Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
A Sermon Wrapped in a Scarf

A Sermon Wrapped in a Scarf

Last updated on: October 11, 2018 at 7:54 pm by Mary Pezzulo

A Sermon Wrapped in a Scarf 2018-10-11T19:54:16-04:00 Mary Pezzulo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

There was a sale, awhile ago, at one of my favorite online shops, the exact same week I had a little extra money. I was excited. I put in an order for a scarf I’d been longing for at Wrapunzel, and it shipped very quickly as it always does. I don’t know how the ladies who run their shop stay so organized and professional, but they ship things more quickly than Amazon half the time.

I opened the package and unwrapped my new scarf; I smelled it, admiring how it didn’t smell like that disinfectant they use at the thrift shop where I usually buy scarves and things. I fanned it out luxuriously. The receipt fell out of the folds of the scarf as I did this, with a cursive “Enjoy!” and a heart drawn on the bottom in Sharpie. Someone always hand-writes a note on the receipt to go with the Wrapunzel scarves.

Two business cards and another card fell out of the folds of the scarf. The Wrapunzel ladies always tuck little cards into their orders as well.

The card that wasn’t a business card had an adage written on it in fancy, scalloped letters: “Kindness is not a random act. It’s a lifestyle.”

I was enchanted.

I don’t usually like platitudes and adages. I’m cynical about such things. But I liked that one. I put it on my fridge.

I don’t think real kindness can ever be a random act.

A random act is something you do on a whim, without forethought or planning. Tossing your pen in the air and catching it while you think what to write on a shopping list is a random act. Stopping at a roadside stand to buy sweet corn because you happened to see it on the way home is a random act. Saying “horses” when you see horses is a random act.

Of course you might stumble upon a benevolent action, when you act randomly. Drop a handful of change, and the buttons and lint you happened to have in that pocket, in a beggar’s cup as you pass by. That’s a random act, and it might make you feel like you’ve been kind. It might make you feel good about yourself all day. You might even end that day feeling that you’ve really become a kind person.

But if you rely upon random acts like that, I don’t think you’ll ever become kind.

I think you can only become kind by the grace of God, and by a conscious process of cooperating with that grace.

And this is deadly serious, because it’s part of being Christian to be kind. Kindness is part of being perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect, of following the Golden Rule. It’s not possible to be Christian and skip over being kind; it’s one of the things we are supposed to do.

To be a kind person is not to be random, or randomly benevolent. It’s to be loving, merciful and generous to the people you encounter. And in order to do that, you have to encounter people in the first place. You have to notice them. You can’t just dance through life randomly. You have to be alert. You have to look around you, really intend your actions, and choose to be kind. Hopefully, it will one day become a habit, but it can never become random or a series of random acts.

Randomness is dropping pennies in a beggar’s cup. Kindness is looking that beggar in the eye when you give and saying “Have a nice day.” Kindness is asking if there’s anything she needs right now you can get for her, like a new pair of socks or a water bottle, and then getting it. Kindness is bringing her a packed lunch the next morning on your way in to work, or taking her to lunch with you at noon.

Randomness is pulling over to buy sweet corn on a whim on your way home. Kindness is being sure to be patient with the person who rings up your purchase, and to say “thank you very much” as if you mean it. Kindness is finding a friend to share your random special meal with, or deliberately buying enough for two and giving half to someone who would like it.

Randomness is playing with your pen as you write your shopping list. Kindness is budgeting ahead of time so that you can always pick up one item for the soup kitchen or food pantry whenever you shop for yourself. Kindness is smiling patiently and saying “Excuse me” as you squeeze your cart past an inconsiderate person who stopped in the middle of the aisle. Kindness is asking the disabled person with the battery-powered shopping cart if they need help reaching something on a high shelf.

Kindness requires awareness. It’s anything but random.

I resolve to be kind.

And I can’t wait until I get to buy another scarf, and see if there’s another little sermon wrapped inside.

(image via Pixabay)

Previous Post

October 8, 2018

What Not to Say When Someone Tells You They're Leaving the Church

Next Post

October 12, 2018 Christ Stands With the Abused, not Abusers

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Abuse Advent America American Christianity angel angels Annunciation Appalachia apparition apparition chaser apparition chasers apparition culture art art review babies baby baby Jesus Bad Lip Reading bad statue contest bath beauty Bible story blog blogkeeping blood book review Brandon Sanderson breastfeeding bus Catholic catholic conspiracy alarmism Catholic Oppositional Disorder Charismatic Renewal Charlie the Cat chastity Christ Christian idenitity Christianity and Judaism Chronic Illness clean clothing COD piece comedy compassion conscience conspiracy theory conversion cop-on-black violence Crucifixion cry of the poor culture Daesh Daily Saints death death penalty devotional diaconate diaper diapers dirty disability Donald Trump Dorothy Day dream drugs Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity education election election update Elsewhere on Patheos empathy environment Fear feminism film review fish flashback fluffy buns food Franciscan University of Steubenville Friendship Room fun Gabriel gardening gospel hair-splitting Heaven hell heresy Hillary Clinton history Holly the Witch Holy Spirit holy war Homeschooling homosexuality horror human dignity humor Icon idol immigrants infection inter-religious dialogue Interpretation of Scripture Islam Jesus Jihad Joseph joy laity and lay vocations lamb dinner laundry lent lgbtq literature love manners Mary Medicine and Science Meditation mercy mess milk misogyny Missouri monasticism monster motherhood mourn with those mourn movies movis music mystery nature neurodiversity New Pro-Life Movement news nonsense nostalgia O antiphons obituary objectification Ohio Valley Ordinary Time ordination Ordo Amoris parable paradox Passover peanut butter personal beliefs pets philosophy Planet Charismatic poetry politics polls poop Pope Francis Pope Leo power in the Church prayer prayer request prayers preferential option for non-violence president presidential election priest primary private revelation pro-life prophecy Public face of Catholicism Pure Flix Q and A race racism random rape rape. sexuality reader's request Reckoners refugee religious trauma ressurrection Right to life Saints saints and celebrations same-sex same-sex marriage satire scandal secular feasts seder Seven Joys Seven Last Words sex sexual ethics sexuality silencing six months skid row slavery social justice Speculative fiction spiritual abuse spoon stain story suffering suffrage suffragette Sunday Gospel temple Tenebrae Responsories Terror the exorcist The Friendship Room The New Pro-Life Movement Things I Learned on the Internet tin cup traffic true story tv review Uncategorized USCCB vice and temptation violence Virtue virtue and vice war Way of the Cross whimsy whole life women's ordination work of mercy Year A

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Psalm begins with the words, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", later quoted by Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Psalm 46 Psalm 22 Psalm 1 Psalm 110