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The Rev. Tambria E. Lee, Associate for Parish Ministry

The Episcopal Youth Community held its 7th annual "Random Acts of Kindness Night" last weekend. Youths love it. It gives them a chance to practice giving and observe receiving in a variety of settings. Sixty folks swarmed Franklin Street laden with flowers, bags of cookies (individually wrapped!), pens and highlighters, and cash that as a group they would decide how to use on behalf of others. Vignettes from Sunday night include two junior high boys dropping a bouquet of flowers at the foot of a bride being photographed in front of the Old Well, Oreos and highlighters offered to students in the union, and high school students anonymously paying for a cup of coffee.

What I love about this event are the self-revelations that emerge. Truly we all learn something new every year. Would the bride remember this random act of kindness? Should we not have given the money to a homeless person instead of letting that rich woman with all the jewels pick it up? Didn't our mothers teach us not to take food from strangers much less offer it? Our students also found themselves saying things like ... what if they think the flowers have Anthrax on them? Telling isn't it -- about their processing of world threats?

When we arrived back at the church they were anxious to talk about their experiences ... in particular attitudes about receiving. One young man reported that a woman swatted the flower out of her way, leaving him feeling rejected. Another reported that when he told his would-be-recipients that we were with a church group, they were happy to take whatever we offered. A free lesson in evangelism I suppose. Another said she felt uncomfortable doing something for a stranger. A spirited discussion ensued and folks were filled with ideas about what to give away next year or even tomorrow at school.

'Tis the season for gratitude ... for thanksgiving, for giving even in the midst of the "changes and chances of this mortal life." 'Tis the season for random acts of kindness in a world where God's economy isn't the economy of the land or Osama Bin Laden. Ten thousand acts of hatred cannot undo even one act of love. Sometimes gratitude, thanksgiving, giving are difficult, especially when nothing seems able to ease or fix ... like humility, they aren't things you announce or pretend. Giving of self and possessions and spirit is real, and it comes from believing that you are loved enough and hence able to let go of enough to reach out in love and concern for others. It is the work we have all been given to do. In accepting this work initiated at Baptism, your example may be a sign of Christ's love to this sinful and broken world. As Michael Curry remarked only last week in a still small voice ... "We can and do make a difference as Christians." Don't forget it.

© 2001: Chapel of the Cross