April 21 - 30 - Great Fifty Days of Kindness - The Season of Easter 2024
April 21 – The Fruit of Kindness – Galatians 5:22 - By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
The Apostle Paul is furious with the Galatian church. He thinks that they have missed the point of grace by urging Gentile converts to be circumcised and keep the Mosaic law. The Galatians think that it is grace and Law together that save a person. Paul spends the majority of his letter addressing that problem which he sees as a theological slippery slope. While he is careful to maintain that we do not save ourselves by being good, he is also clear that Christians are to live holy lives as an expression of our gratitude and spiritual maturity. In Chapter 5 he paints a picture of the qualities of life lived by the broken ego’s standards, and then gives us the beautiful picture of what life lived in the Spirit looks like. We talk about these qualities as the fruit of the Spirit. They are what Spirit does in us because they are what Spirit is in us. The fruit of the Spirit is not a menu that can be pulled apart and chosen bit by bit. Some aspects may come to fruit faster, and more bountifully, in us than others, but they are all in us and a part of the path toward holiness. Kindness, Chrestotes in
Greek, is sometimes translated as goodness in the New Testament. Chrestotes refers not just to being sweet and not hurting people’s feeling when we could. It is more substantial than that. It means to be gracious, to find goodness easy, to display integrity, to be drawn to excellence in personal behavior and to be quick to support excellence in others. It is to be benevolently serviceable, especially when it would be easier not to be. Today as you ponder your adventure into kindness, ask yourself how you see this quality operative in your life. In what ways do you find kindness easy? How do you exhibit integrity and excellence in your personal behavior? Is there a way that you can be benevolently serviceable when it would be easier not to be? Today, let’s begin an experiment I call LARK. Lark stands for Little Acts of Random Kindness. What will be your LARK today?
Prayer: God of Kindness, we thank you for all of your goodness to us. We especially thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit to be our guide and inspiration for kindness. Help us today to look for ways to be kind and to act on them even if we would rather not. In Jesus’ holy name I pray. Amen.
April 22 – The Fruit of Kindness – 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 – We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: in great endurance, afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; in purity of knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute.
In the Corinthian letters, once again, Paul is writing to a troubled church. They are all over the place, not agreeing on much, discriminating against the poor in favor the wealthy, totally confused about money, sex and gender. They are fighting about almost everything and they don’t like each other much. And yet, they love the Lord and are most are sincerely trying to figure out how to live a holy life. In this section Paul is urging them not to allow the grace they have been given in Christ to come to nothing. He uses himself as a kind of object lesson to help them see that even during times of hardship and disagreement we have the capacity to live in kindness, love, patience, truth and the power of God. He reminds us that how we treat each other is what the world sees and our reputation for love and kindness (and all the other qualities listed) is our evangelism. I think of a conversation with a new friend who is ministering among the desperately poor in India. He said that when Christians try to speak of Christ to the non-Christian community, people do not want to listen. But when someone they do not know, who is a Christian, gives them a blanket, then they become more open to the Gospel because they have seen it at work. Today how can you display kindness and goodness to someone that you do not know and may never meet? How can you discern what a truly kind action might be? Can you offer kindness with no need for recognition or return? If things are hard for you, how do you maintain a kind and grateful heart? As you examine your heart and pray to grow in kindness, what will be your LARK (Little Act of Random Kindness)for today?
Prayer: Gracious God of Every Kindness, thank you today for the kindness with which you shower us in good times and in hard times. Help us today to be a vehicle for your kindness in the world. In Jesus’ holy name I pray. Amen.
April 23 – The Fruit of Kindness – Ephesians 2:7 – so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
When I was in college, I had the opportunity to participate in a summer study program at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. At the end of the summer we took an excursion to Greece and Turkey. I was able to visit the ancient city of Ephesus to which the book of Ephesians is addressed. It was a hot late summer day and the worn stone walkways in the great theater that once held 50,000 people, were warm and mellow feeling. I took off my sandals and felt the awe in my body of walking where faith ancestors walked. I remember tearing up and not having words to describe the mystical wonder I was feeling. Thinking back, I can’t help but reflect on that day in light of the the main theme of the Ephesian letter: that the church is the mystical body of Christ and one in all of its manifestations. Today’s verse comes in the midst of a section about what it is like to be made truly alive in Christ. The author paints a picture of grace as a way of life throughout all eternity. He tells us that sin is behind us. We are saved by grace and because of that we will always be in a place, and state of being, awash in the richness of God’s loving kindness toward us. It is a beautiful picture of transformation in this life and lavish kindness in the next. Since we have been saved by grace and incorporated into Christ, we both receive eternal kindness and offer grace and kindness to others in the here and now. If you live in a warm place, I invite you to take off your shoes for a moment today and walk on a sidewalk or ground warmed by the sun. If it is cold where you are, light a candle and feel it’s warmth as you hold your hands safely above the flame. Take a moment to thank God for the incredible eternal kindness of God’s grace. As you feel the wonder of that grace, ask God to show you have to share the kindness of forgiveness and grace with someone in particular today. What LARK (Little Act of Random Kindness) will you offer today?
Prayer: God of Grace and Kindness, we thank you for the wonders of living as your body in this life and in the glow of your love for all eternity. Help us today to feel the warmth of your kindness and find ways to share it with others. In Jesus’ holy name I pray. Amen.
April 24 – The Fruit of Kindness – Ruth 1:8 – But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dead with the dead and with me.”
The beautiful pastoral story that is the book of Ruth takes place during the period of the Judges, one of the bloodiest times in Israel’s history. It is the story of one family who becomes pivotal to God’s plan of salvation. The story begins when Naomi and Elimelech a couple from Bethlehem with two sons, leave their home to migrate to Moab to find a livelihood during a famine in Israel. Over time, they settle there and their two sons marry Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. The three men tragically die leaving their widows without resources and hope. Naomi is so engulfed in her grieve that she even changes her name to Mara which means Bitterness. She is determined to send her beloved daughters-in-law back to their birth families in the hope that new husbands can be found for them. But Ruth and Orpah refuse to go. Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem to see if a kinsman might help her. So the three women set out together, Naomi urging them to go home all the way. Eventually Orpah obeys and goes back to her family, but Ruth will not. She utters one of the most beautiful speeches in all of scripture: “Do not press me to leave you or to return from following after you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God, my God.” As the story, often hilariously, unfolds, Ruth becomes the ancestress of the great King David and ultimately of Jesus. She is the only person in the scriptures of whom the word, chesed (Loving kindness, loyalty) is used. She could not be shaken off of Naomi. Even in their shared grief, Ruth’s loving kindness allowed them to chart a new future. Sticking with people when their lives are filled with grief or torn asunder in some unexpected way is often the key ingredient to healing and new starts. Loving kindness like Ruth’s may take us into unexpected territory and it may seem easier to turn back, but the journey of kindness always bears fruit. Today, ask yourself if there is someone who needs your loving kindness today? Is there anyone who has become embittered with life? How might you walk with them in that journey? What LARK (Little Act of Random Kindness) might you offer today?
Prayer: Gracious God, we know that many of your beloved children have given up hope for a better life or have embraced bitterness as their daily food. Show me today how I can often loving kindness to one such person today. Give me courage to walk their journey with them. In Jesus’ holy name I pray. Amen.
April 25 – The Fruit of Kindness – Titus 3:4 – But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Titus was probably a Gentile from Antioch who was brought to Christ by the Apostle Paul a number of years after Paul himself was converted. Titus traveled with Paul at times and Paul regarded him as his own spiritual son. This letter offers advice on a number of church administrative issues such as the qualifications for elders and the specific duties of older and younger members. The section from which today’s verse is taken has to do with behavior, particularly what Godly behavior looks like in daily life. Paul cannot help but reiterate the main miracle of Christianity from his point of view: that we are saved by grace and not by works and that all of that is the result of the loving kindness of God. As he makes his point again, Paul urges believes to be careful to engage in good deeds. Paul understands good deeds to be kindness in action. One of the blessings of the spiritual life is that we have God’s own behavior to help us understand what loving kindness looks like. Paul goes on to tell us that Christian loving kindness that results in good deeds shuns strife, disputes and foolish factions. Think today about how you can show loving kindness and mercy to those with whom you disagree, even if the disagreement is about something very important to you. How might you show kindness to an opponent without either harsh judgment or a compromise of your own personal integrity? Is there a LARK that you could offer simply based on your shared humanity? Is there a good deed you can do? If it is hard to think of one that will not be too hard, or worse yet, dangerous, sit quietly with God for a moment and ask for guidance. Perhaps just lifting the other person up in sincere prayer can be your LARK for today.
Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you once again for your transforming loving kindness lavished upon us. Help us today to refrain from factions and divisions and to find the good works you have for us to perform today. In Jesus’ holy name I pray. Amen.
April 26 – The Fruit of Kindness – Acts 28:2 – The local people showed us unusual kindness.
Nearing the end of the book of Acts, we find that Paul and his companions have survived a shipwreck and many persecutions when they arrive safely on the shore of the island of Malta off the boot of what is now Italy. Paul is on his way to Rome. He is under arrest and scholars believe that it is likely that he dies outside of Rome several years later. Today’s verse gives us another look at the power and opportunity of kindness. When the bedraggled travelers arrive safely in Malta, the local people show exceptional kindness to them. The word Paul uses for local people, barbarians, likely refers to non-Christians. The word he uses for their kindness is philanthropia. That word refers to open hearted human friendship that is marked by good will, hospitality, tenderheartedness and a willingness to go out of one’s way to help others. In this incident, the locals build a fire and offer all kinds of aid and acceptance. After a very strange little incident with a viper that comes out of the branches when the fire is started, the locals are both curious and open to the gospel. It is important to note, however, that they offer their kindness before any of that. They offer kindness simply because it is needed. Sometimes we can come to think that kindness must be reserved for those who somehow deserve it, or with whom we agree or share fellowship. In this verse we are reminded that that is not the case. Not only that, when we offer kindness it often sets in motion the opportunity for relationships and sharing that change all involved. Can you think of a time when you received kindness from an unexpected source, perhaps from someone that you did not think highly of? Have you ever offered philanthropia type kindness, true open hearted friendship and a willingness to help, to someone that you did not think deserved it? If not, maybe today is the day! What LARK might you offer to a stranger or someone in need whose story you do not know?
Prayer: Gracious God of Loving Friendship, help us today to offer your kindness and help to any who are in need simply because they need it. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.
April 27 – The Fruit of Kindness as First Impressions – Col.3:12 – Therefore as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
When I was a little girl, I loved to play dress up. My mother often let me play in one of the gowns that she had for formal dances when she was in college. My favorite was a long magenta gown made of a substantial but slinky fabric that would have been worthy of Myrna Loy in the old Thin Man movies. It had thick gold braid at the waist and at the shoulders. I can still feel its weight on my little body and how prone I was to trip on it. I loved, as I imagined, looking like my beautiful and sophisticated Mama. I imagined that when my friends saw me in that dress, they would see a carbon copy of her. I always think of that memory when I return to this marvelously beautiful passage in the book of Colossians. Here the author describes the clothes we as Christians are to wear in order to be carbon copies of our savior Jesus. Sometimes we may find them ill-fitting and trip ourselves up a bit, but when we put them on, in a very real sense we are hoping that when people see us, they will see straight through us to the values of Jesus. In other words what the author of Colossians is telling us is that the qualities of Christ that are most visible in our lives are often people’s first impressions of Jesus himself. Kindness is close to the top of the list. Sadly though, sometimes kindness is not the first impression that we give. Help us to notice what we are reflecting to others and how they feel when they are around us. In what ways today can you ‘put on’ genuine compassionate kindness as you go about your daily tasks? What LARK will you offer others today in your quiet quest to look and act like Jesus?
Prayer: Gracious Jesus, you are our model and we long for your values to be reflected in our lives so that you may love others through us. Help us today to choose kindness as our clothing and thereby help others to receive your kindness in their lives. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.
April 28 – The Kindness of Listening – Luke 8:47-48 – When the woman realized that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
As a person who has dealt with chronic health problems since childhood in a country without universal health care, I have always identified with this unnamed woman who spent all she had on one healer after another and yet grew worse and worse. What touches me most about this story, however, is not her miraculous healing. It is not even her amazing courage to reach out to Jesus or her hope that this time it might be different. Although those do amaze me. What touches me most is that after she reaches out and receives healing, Jesus seeks her out for conversation. He knew the healing was not complete until he listened to her story! That was when he declared that she was truly well and not just cured. He knew that only then could he send her into her new life in peace. Jesus listened to her and, in the listening, saw what she was made of. I absolutely love the kindness of that! Sometimes we focus so much on outcomes that we discount the intimacy of relationships that take healing to wellness. Jesus knew this inside out. He was a story teller and a listener. His stories helped people connect with both God and their own selves. When that happens some sort of healing always results. What is beautiful about our scripture is that in Jesus’ listening, he does not judge the woman. He doesn’t question why she, an unclean person, would reach out to touch him? He doesn’t ask what she might have done to cause her distress. He doesn’t give advice. He just listens, sees her whole truth as she opens up in vulnerability. He declares her as close to him as his own child and takes healing to wholeness. Is there anyone in your life that needs the kindness of your listening ear today? Are there any individuals in your home or neighborhood that you have not taken time to really check in with lately? How and to whom can you offer the LARK of listening today? When you decide to listen keep Jesus’ model in mind. Don’t judge. Don’t chastise. Don’t try to fix. Just listen. God will do the rest.
Prayer: Gracious God of the Listening ear, help us today to listen mindfully to those around us. Use us as you will to bring healing and wholeness to all we meet. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.
April 29 – The Kindness of Standing with the Oppressed – Exodus 3:7 – Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”
In this glorious passage in the book of Exodus, God gives Moses his most important mission. God wants Moses to go back to Egypt, the country where he was raised as a prince and fled after murdering an Egyptian soldier for beating a Hebrew slave, and tell the Pharoah to set the slaves free. Granted, it took talking shrubbery to get Moses’ attention as he was going about his ordinary day tending his father-in-law’s sheep. And granted, Moses would take some convincing of his suitability for the task and an assurance of God’s identity before he would set out. But still. What a moment. What a mission. Moses would have to go home, face the demons he thought he had outrun, and the powers that cowed the world to accomplish it. I imagine that the only thing stronger than Moses fear and reluctance was God’s incredible compassion. This passage gives us a picture of the compassionate kindness of God and the powerful kindness of standing with the oppressed. Allowing ourselves to be useful vehicles of God’s kindness and release is one of the most important acts of bravery and kindness that any of us can offer in our own lives. From a Biblical point of view, there can never be a justification for oppression in any form. It leaves God weeping and looking for people through which to address the issue. One of the kindest actions any Christian can take is to stand with, use what power and spiritual gifts we possess, to speak for the voiceless to the powerful. Are there those in your community who suffer from oppression in any form? Is there injustice in housing, work, food security, access to decision-making? If so, perhaps your LARK for today is to be a little Moses to stand for and with those who are being exploited. What is one small specific act of solidarity kindness that you might undertake today?
Prayer: Gracious God, lead us in kindness and solidarity with those who suffer from the hands, or simply from the mindless blindness, of others. Show us what to do and where to go, just as you did Moses. Equip us with your presence to go where you lead. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.
April 30 – The Kindness of Sharing a Burden – Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
These beloved verses are poignant and rich in kindness. Jesus sees the fatigue of his followers. He knows that their lives are hard and that they sometimes feel that they can no longer carry their burdens. They are exhausted. We know how to feel that way too. Sometimes our family members suffer and we feel overwhelmed with trying to help them while keeping body and soul together ourselves. Sometimes our bosses are harsh taskmasters and we are worn out from the ways they push their problems onto us and expect more than is humanly possible. Sometimes the burden of past memories and shame is so heavy that we can hardly lift our eyes and feel that we must shoulder it all ourselves. Sometimes ends don’t meet and we find the burden of having to juggle our child’s school fees and giving them nutritious food a burden we just can’t handle. Sometimes there is too much change too fast and we can’t keep up. Sometimes there is not enough change fast enough and we are exhausted from trying to drag ourselves, our organizations, our communities forward. We know what it is like to be weary and heavy laden. The kindness of Jesus here is obvious on so many levels. First of all, he notices. It is powerfully kind for someone to notice when we are under the burden of too much. Second, he offers kind assistance. I think it is important to notice that he does not take the burdens from us completely. Rather, he shoulders them with us. He puts his strong shoulders, God’s strong shoulders, in the yoke with us. Together the burden is lightened and we find that we are able to meet the challenges that once exhausted us easily and with joy. Partnering with Jesus in this life does not remove all our challenges. Rather, it gives us the added strength to meet them and to find joyful companionship in doing so. As always, what Jesus does for us, we are invited to do for others. Can you think of anyone today who needs you to come alongside them and help them carry a load that is too heavy for them? What load carrying LARK can you commit to today?
Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for your loving kindness. Help us today to accept your invitation to come to you and allow you to help us carry the heavy loads of our lives. Help us, once refreshed by you, to offer our help to others who find their burdens too difficult to bear alone. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.