Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Parable of the Guests (Luke 14:7-14) (02/29/24)
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TITLE: The Poor Must Know | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
03/04/24 -
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The flight steward peered over her shoulder. “Something wrong?” he asked.
“I’ve got seat 2A listed for Agnes Bojaxhiu of Macedonia,” she said.
“That is clearly not an Agnes sitting in that place. I don’t want to wake the man if there’s been some misunderstanding.”
Another figure stepped up behind them. His military dress identified him as a major-general in the Indian forces. “Are arrangements in place to receive our guest?”
“You mean Agnes Bojaxhiu?” the flight attendant asked. “Who is she anyway?”
“Only the winner of this year’s noble prize given yesterday at the Aula of the University of Oslo,” he said.
“Is she some kind of scientist or writer?” the stewardess asked.
“Not at all,” the major general said. “She’s our champion of humanity, the winner of the Jewel of India. The Alfred Noble Award is given to five persons who benefit humanity the most in the areas of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. She is truly one of our own.”
“Isn’t there a cash prize for that award?” the steward said. “No wonder she can afford first class.”
“She actually refused the banquet in her honor and asked that the cash prize be given to help the poor.”
“Well, who in the world is sitting in seat 2A?” the stewardess asked. “And which one of us is going to ask him to move?”
“That would be me,” the major general said. He stepped forward and prodded the shoulder of the hulking giant sprawled out on the spacious seat. “Excuse me, sir. Please provide your documentation and boarding pass.”
“Go away!” the voice from 2A commanded.
“I’m afraid you are in the wrong seat,” the major general insisted.
“Please produce your boarding pass so we can confirm where you belong.”
“I said go away!” the man said. “I’ll be contacting your superiors. There’s no one on this flight more important than me. I deserve this seat.”
A flurry of noise at the loading door drew the stewardess away. A diminutive figure in a simple white sari with three blue stripes bowed low in prayer. There was a long line behind her.
“I’m sorry ma’am,” the stewardess said. “We have a full plane and we’re expecting someone important any moment. You’ll have to come aboard and find your place. The back of the plane can be accessed down this aisle.”
The nun clutched her small garment bag and moved into the cramped aisle without a word.
“She’s with the Sisters of Charity,” a flight attendant whispered to the new stewardess. “The three blue stripes represent her vows to choose poverty, obedience, and chastity. There’s a cross sewn on the left shoulder reminding them that Jesus is the key to the heart. The sarees are sewn by lepers in Titagarh and distributed to nuns all over the world.”
“She doesn’t look Indian,” the new stewardess said. “I wonder why she’s coming to India?”
A moment later, the major general arrived. “Okay, we’ve moved the man. He was some millionaire from Calcutta thinking he could bully his way into any seat he wanted. He says he’s a major investor in Air India and we’ll hear from our superiors for this humiliation. Now, where’s Mother Teresa?”
“Who?”
“Mother Teresa!” the major general said. “Who do you think belongs in seat 2A? The woman who said that ‘the poor must know that we love them.’”
“I thought it was for Anges.”
“Yes, that’s her birth name. She just won the noble prize and the committee has secured that seat for her. She probably won’t want it but sometimes the honorable need to be honored.”
“She wouldn’t happen to be a five-foot-tall nun, would she?”
“Yes! That’s her. Have you seen her?”
“I sent her to the back of the plane.”
“You what? How could you humiliate someone like that?”
“She didn’t object.”
“Of course not. She’s Mother Teresa. Now, go get her and restore her to the seat of honor before that millionaire tries to talk her out of it.”
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