I wrote this article over one month ago about an experience that happened this past summer. I pray that events like this one do not become more frequent, given the current atmosphere in our country.
An elderly woman boarded the airplane and walked past me on the way to her seat. A few seconds later, she returned and stood next to me looking confused. The flight attendant asked for her boarding pass. She was assigned to the seat next to me but a young lady was mistakenly sitting there. The flight attendant invited the woman to take a seat in the row ahead of me.
The gentleman sitting in front of me begrudgingly stood to allow the disoriented woman to pass and take the window seat. The man however never sat back down. Before he requested the flight attendant for another seat, I saw a problem brewing in his eyes. He was not going to sit next to the non-English speaking woman who was dressed in long black robes, with her head covered and only part of her face showing. As the man prepared to take his new seat, he looked at the woman and almost mockingly said, “have a nice flight!”
My mouth was open in shock and disgust. The event I witnessed was so absurd that it appeared as a comedy that had still not reached its conclusion. I was scandalized. The man had made a judgement perhaps based on his fear of the unfamiliar. The woman’s dress was enough for him to refuse sitting next to her. The woman sat and got comfortable. Her eyes tired and glazed, it was evident she had just completed a long flight. She appeared worried, yet unaware of the disturbance her presence had caused.
The man’s departure provided me with the solution to a problem I was facing; while at the same time gave me an opportunity to be charitable. The young lady sitting next to me was wearing strong perfume to which I am allergic (please, whenever you travel, especially by airplane, do not use perfume and the many who suffer from allergies will be grateful). A few minutes after the man vacated his seat, I moved up a row and sat next to the elderly woman. During the flight I helped her lower her tray table and get the correct immigration form. She slept most of the flight, sometimes even covering her face completely with her robes. I tried to ascertain where she was from but did not succeed. I did find out she was going to Rochester, New York. As we deplaned, I carried one of her two heavy, battered bags to the jetway.
We are all human beings. Regardless of our many differences, we share the same human experience and have been created by the same God who calls us to be charitable to one another by finding His presence in our neighbor. Why run away looking for another seat when Christ waits for us to sit next to him? Prejudice and fear have no place in the heart of a Christian. Above all things is the law of charity.
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