My teacher, Dr. Kennedy Shultz, once told one of his favorite Christmas stories.  He was a young man in New York City and, as he put it, “was over the whole Christmas thing.”  He was single and had no family nearby, and really just wanted to avoid all of the hassles of the season and spend a quiet Christmas alone.

On Christmas day he went out looking for a place to have lunch and ended up in one of his favorite restaurants, a classic New York City Jewish Deli.  Of course, this was one of the only places open on Christmas Day.  When he entered he noticed that the restaurant was full of other single men, eating alone all throughout the restaurant.  No one really made eye contact, either too embarrassed or just not wanting to interact with fellow diners.  Ken had a nice meal, and then got up to pay the cashier.

When he arrived at the cash register, the young lady behind the counter told him, “Oh, you don’t have to pay.  Someone else paid for your meal.  They asked to be anonymous.”  Ken was astounded, staring blankly at her for some time as he tried to register what she had said.  As he walked out of the restaurant and into the cold New York air, he was overcome by this simple gesture, actually breaking into tears as he walked along the sidewalk on his way home.

The simple gift of a stranger on Christmas Day touched him more than any lavish or elaborate gift he had ever received throughout his life on this holiday.  It’s easy to forget the impact that a bit of simple kindness can have on our fellow citizens of the world.  A smile in passing, a polite yielding in traffic, or even just holding the door for someone can make a difference in someone’s day that we’ll never know.  And a simple gesture like buying someone lunch in a Jewish Deli on Christmas Day can change someone’s life forever.