The 29th word in my Lent lexicon is
KINDNESS.
Kindness is a small word. It carries no great intellectual, theological or spiritual weight. While we might admit the value of kindness many of us would not even think of it as part of a spiritual practice. It doesn’t speak of grand plans, actions or gestures. This can mean means that it’s easily overlooked.
It often relates to small things that we do for one another during the day that we don’t always even notice. Today’s responsorial psalm (144/145), provided the perfect opportunity to reflect this often overlooked practice. The psalmist writes:
“The Lord is kind and full of compassion.”
Often it’s something we recommend to little children, but don’t really think about allowing it consciously to shape our own practices or interactions. I can’t help feeling that this attitude means we miss out on a really valuable practice.
It seems to me that it’s the “smallness” of kindness that makes it possible for us to act on it. To be kind require a lot of energy or a huge amount of resources. It doesn’t mean we have to have answers or solve problems.
Kindness asks one very simple, straightforward thing from us… that we put others before ourselves. To be kind all we have to do is ask ourselves what would make another person feel more comfortable, more loved, more welcome in any given situation.
Yet, those small, seemingly insignificant actions can change lives and lighten burdens in ways we could never imagine.
Where is Christ inviting you to be kind this Lent?