Silently, Without a Word

 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, He asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 

 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Mark 9: 33-35

I work at the Coventry Jesus Centre. Each week on a Monday an older lady (in her 70s) comes in early to clean (voluntarily.) Without a word, each week when I arrive, she leaves a cup of tea on my table and two chocolate biscuits or maybe some mince pies. She never announces what she has done – she does it silently, without a word.  

It is a small but very beautiful thing she does for me; no thanks are expected; it springs from an overflow of love that does not look for a return favour. Yet, it makes me feel warm inside – I feel loved. Such lowly, servant-people, to be sure, are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.