Most blenders have a small plastic insert in the lid. It doesn’t look very important, but it turns out, if you run the blender without making sure it is firmly in place, you find out just how important it is. It’s very important. Painful experience has taught me not to overlook the importance of something just because it is small or looks insignificant. I know that to some, our church may look small and insignificant. We are a relatively small church ministering in a huge area with a lot of ministry needs. Would someone passing us wonder what difference we made to the world at large? While we feel called to demonstrate God’s love for all through our food ministry and our hospitality, through our inclusive welcome and our worship, on the whole, the world still looks pretty much the same on a Monday morning as it did before.
This week we are finishing off our look at the Parabolic discourse in Matthew where Jesus describes the kingdom of God as like a mustard seed or as yeast. It looks fairly inauspicious and insignificant, but experience shows that in time it grows and changes into something much greater. Israel was longing for the arrival of the kingdom of God and imagined it would come in a blaze of glory and the enemies of Israel would be cast down. Jesus explains that the kingdom actually comes in a small way, just Him and a few disciples who show God’s love for all through love and grace. Like a mustard seed, like yeast in dough, it slowly grows and spreads before changing and transforming the entire world. And it spreads with each individual engaging in the mission of God.
There can be times when the kingdom does not look much to us. The commandment to go and feed the hungry, clothe the naked, befriend the stranger and welcome the outcast does not seem to be particularly glamourous work. It looks like it’s a small and insignificant thing, like a mustard seed or bit of yeast. It can look like our work does not produce great results in a short space of time. It can look like we are making no discernible difference to the way the world looks. We can get jaded and cynical ourselves and wonder why the kingdom doesn’t look grander for us. But until Jesus returns, we will not see the kingdom in all its glory. We are not called to be popular but to be faithful, working at transforming ourselves and our communities. On the surface it may look like little has changed, but behind the scenes we are engaged in kingdom work. We should not seek the limelight but should seek to serve Jesus and do as He did. To be part of this mission is the greatest treasure we can have, may we never forget this and may our lives demonstrate our commitment to it.