More Like a Seed…

In some of his parables, Jesus told us that the kingdom of God is like a seed scattered on the ground. It is small, inconspicuous.

For the people who heard this in Jesus’ day, these parables would have sounded nothing like what they expected. It was believed that when God’s kingdom came, it would be a cataclysmic event, a revolution. Israel would become dominant. A better metaphor might have been an earthquake or a thunderstorm.

But no. Jesus says it’s more like a seed.

Even for us, this can be difficult. Often, we’re looking for the big, the prominent, the spectacular. And our small efforts can feel insignificant. Sometimes we wonder, Is my small gift going to make a difference? Does my contribution mean anything? Can what I offer really matter?

When Mother Teresa died, she was beloved and well-known around the world. But no one would have guessed she would gain such influence when she first began. What did she have? She was a small woman who started with almost nothing. She told her superiors, “I have three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage.”

“Mother Teresa,” they said, “you can’t build an orphanage with three pennies. With three pennies, you can’t do anything.”

“I know,” she said. “But with God and three pennies, I can do anything.”

Let us pray: God of Grace, sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the needs of the world around us. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by our own needs. Empower us today to take even small steps, to plant even small seeds, to live—even in small ways—more in line with your kingdom. Help us trust beyond what we can see. We claim the promise of Christ: that with you, all things are possible. It is in his name we pray. Amen.