The Official Writing Challenge
BACK TO
CHALLENGE
MAIN
INSTRUCTIONS
how it works
submission rules
guidelines for
choosing a level
ENTRIES
submit your entry
read current entries
read past entries
challenge winners
Our Daily Devotional HERE
Place it on your site or
receive it daily by email.


TRUST JESUS TODAY

  • Share
  • how it works
  • Submit
Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Purple (11/05/09)
The very attractive woman seated herself on the chair assigned to her. She adjusted the position of the palla - the garment worn over the stola which was the long tunic which Roman women wore. The palla fit over the left shoulder and fell crosswise down the body to about the knee of the right leg, then went crosswise up the back to the left shoulder. This palla was richly done - very costly - meticulously woven and dyed purple - symbol of status in Roman society. Just the dye for the garment cost a fortune.

This particular woman was the great-granddaughter of Herod the Great - the Herod who tried to kill the infant Jesus. Her name was Bernice. Her appearance was stunning, and was in sharp contrast to the the soldiers and bureaucrats gathered in the Hall of Justice. She dominated the room, and in the sunlight coming through the window, and falling on her, her white dress and purple palla made her shine almost like a goddess.

The procurator - Festus, by name, gave the order to bring the prisoner before the tribunal.

The man, a Jew, stood before them, and Festus opened a document and read from it.

“I have no charges against this man. The Jews from Jerusalem wanted to kill him, and he appealed to Caesar. Rome will think I’m a fool if I send him for trial when he has not been accused of something. What can we do?”

Bernice fixed her eyes on Paul when Agrippa, her brother, gave Paul permission to speak.

“If he starts on that morality issue like some of those Jewish preachers do, I’ll kill him myself, she thought. “We won’t have to ship him to Rome.”

Paul began speaking.

“Who is this boring Jew I’m listening to?” Bernice thought to herself. “He’s going on and on about some epiphany he had years ago. Why do I have to listen to him? This is not why I came to Caesarea. I came to Caesarea to relax and do some shopping; not to hear a deranged ex-rabbi and lawyer. Why is Agrippa so interested in him? He’s raving on about his vision and how it changed his life and how he is commissioned by God to carry the message to the world. Why should I care about any of it?
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE

JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
This article has been read 551 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Marie Fink
11/14/09
Expensive Pallas aren't everything I suppose. This has the makings of a historical fiction/nonfiction account of this time period. Keep writing.
Barbara Culler 
11/15/09
I feel like there should be more to this story.
stanley Bednarz
11/18/09
Interesting view given. A glimpse from the other side of a great moment in christian history. Nicely done.
Virgil Youngblood 
11/19/09
I loved your view-point and detail. Wish you had written more; you had word count room to spare. Good job.