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Good morning.

I have spent much of this weekend wishing I were Welsh. First they destroyed the English in the weekend’s rugby. Then as a result they claimed the triple crown. And now, to cap it all today is their national day, the Feast of St David, who is such an engaging patron. The leeks and daffodils will be out in force. At least they would be if we weren’t in lockdown.

David, who died on this day in 589AD, lived at a time when people went in for some pretty hardcore Christian living. To ensure their commitment to Jesus Christ was wholehearted, his community of monks lived on nothing but bread and water and held things in common to the extent that there was a ban on the word ‘mine’. But this harsh ascetic is perhaps best known for the gentle, poignant sermon he gave to his brothers just before his death. ‘Be joyful,’ he said. ‘Do the little things you have seen me do.’

That saying, usually rendered: ‘Do ye the little things in life,’ for me cuts right through much of the clutter of an age that can often seem to worship only greatness. When I meet with groups of young people I sometimes ask them their plans for the future, and more and more they want to be influencers, youtubers and reality TV stars. A recent survey suggested that 30% of millennials would quit their jobs in order to be famous. A widespread fascination with the lives of the rich and powerful shows that this desire for fame is by no means limited to the young. But for the majority, this longing for celebrity can only end in disappointment.

By contrast the pandemic has shown us again and again the transformative power of little things. A centenarian walking round his garden. A parish priest gathering food donations to feed desperate families. A family cheering us up by singing spoof songs to each other. These people didn’t seek fame. They just did the little things and brought such inspiration and compassion.

At the start of another colossal week of news headlines with the Chancellor and other public figures in the spotlight as they seek to lead us out of crisis, there is a rich wisdom in David’s advice. Unseen gestures of affection, pedestrian acts of love, sustained compassion for the suffering, a quiet determination for justice – these things may be unspectacular but they have an equal power to change lives. As Mother Teresa said, not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.

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