"Bits fall off Planes!"
Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.
Ecclesiastes 11:1
Before the pandemic hit, I flew over to England once a month for work. The flight home was always the last flight out of Manchester, but thankfully I had enough time for a coffee and sandwich. The airport was always busy with people arriving and departing to destinations near and far and finding a seat could be tricky. However, in the departure lounge, there is a huge glass wall that is partially obscured by an advertising billboard. Directly behind it, is a small seating area that overlooks the terminal gates. Being out of the way it is usually empty, and the place where I would go to eat my sandwich and watch the planes come and go.
On Mayday 2019, I had just finished eating my sandwich when two young Jewish men. (Hasidic Jews, who wear flat-brimmed hats and sport long sideburn locks) They came and stood beside me and began to read from the scriptures while rocking back and forward. I pretended not to notice, but at the same time I offered up my own prayer.
My prayer was for the Lord to create an opportunity for a conversation to take place, and to give me the right words to say. Because our tongues can be a double-edged sword that can do more harm than good!
After a while, one of the young men stopped rocking and quietly spoke to his friend. He then left the area. Meanwhile, I just did what I always do and watched the planes. Airport activity continued as normal but when an airport land Rover, you know the type, blue and white livery, and flashing lights, pulled up just outside the window.
The young man turned to me, looking very alarmed, and nervously asked
“what’s going on?”
“Pardon I replied?”
He pointed to the Land Rover, “Oh that’s normal, they drive about checking the runway”.
“Checking the runway for what”,
“Oh, for bits and pieces that fall off the planes”,
“BITS FALL OFF PLANES!”
He looked terrified and I realised that I'd just made him even more terrified about flying than he already was!.
“Ach don’t worry, just small things, like bits of rubber that come off the tyres, the runways need to be cleared just in case the next plane flings them up into the engines, don’t worry it’s all part of airport safety checks designed to keep us safe”.
At this, he appeared to relax. “Have you never flown before? I asked,
“No this is my first flight”. (no kidding I thought to myself)
“Travelling far?”
He smiled, "I’m going to Israel to train to become a Rabbi".
“Wow that’s amazing, on the train into the airport today I got an email to say that I had passed the exams that allow me to preach in Church. I hope to go to Israel one day and see all the places we read about in the scriptures”.
He nodded back, still smiling but looking a bit nervous.
“I love reading the Prophets, what about you?”
“Oh we haven’t begun to read the prophets yet”.
Sensing that he was closing up and didn’t want a religious conversation, I quickly said "I love reading the Jewish national Hymn book, you know, the book of Psalms", he smiled again, I then said that I had to write an essay about the first creation story in “Bereshith” (Hebrew for Beginnings or Genesis). He looked surprised when I said this, and I could almost hear him thinking, does he know Hebrew?
Having his attention again, I quickly followed up about the “Ruach” (Spirit or Breath) moving over the face of the waters and how the Lord was truly “Gadol Adonai” (Great God).
At this, he asked, “do you know Hebrew?”
“Sadly no, just a few words, I picked them up online on the website OneForIsrael. It’s a website run by Messianic Jews, who believe that Jeshua, Jesus was the Moshiach”.
“What’s the website called again,” he asked
“OneForIsrael” I replied, and he repeated it over to himself.
At that point, I heard my flight being announced,
“look it’s been great chatting with you but I gotta go, and don’t worry about your flight tonight, relax and enjoy it, flying is lovely, you’ll get there ok. But maybe on your flight, you’ll find some time to read Psalm 22 and maybe some Isaiah?”
Smiling back, perhaps relieved that I was leaving, he said “maybe I will”, with that, a smile and a nod, I left to catch my plane.
I’ll never forget this encounter, I didn’t even ask the young man his name, but I believe that God created the opportunity for us to meet and have a conversation.
On my flight home, I thought about how my words could have caused so much harm. If I had tried to impose my faith and ideas from a position of “I’m right you’re wrong”, what would I have achieved? nothing. But thankfully by knowing just a few words of Hebrew, they provided a chink of space for commonality to be found allowing a brief conversation to take place.
Looking back, I pray that the small crumb of bread that was cast on the waters that day will be found after many days, and by it, a seed of God’s Word will be planted in that young man's heart that will bring forth fruit.
I’ll never know this side of eternity but hopefully, I’ll meet the young man once again in Heaven.
Have a great day and God bless,
Trev.
PS, if we ever meet again in this life, I'll be sure to let you all know. :-)