This writing was posted on social media a few days ago.
I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in a neighboring town of Venice, Italy, the city of lights and water. As we enjoyed our coffee, a man entered and sat at an empty table beside us.
He called the waiter and placed his order saying, “Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the wall.” We heard this order with interest and observed he was served with one cup of coffee, but he paid for two. When he left, the waiter put a piece of paper on the wall, saying, “A Cup of Coffee.”
While we were still there, two other men entered, ordered three cups of coffee, but paid for two on the table and one on the wall. This time, also, the waiter did the same. When they left ; he put a piece of paper on the wall, saying, “A Cup of Coffee.” It was something unique and perplexing for us. We finished our coffee, paid the bill, and left.
After a few days, we had a chance to go to this coffee shop again. While we were enjoying our coffee, a man, poorly dressed, entered. As he seated himself, he looked at the wall and said, “One Cup of Coffee.” The waiter then served coffee to this man with customary respect and dignity. The man had his coffee and left without paying. We were amazed to watch all of this as the waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it in the trash bin. And now, it was no surprise to us — the matter was very clear. The great respect for the needy, shown by the inhabitants of this town, made our eyes well up in tears.
Ponder upon the need of what this man wanted. He entered the coffee shop without having to lower his self esteem. He had no need to ask for a free cup of coffee, without asking or knowing the one who is
giving this cup of coffee to him. He looked only at the wall and placed an order for himself, enjoyed his coffee…and left. Truly a beautiful thing! And probably the most beautiful wall we may ever see anywhere.!
This small, but very large in one sense, act of kindness makes Cain’s response to the Lord in the Scripture at the top of the page more important for us to think about. Of course, we are our brother’s keeper: we are admonished in the Bible over and over to exhibit brotherly love toward others, believers and unbelievers alike, for we are to encourage others with HIS tenderness of heart as we tend their needs and reach out to them who are in difficult situations. Something we could think about this day….
Merry Christmas, God’s Beloveds.