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3. Changing The World One Small Act At A Time
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Luke 13:18-21 (New International Version)
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
18Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches." 20Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."
Changing The World One Small Act At A Time
We’re going to begin with a quiz today. The ushers are giving it out now. So reach for a pencil or pen and see how you do with Part A.
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
18Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches." 20Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."
Changing The World One Small Act At A Time
We’re going to begin with a quiz today. The ushers are giving it out now. So reach for a pencil or pen and see how you do with Part A.
- What country has the largest population?
- What is the world’s tallest mountain, measuring from sea level to the peak?
- What type of tree is the tallest?
- Who is the world’s wealthiest person?
- China: 1. 2 billion
- Mt. Everest
- Redwood
- Bill Gates
- What country has the smallest population?
- What is the world’s smallest mountain?
- What type of tree is the shortest?
- Who is the world’s poorest person?
- Vatican City: +/– 750
- Mount Wychenproof in Victoria Province of Australia, which rises to the majestic height of 47 metres. Naming it a mountain is regarded as a mistake.
- Dwarf willow: five centimetres when full grown
- This is hard to measure but one candidate was Jed Matthews who in 2000 owed $22.4 million and had no assets due to bad investments in an Internet company.
Jesus says there are times when small is beautiful in the Kingdom of God. Let me remind you this talk of Kingdom is at the very centre of what Jesus is about. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus begins his work on earth with these words: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1: 15). Jesus is making it clear that what is happening through him is the rule of God is making its influence known in the world. When Jesus gives us two parables of comparison in reference to the Kingdom we need to take notice. But they are “small” stories.
The mustard seed, we are told, is the tiniest seed that would have been planted by a farmer in the time of Jesus. From this smallest of seeds would come a bush that grew large enough for birds to make nests in its branches. Typically it grew to more than two metres high. Something small turns into something big.
The second comparison is similar but different. The wording used by Jesus catches our attention. Most of our translations tell us the yeast was mixed into the floor. But in the original, Jesus says the yeast was hidden in the flour. It’s an odd way to put it. To hide something is to be a little subversive and yet the yeast is absolutely essential to the process. Without the yeast the baker has three large measure of floor and the other necessary ingredients for bread. It does not become the bread which the baker wants unless that yeast is hidden within it.
What is Jesus telling us? It must have to do with the activity of God in the world and what it means for us to participate with God or co-operate with God in being obedient to his rule on the earth. For example, we look at the story of God’s people from the Hebrew scriptures. Who did God choose to begin that new nation? He chose a man and woman so past their prime that Sarah laughs at God when she first hears of the promise. And then, as if to underline that God in fact gets the joke, the baby is named Isaac, which means laughter.
Or when God responds to the cries of his people enslaved in Egypt, he picks an unlikely hero—a Jew who had been raised in the courts of Pharaoh, once rejected as a leadership candidate by his own people, who had spent most of his life tending sheep in the wilderness, and who described himself as slow of speech and tongue.
God’s people debated for centuries what it would mean when the Anointed One or Messiah was sent by God into the world. But it is certain no one expected a baby born into an obscure family under less than ideal circumstances. What I mean by that is that while the virgin birth is a cornerstone of the Creed, no one in Nazareth was buying that story about a baby that was the work of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul sums up the workings of God’s Kingdom in these words. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God (1 Corinthians 1:27–29).
Do you at times feel as if you are just a small cog in the workings of God’s Kingdom? That’s wonderful! You’re just the person God wants to use. Let me illustrate what I mean with another two part quiz.
- Name the last five Stanley Cup playoff mvp’s.
- Name the last five winners of the Governor General’s Literary Prize for fiction.
- Name the last five winners of Nobel prize for peace.
- Who won the Oscar for Best Actor and Best Actress in 1999?
- Evgeni Malkin, Henrik Zetterberg, Scott Neidermayer, Cam Ward and Brad Richards
- Nino Ricci, Michael Ondaatje, Peter Behrens, David Gilmour and Miriam Toews
- Martti Ahtisaari, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Al Gore, Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank, International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, Wangari Maathai
- Kevin Spacey and Hillary Swank
- Name a teacher who helped you in your journey through school.
- Name a friend who was by your side in a difficult and trying time.
- Name a fellow Christian who shared an insight with you that helped you draw closer to God.
- Name someone who values your friendship and makes you feel appreciated.
Friends, many of you will know that I was away from Monday evening until Wednesday evening this past week on a spiritual retreat. There were several wonderful parts to this retreat. I gained some insight into where I must grow in my spiritual formation. The venue for the retreat was a sailboat on Lake Simcoe and Tuesday and Wednesday were two of the most beautiful days we have had all summer. But there was more.
I gained a greater appreciation for you as the congregation I am blessed to be part of. I had the luxury of some time where the only agenda was to have no agenda. I probably should confess to you that I actually failed miserably in the assignment. I was to put my mind into “idle,” to “work hard at thinking about nothing.” I know what some of you are likely thinking—“it shouldn’t be all that hard to put that mind into idle,” but that remains an unfulfilled goal.
Instead what happened was I felt God speaking to me about you in the sailing of that day. I don’t pretend to understand the physics of such things, but on Tuesday we sailed from Jackson’s Point to Hawkestone. We were sailing against the wind. We were harnessing the wind to go in the direction in which we needed to go and felt called to go, and harnessing that wind was hard work. What came to mind, of course, were those wonderful, but cryptic words of Jesus: “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” Pastors sometimes say silly things about throwing up your sail into the wind. I found out that’s far easier to talk about than it is to do. And many of you are doing it!
I thought of some of you who are doing small things every day in your jobs, in the neighbourhood, among your friends, for the homebound in our church and, like we do here at Blythwood in our support for Guardians of Hope, you are making life possible for some of those who are the least of the members of the family of Jesus Christ. As I thought about these small things that you are doing that are making a difference in our world, it occurred to me that I had the wrong idea for this series of sermons. My intention was the culmination of this Be The Church series would be a kindness blitz Saturday, October 3. As the wind whipped against the sails on Lake Simcoe this seemed to be a silly idea. But something else came to me. What do think of having a party? Here’s the idea: on October 24 an autumn clean-up day is planned for the church. I would like to add three components to that day. First, while were cleaning up the church, we’ll hold a community car wash, free of charge. Second, we’ll make that the day we prepare our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. And third we’ll finish off the morning with a barbeque lunch. We’ll come, of course, and we’ll also invite anyone who has their car washed to return for lunch. And while we’re having lunch we can talk about Operation Christmas Child, we can talk about Guardians of Hope, we can talk about the little things this family of Christians does each day to change the world, one small act at a time.
B
