"How Much Do I Owe You"

People may not remember what you did, or what you said

but they will always remember how you made them feel.

Question for Today 

                                             "How Do You Make Others Feel"

Sept 6, 2015  Readings:  Romans 12: 1-3  Matthew 13: 24-30

The story is told of city cab driver Aaban Kaiser, who described his occupation as career for someone who wanted no boss.  What he didn't realize was that it was also a life with ministry.  Because Aaban drove the night shift, his cab became a moving confessional.  Passengers climbed in, sat behind him in total anonymity, and told him about their lives. He encountered people of all walks of life and their life stories would sometimes amaze him, make him laugh and sometimes even weep.  But none touched him more than a woman He picked up late one August night.   The hour made him assume he was being sent to pick up some parters, or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or a worker heading to an early morning shift .  When he arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.  Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, then drive away.  But Aaban had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation.  Unless a situation smelled of danger, Aaban always went to the door.  He thought to himself this passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, so he walked to the door and knocked.   "Just a minute", answered a frail, elderly voice.  Aaban could hear something being dragged across the floor.  After a long pause, the door opened.   A small woman in her 80s he thought, stood before him.  She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.  By her side was a small nylon suitcase.  The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years.  All the furniture was covered with sheets, and the wall were bear.   "Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said.  he took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.  She took his arm and they walked slowly toward the curb.  She kept thanking him for his kindness.  "It's nothing", he told her.  "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would like to be treated".  "Oh, you're such a good boy", she said.  When they got in the cab, she gave him and address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"  "It's not the shortest way," he answered quickly.  "Oh, I don't mind," she said.  "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice care facility".   "I don't have any family left," she continued.  "The doctor says I don't have very long."   He quietly reached over and shut off the meter.  "What route would you like me to take?" he asked.  For the next two hours, the cabbie drove through out the down town.  She showed him the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.  They drove through the neighbourhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newly-weds.  She had him pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.  Sometimes she'd ask him to stop in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.  With the first hint of morning on the horizon, she suddenly said, "It’s time now,   let's go."  We drove in silence to the address she had given him.   Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up.  They were kind and gentle, watching her every move, and appeared to be expecting her.  He opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door.  The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.  "How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse. "Nothing," he said.  "You have to make a living," she answered."  There are other passengers," he responded.  Almost without thinking, he bent and gave her a hug.  She held onto him tightly.  "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said." Thank you." He squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light.  Behind him, a door shut.   For him it was the sound of the closing of a life.   He didn't pick up any more passengers that shift.  He drove aimlessly, lost in thought.  For the rest of that day, he could hardly talk.  What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?  What if he had refused to take the call, or had honked once, then driven away?  On a quick review, Aaban didn't think that he have done anything more important in my life.  Something I found interesting was that the name Aaban is a Muslim name meaning, that of an Angle.  
We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments aren't we.  But great moments often catch us unaware -beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.  You have heard it said before - but hear it again.... People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.  Here in lay a great opportunity for us to reflect upon these good questions.

What kind of love do we Christians show to self and to others?  How do I personally make people feel?  Do I treat and accept people of all walks of life.   And if I don’t, why?   Is my reason one that will hold up in the light of eternity?  We all have a calling, a ministry just like the cabbie, and it is to minister to one another as brothers and sisters regardless of race, colour, religion or sexual orientation.   We are also called to form a community of faith where all may sit at the table together. 
You all recall King Arthur and his knights, they had a round table, do you know why?    So that no one might be seen as at the head or the foot, and so it should be in our lives.  The only head we have is Jesus, and as our relationship grows with and in him as we will learn to love and care for one another unconditionally.  

The test of our faith - the test of our community lies in how we respond to one another.    Here in lies the message from today readings.    Let us enter into prayer together as we read: 

Dear Anointed One help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go.  Flood our souls with your spirit and life.  Penetrate and possess our whole being so our lives may become a radiance of yours. Shine through us, so that every soul we come in contact with, may feel your presence within us.  Let them look up and see no longer us, but see your light, the light you gave to us.  Stay with us - and strengthen us so we shall begin to shine as you shine.   

                                                       "Children of The Light "