The Gospel of Kindness

Scripture — Luke 8:46 (NRSV)

“But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me, for I noticed that power had gone out from me.’”

Devotion

I recently took a deep dive into the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 during our Eastertide sermon series. I have only ever heard one sermon that encompasses the entirety of the fruit. It has been a rich experience to spend a whole week meditating on each one of them and allowing the fruit to sink deep into our souls. Halfway through the series, I began to sense that what the Spirit is calling us into is truly to forge the character of Christ in us. It is the Spirit that cultivates this Christlike character because the fruit of the Spirit is Christ’s heart. And this is the prophetic witness of the presence of Christ in the life of the church!

As we prepared a whole liturgy and sermon around the fruit of kindness, our worship leader jokingly said he could NOT find one song on kindness! I laughed and replied, “You’re kidding me?!” Kindness is a cousin of compassion, and the life and ministry of Jesus hinges on his compassionate heart.

Jesus embodies the ultimate act of kindness in the story of the woman with the twelve year flow of blood. Jesus is on his way to visit another sick child when he is interrupted by a brave woman. I am always grieved as I imagine the isolation and loneliness this sister must have experienced. Under Levitical law, she was considered unclean. Not only that, everything and everyone she touched would also be unclean. People and objects would have to go through a whole act of purification just to resolve the matter of her uncleanliness.

She dares to come close and to draw near to the very one who is cloaked in kindness. Power goes out of him. When you think of it, it goes out of his cloak, not even his skin. She dares not touch him. Was it out of respect? Her faith just needed the fringe of his garment. The hemorrhage stops immediately.

And just like that, the power of his kindness transfigures everyone and everything he touches. When I read this, I imagine that her womb is made well. Her iron and platelet levels rise to normal limits. Her strength picks up. Her fatigue gives way to renewed strength. She can embrace others once again after years of isolation. Even objects she touches on a regular basis are cleansed. She can have people over to sit at her dining table, eat from her utensils, have a drink from her wine cups.

This is the gospel of kindness. We are invited to embody and be cloaked with this kindness ourselves. Maybe then this world will be made well.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Best of Daily Reflections: The Unclean Jesus Shows Compassion.