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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with The Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Newcastle.

Good morning.

Today is apparently ‘random acts of kindness day’. A couple of years ago my husband and I were on holiday. After a long walk in the hills, we set off back to our cottage. Driving alongside a lake, we saw in a lay-by there was an inviting looking coffee van. A hot drink and a cake were exactly what we needed at that point, and we pulled in, parked up and stood in the queue. It was only when we reached the front, that we saw a sign saying, ‘cash only’. Feeling rather sorry for ourselves, we returned to our car discussing our plight. We got in the car and were just about to drive off, when a lady tapped on the window waving a £10 note. ‘Here you are’, she said, ‘we’d love to buy you a coffee’. We were overwhelmed by this generosity, and tried hard to refuse, but she was having none of it. We went back to the coffee van and proceeded to enjoy some delicious coffee and cake.

Kindness comes in many different forms, and it’s not always about things that we might do. In one of his letters to Christian communities in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul writes that the members of the community should clothe themselves in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. These are attributes of character that enable us to be formed in the right attitude whatever our role in life. I hope that today, I can both seek to be kind, and welcome gestures of kindness that others might show to me with a deep sense of gratitude and joy.

God who in Jesus Christ shows us compassion, humility and gentleness help me to be kind this new day.

Amen.