Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us around it.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, May 7, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I wonder that Paul found the islander’s kindness “unusual.” Was it not common decency to receive a bunch of people who washed up from a shipwreck and see to their needs? Is that sort of kindness unusual today?
I recently read the wonderful book Hope In The Dark, by Rebecca Solnit. In it she writes, “The assumption behind much disaster response by the authorities…is that civilization is a brittle façade, and behind it lies our true nature as monstrous, selfish, chaotic, and violent or as timid, fragile, and helpless. In faced, in most disasters most people are calm, resourceful, altruistic, and creative.” (p.xvii)
Paul’s shipwreck was a disaster. The islanders’ response was calm and altruistic. It’s not unusual at all, really, at least according to Solnit’s research. Sometimes I think we don’t give ourselves enough credit as human beings.
Where have I shown kindness to someone experiencing a crisis?
![1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24], God’s Care for the Widow](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/bf37035e-33d5-439f-a0d6-a68b02d0f1bc/24-11-03.jpg)
