In the twenty second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, a Sadducee asks Jesus, “Which is the greatest commandment?” Jesus responds saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:3739). What is interesting about this Gospel passage is that the Sadducee got more than what he bargained for. He simply wanted to know what the greatest commandment in the law was. Jesus responded correctly with the greatest commandment, but Jesus also showed him a second commandment that was related to the first. If we are to truly love God with all our heart, we must also be willing to love our neighbor. It seems that Jesus intentionally and wonderfully puts the two together. To love God means that we must also love our neighbor, and to love our neighbor requires that we must have a love for God. The first is greater than the second, but the first helps us to live out the second. For this reflection, I chose to write on the topic of Christian kindness. Through kindness, we show love of our neighbor in a way that reveals the love of God. Kindness, I believe, is much more than offering a helping hand to others. Through kindness we reveal something of who we are and who every man or woman is called to be. There are many instances in the Gospels where Jesus displays acts of profound kindness. And through these little gestures and words filled with compassion, Jesus reveals our true identity. The beautiful thing about Jesus and his public ministry is that he unites himself so intimately with our human condition. He is fully human and fully God. His divinity does not diminish in any way his humanity. When we encounter Jesus, he reveals to us a little of who we are in God’s eyes. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus illustrates through a parable an example of kindness. It is the famous story of the Good Samaritan. In this parable, Jesus tells the story of man who fell victim to robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and left him half dead on the side of the road. Three men came and saw the beaten man on the road. The first was a priest, who upon seeing him passed by on the opposite side of the road. The second person was a Levite who did the same as the priest. But the third person to encounter the half dead victim was a Samaritan. Seeing the man lying on the road, the Samaritan, “had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him” (Lk. 10:33-34). Beyond this, the Samaritan took out two denarii the next day and gave them to the inn keeper with the instructions that he take care of him. At the end of the parable, Jesus asks, “Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” (Lk. 10:36). It is a question that I believe Jesus is posing to all of us. When we see true acts of mercy and kindness we can see the depth of the human heart. Through generous and sincere acts of kindness we bear witness to the true dignity of every human being made in the image and likeness of God. And when we show kindness to others, we are truly being a neighbor to all those we meet. But kindness is not equated with being nice. Kindness is not about saying good words and avoiding conflict at all times. True Christian kindness is always rooted in truth. In fact, if kindness supplements our striving for all things true, it must involve the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the source of Christian kindness is not found in human sentiment or feelings of respect. Rather it traces its source of inspiration always in God. So true Christian kindness must always be rooted in and oriented towards truth. We are not practicing kindness when we support things that are immoral or wrong. We cannot call somethings right that is objectively wrong and claim to practice kindness alongside this. Rather, kindness bears witness to the true, the good, and everything that is beautiful. Some of the most Godfearing men and women are able to put the love of God on display through small and simple acts of kindness. It is truly amazing what a small gesture of kindness can do in the lives of others. Sometimes small acts of kindness done with great love have more of an effect that many words spoken. If we want to live as true witnesses in the world, let us pray that God give us the strength to show His love through our loving acts of kindness in a world that so desperately needs it.