Lighten Up

Michelangelo experienced an epiphany while lying on his back, staring at a blank section of the Sistine Chapel. This place is absolutely humorless. All day long, I’m subjected to the droning of Gregorian chants. Nobody ever laughs or even smiles. The priests, monks, and nuns dress in lackluster clothes that purposely hide any suggestion of their human form. It must be the most depressing place on the planet.

The people who populate this place are a definite reflection of their surroundings. Most of them don’t realize that I’m lying on this scaffolding, twenty feet in the air when they come slogging in. The acoustics in the chapel are such that I overhear most of what’s said below me, and quite frankly, it’s very dull. Complaints about the food, about a fellow priest, or a new proclamation that’s been handed down. A common phrase is, “I’m sure that’s not the way God would want it done.” They know what God wants, how?

Well, I’m in a position to put some color in their lives, and that’s what I’m going to do. This Sistine Chapel ceiling will pop with color. No more drab décor in here. I’ll show scenes from judgment day and the creation in vivid, living color. In the center of it all, I’ll depict God extending his arm towards Adam, finger extended. Adam will be reaching for it. Hidden in the background art will be God’s words to Adam, “Pull my finger and see what happens.”