Faith in Action Week 3

GOD USES SMALL THINGS TO DO BIG STUFF

By Mother Ellen

 

I.                    Bigger = better?

 

So here we are at Week 3 of FAITH IN ACTION.  We’ve been learning a little bit about God’s heart for the hurting, about that lens of compassion that Jesus looked at the world with.  It caused Him to see not just how people looked on the outside, but on the inside, too.  It was what motivated Him to reach out to accept, to help, to love the people He met.  We’ve also learned that God gives us many opportunities in our daily lives to do what Jesus did – to reach out and help people we encounter.  Sometimes that feels like an interruption or detour from what we’re supposed to be doing, but like the Good Samaritan, we’re meant to see everyone we meet as our neighbor and worthy of our help.

 

However, sometimes what we can do to help in any situation seems so insignificant that we may be discouraged from even trying.  After all, we live in a culture that tends to recognize, respect and remember those things in life that are big, while discounting the small things.  If you don’t believe me, let’s try a little quiz.  Ready?

1.      What is the world’s tallest mountain? (Mt. Everest – 29,000’)

2.      What type of tree is the tallest? (Redwood – 116’)

3.      Who is the world’s richest person? (Bill Gates - $40 billion))

So far, so good – most of us are clued into the biggest things in our world. Now let’s try the second half of the quiz.

1.      What is the world’s smallest mountain? (Mt. Greylock, NH – 3500’)

2.      What type of tree is the shortest? (Dwarf willow—2 inches)

3.      Who is the world’s poorest man? (Jed Matthews - owes $22.4 million and has no assets)

 

Gosh – the small things aren’t even on our radar screens. We do indeed seem to believe that “bigger is better.”  Perhaps we even feel that way about ourselves.  Have you ever felt like you weren’t smart enough, rich enough, talented enough, or important enough to make a difference in the world?  Well, think again. Take a look at this:

Video:  Drop

It seems like Jesus didn’t go for the idea that bigger is always better.  When He wanted to get this point across to his followers, He gave them two illustrations of how God works in His Kingdom.  Let’s turn to the first one, Luke 13:18; got a page number?

 

 18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It 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.  20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

 

“What is the Kingdom of God like?...It is like a mustard seed,”  [mustard seed photo] Jesus says…..Wait – Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, the strongest power on earth – His working is like the smallest seed you can imagine?  That seems kind of disrespectful, don’t you think?  But Jesus does on to say that even though the mustard seed was small, it grew to be the largest bush of all – up to 12 feet tall, big enough for birds to nest in it.  The Kingdom of God, Jesus says, is something like that.  Hmmmm- maybe small isn’t always so bad.

 

Then, in his second illustration, Jesus says that God’s Kingdom is like “yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”  Now as a boy, Jesus undoubtedly had watched his mother make the daily bread.  She wouldn’t have used dry yeast like we do today.  Rather, she would have saved a very small lump of dough from the previous day’s breadmaking, and she would knead that little lump into the new flour mixture.  Eventually, the yeast in the lump would permeate and raise the entire batch of bread.  Even though the original ball of yeast was small, it would have a huge influence.

 

So what was the point of these examples? Jesus wasn’t teaching about horticulture or baking. He was revealing a Kingdom of God truth: when it comes to spiritual things, God uses small things to do BIG stuff.

§ When God wanted to create a new nation to call his own, he didn’t start with a large, powerful tribe. Instead, he used Abraham and Sarah, a nomadic couple too old to have children.

§ When God wanted to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt, he used Moses, a man who had spent most of his life herding sheep.

§ When Jesus wanted to feed 5,000 people, he used a small boy’s bag lunch to do it.

§ And when God came to earth as a human, he didn’t choose a rich and famous family.  Instead, He was born in a barn to a poor, unmarried teeaged girl.

 

God uses small things to do BIG stuff.  What we might see as too small and insignificant to matter, God sees as something he can use to accomplish his purposes. And this is a good thing, because few of us have “big” lives, or “big” careers that make a huge visible impact in the public sphere. Our lives, our work,  and our ministry seem to deal with such ordinary things that it is often difficult to grasp their lasting worth.  But just like God can bring a significant tree out of an insignificant mustard seed, he can do the same with you and me.

 

Let me illustrate this by giving you another quiz:

1.      Name the 2006 Heisman trophy winner.

2.      Name the winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize for literature.

3.      Name the Academy Award winners for best actor and actress in 1997.

In fact,  none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. The applause dies; achievements are forgotten; awards tarnish.  But here’s another quiz:

1.      Name a friend who helped you through a difficult time.

2.      Name a teacher who influenced you when you were in school.

3.      Name  someone who made you feel appreciated and special.

The point is that the people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who do the little things with a big heart. Let me give you an everyday example.  Years ago, Ann Muir noticed that Fr. John and I were always putting plastic cups of water around in the sanctuary.  We get thirsty up here (must be all the hooting and hollering).  So Ann began every week to put a pitcher of water and a stack of cups out so we’d always have fresh, cold water during the service.  Nobody asked her to do it, she just noticed a need and she did it.  And she did it whether she was serving on the Altar Guild that week or not; if Ann was here, we had cold water.  And the coolest thing is that a few weeks ago, I saw Bill Hood, another Altar Guild member, putting a pitcher of water out for us before church.  Small things done with a big heart are multiplied by God.

Song:  Blessed are the hands

 

II.  God uses small to do BIG

So what if we all did small things to help others – not just in a church program but in our everyday lives?  I was touched by a story told on last week’s Small Group DVD about a businessman who worked in a big city and was frequently hit up by street people for money.  Like most of us, he felt simultaneously annoyed, guilty, and confused about whether to give or not to give.  But he was a Christian, so he was committed to letting Jesus adjust his vision so that he could see through the lens of compassion.  Seeing the homeless that way put them in a new light.  So the guy began deliberately leaving spare change in his pockets to give out.  Then he started buying an extra coffee and muffin to share with one particular street person.  Then they began to talk while drinking their coffee and before long they were friends.

Did this guy “rescue” the homeless man from his wretched life?  Not that we know.  Did he make an impact on the problem of homelessness in his city?  Not at all.  But what he did do, by letting Jesus adjust his vision so he could see the beggar as a fellow-human being, was to participate in God’s transformation of the world, one person at a time.  Certainly, the homeless man was affected by a friendship with a guy in a suit and tie; but the businessman was as well.  And that is ALL part of God’s plan,  that we would learn to see each other and to treat each other as valuable to God – not just our families and friends, but everyone.  And that is how, drop by drop, God uses small things to do BIG stuff.  That is what Mother Teresa meant when she said, “We can do no great things; only small things with great love.”

 

And notice if you will the end of Mother Teresa’s sentence – “with great love.”  That’s the key, isn’t it?  The businessman moved from giving money as an act of charity to forming a relationship – a friendship, even, with the homeless guy.  We express love not just by giving money but by giving of ourselves, in relationships that are based on respect and kindness.  That’s why the important people in our lives haven’t been the celebrities, but the people who showed us love through their actions.  It’s the love that profoundly affects us; it’s the love that changes lives.  And that love can be expressed in the smallest ways, as small as sharing a cup of coffee with a homeless person, as small as a pitcher of cold water for a thirsty priest.  God uses little things to do BIG stuff, when they are done with love.

 

III.  Faith in Action

 

And that’s where FAITH IN ACTION comes in.  You know,  there is incredible life-changing power when even one person grabs hold of the fact that through Jesus Christ they can make a difference in the world. One person touches another person – through even the smallest things done with love – and that person touches another person, who touches another, who touches another.  And because we aren’t just individual people but part of a body – the Body of Jesus Christ on earth – we represent not just ourselves but the source of all love, God Himself.  That’s what it means to be a LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH; it means to shine the light of God’s love – which has changed our lives – outside our walls so that others can be drawn to Him. 

 

Next weekend, a whole lot of us – over 150 of us – will be devoting a few hours of our time to doing small acts of kindness for people we don’t even know.  And if we do those actions with love – treating the people we serve not as objects of charity but as people who are valued and loved by God – then we WILL make a difference.  That is what putting your faith in action is.  It isn’t just doing good deeds; it’s giving away some of the love we have received from God to those who need it. 

·         You can make a difference in a neighbor’s life by doing what they can’t do for themselves - raking leaves or fixing a broken step – but only if you do it with love.

·         You can make a difference to a soldier far away from home or even to a dog risking its life to protect its humans – but only if you do it with love.

·         You can make a difference to an elderly person confined to a nursing home – but only if you treat them with love.

·         You can make a difference to a wheelchair-bound person with the gift of a handmade lap blanket – but only if it is made with love.

·         You can make a difference to a neighbor with the gift of an energy-saving lightbulb – but only if you give it with love.

 

These are all small actions; nothing we’re going to do during Faith in Action Weekend is in itself going to change the world.  Indeed, our efforts may seem like just a drop in the bucket ... But that’s precisely what we are: a single drop that joined with others can become a mighty river.  Each of us little carriers of the light of God’s love, going out from the Lighthouse Church and taking it into our community.  When you take your faith in a very big God and put it into action even in very small ways, done with love, then the light WILL shine through you!

 

Many of you know the old song, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”  What shines God’s love into the world isn’t just the love we show by serving others; it’s also the love we show each other.  So I’d remind you that while we are out serving our community next weekend, let’s remember to treat each other, as well as those we serve, as brothers and sisters who are each valued and loved by God.   If you don’t know everyone on your Service Project – then for God’s sake (and I do mean that), use that opportunity to get to know them.  If somebody on your Service Project fails to show up or makes a mistake – then for God’s sake show them the same mercy and kindness that God shows to you.  And for God’s sake say “thank you” to everybody – to your fellow-volunteers for serving, to your leaders for their hard work, to the people who cook your dinner and serve your coffee.  Every one of these small, seemingly insignificant actions, also shines God’s love into a world that desperately needs the example of a community of love.  “They will know we are Christians by our love.”  Let’s stand up and sing it!

 

Song:  “They’ll know we are Christians by our love”