Sunday, April 21st, 2024: "Endless Potential"

Watch the Sermon here

 First United Presbyterian Church

“Endless Potential”

Rev. Amy Morgan

April 21, 2024

Luke 13:18-19

18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” 

Sixteen people gathered in a log schoolhouse on Thanksgiving Day. They sang hymns, read scripture, and organized a church. They gave thanks for the abundance of the harvest and the abundance of love and fellowship and faith that enabled this congregation to form. Sixteen people felt like plenty. This small group of faithful souls planted a seed, a seed that would grow and flourish, a seed that would still be thriving and life-giving almost 150 years later. 

Churches of only 16 members today are viewed very differently. They are seen as dying churches, barely able to keep the lights on and pay for supply preaching. We can’t imagine what good a congregation of 16 people could do. Many denominations are urging these small bands of believers to sell their buildings and merge with other churches. 16 people is just not enough. They can’t possibly last or grow into anything substantial. These churches are seen as withering old trees, not small seeds with unlimited potential. 

It's not only churches that struggle with the insecurity of feeling small. Small businesses feel pushed out by big box stores. Small towns feel they have less cultural and political influence than big cities. Small non-profits are anxious about having enough resources to meet the needs of those they serve. 

As individuals, it’s easy for us to feel small and insignificant. We might ponder our existence in the context of the vastness of space and time. We might grow cynical about the tiny impact of our personal efforts to further peace and justice and care for the creation. We might believe that our one vote or our one voice means nothing in the grand scale of global geopolitics. 

Everybody knows, especially in America, that bigger is better. We are constantly seeking after more influence, more impact, more income. We don’t see the value in things that are small. Small feels like failure, like decline, like a waste. 

That’s why it is so radical and shocking to hear Jesus say that the kingdom of God, the reign of the most powerful being in existence, is like the smallest seed you can imagine. A mustard seed may not be the smallest seed on the planet, but it’s not much bigger than a grain of salt. And it may not grow into something the size of a redwood tree, but the black mustard plants that grew in first-century Judea could reach up to six feet tall. The point is, small things should not be underestimated. To overlook or undervalue something small is to miss a glimpse of the reign of God.  

The Christian anchoress Julian of Norwich once had a vision of a hazelnut. As she pondered how small and fragile it was, the voice of God told her that this small seed was “all that is made” and that it would last forever because “all things have being through the love of God.”

All things, great and small, have being through the love of God. The reign of God is like a mustard seed. A hopeful, flourishing church can consist of just a handful of God’s children. 

Thousands of people over many generations have worshipped, prayed, and grown in faith through this congregation, planted by a small group of 16 people. Today, we add to that number our Confirmands and new member. But the impact of this church cannot be estimated by the number of members it has or has ever had. 

This church has served the Loveland community even before Loveland existed as a town. It has hosted community concerts, forums, and lectures. It has promoted environmental stewardship through education, advocacy, and our own practices, earning us the designation of a Certified Earth Care Congregation. It has hosted overnight shelter for folks who are unhoused. It housed a school for the arts in the early 1990’s and now offers a free arts enrichment camp each summer. Missionaries from this congregation have served all over the globe, from Egypt to Ethiopia. The Community Kitchen started in our church basement and now serves thousands of meals each year to neighbors in need of nourishment and community. This small seed has grown into a great tree that provides sanctuary for all our neighbors.  We are a testimony to the reign of God Jesus described. We are living proof that the reign of God is like a mustard seed. 

But there are other signs of God’s reign in the world around us. We are called to not only exemplify God’s reign but also to recognize it when we see it in the world.

When I lived in Pontiac, MI, it was one of the poorest cities in the nation. Only a quarter of its children graduated from high school. Jason worked with kids who had never been outside the city limits. 

Because of its poverty, no chain grocery stores would open a location in Pontiac. Most residents got their food by walking to a nearby gas station convenience store. This meant they were mainly eating pre-packaged, microwavable food high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats. The health condition of Pontiac’s residents reflected their diet. Many people suffered from diabetes and heart disease. Pontiac was what is called a food desert. Fresh produce and healthy food were hard to access. 

Then a small group of neighbors got together and opened a centrally located grocery store selling fresh, local produce and other healthy food. They were supported by donations from area churches and non-profits so they could offer affordable food to their neighbors. They offered cooking classes and recipes and even kitchen ware and cooking utensils. This small business did what none of the big box stores would do: they brought healthy, fresh food to a food desert and improved the health of their community.

The small town of Rock Port, Missouri has only about 1300 residents. But one man knew that his town could do something remarkable to demonstrate environmental sustainability. He wanted Rock Port to be an example that other towns, big and small, could follow. So Eric Chamberlain researched wind patterns and reached out to turbine companies to help establish a small wind farm, This allowed Rock Port to become the first 100% wind powered community in the country, producing even more energy than the town uses. 

Hildegard of Bingen, a twelfth-century Christian abbess and visionary, wrote, “Humanity, take a good look at yourself. Inside, you’ve got heaven and earth, and all of creation. You’re a world – everything is hidden in you.” Each of us, no matter how great or small we feel, has all the potential of heaven and earth hidden inside us, like a seed waiting to break open and grow into a life-giving tree. We are living in the reign of God whenever we are able to recognize and live into that. 

We each have being through the love of God. This small church community has being through the love of God. And that love empowers us to grow, individually and together, into people and a community that can share God’s love by offering sanctuary, hope, and compassion. We can work for peace and justice, we can care for our fragile and glorious earth, we can love our neighbors and our enemies, because we have everything inside of us, limitless potential. 

That is what the reign of God is like, Jesus said. Jesus brought God’s reign to earth in his incarnation. He taught us what it looks like and how to participate in it. And He will return to bring God’s reign to completion. 

In the meantime, we can recognize the value of small things – small gestures of kindness and generosity, small groups of faithful people, small businesses and organizations, small beings that exist through the love of God and contain the massive potential of heaven and earth. We can think small and dream big, knowing that God’s reign is all around us.  

To God be glory forever and ever. Amen.