was faster than Usain in 2008.

A volcano erupted inside of me. I am not proud of this. Pulling the muscles in my stomach, a voice that should not be used said,

“Jesus is God incarnate! He is the firstborn of all creation!”

My muscles then released and as they relaxed, my soul dropped. I had sunk. Mohamed got angrier and continued on his own because finally, I was truly finished. Jas took him by the arm and persuaded him to go outside.

Finally, relief.

I looked at the silver watch on my hand, it was five minutes to closing. I had not tidied up properly, but I needed to close out the cash register.

The store had fallen silent. My body moved faster, and my work made itself easier. Unfortunately, the glass door was not thick enough.

The faint sounds of Mohamed’s voice belligerently and aggressively disturbing the night could still be heard in the store.

My boss was outside with him, trying to calm him down. When Jas came back inside, she asked, “Taliah, why did you not leave it alone? Why did you not just ignore him? You should have just let him carry on.”

“I will never deny Jesus,” I replied. “The day I deny Jesus, I should be fired on the spot because it means I am a hypocrite and there is no truth in me. It means I cannot be trusted. I will never deny Jesus.”

The following morning our boss was distant. Jas came to me. “Boss wanted me to tell you that your behaviour last night was inappropriate. You can’t behave like that in her store. So make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The End.

Did you enjoy the story? For your personal reference, the scripture Mohamed quoted when he said “It is impossible for Jesus to be God.

If he was God, why would he say on the cross ‘Father, forgive them, they know not what they do’?” is Luke 23:34. Taliah’s rebuttal was from John 10:30. The volcanic eruption was Colossians 1:15.

Jade Gibbons is an arts and business graduate with a keen interest in social issues and film-making. See https://www.jadegibbons246.com