When God Blesses Our Little Bit

We are probably all familiar with the definition of “parable” that I was taught in Sunday school: “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” That definition certainly fits Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed—for it is all about the God – given potential of a seed when it is planted in the earth. You know the story. Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. Yet when it is sown, it grows to be one of the greatest of all shrubs, with branches so large that birds can make nests in its shade. (Mark 4:30 – 32) It’s a beautiful image that Jesus paints of how God can take our little bit and turn it into a lot—a whole lot! The Bible is filled with stories of how God takes what we consider insignificant and blesses that little bit and miracles grow and multiply out of those meager beginnings—again and again.
There’s the story of Gideon’s army of 300 men vanquishing the Midianites’ thousands. (Judges 7) Or, of how a handful of meal in a jar and a little jug of oil fed prophet Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. (1 Kings 17:8 – 16) Or, of course, Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish from a kid’s lunch, and everyone ate and had enough and they collected 12 baskets of leftovers.
And, the culmination of all the stories—Jesus’ own death on the cross, which is the story of how one man put his little bit into God’s hands and it proved to be enough for the salvation of the world!
The story of the prayer shawl ministry is the story of a mustard seed growing in amazing ways. In 1998, Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo attended the Women’s Leadership Institute at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. After completing their study, Janet and Victoria wanted to figure out a way to combine the spiritual discipline of prayer with an expression of tangible compassion. And so the idea of the prayer shawl ministry was born and has spread to churches around the world, including many congregations in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The Kingdom of God is indeed like a mustard seed!
And I am certain that mustard seed will continue to grow through the invitation I have extended to Presbyterian knitters across Canada to knit prayer shawls for the residents of the Boarding Homes Ministry. That ministry, begun by Rev. Rodger Hunter in 1999 with one boarding home in Toronto, has now grown to 13 homes serving 359 residents. I’d like to present the shawls to Rodger and representatives of his ministry team when they receive the E. H. Johnson award at this year’s General Assembly. I can’t think of a better way to culminate my focus on growing the generosity of the church than through a flood of prayer shawls arriving in time to be presented at General Assembly.
I remember a children’s story I led at Bethel, Scotsburn, N.S. Holding up a small brown bag, I asked the kids if they believed there was enough food in the bag to feed everyone in the sanctuary. They were skeptical until I showed them what was inside: packets of various kinds of seeds—carrots and beans, squash and pumpkins, etc. Then I opened one of the packets and placed a seed in each child’s hand and said what they were holding in their hands was “Potential.” I told the kids, “You are like those seeds.”
“Do you know what that means?” I asked, prompting one little boy to exclaim, “I do! It means I’m small, but I’ve got potential!” And he does … as do we all!
Jesus is right. The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. I wonder what God can do with your little bit?
For more information on how you can contribute a prayer shawl for the Boarding Homes Ministry, contact Sheryl Sutton, Planned Giving program coordinator, at ssutton@presbyterian.ca or by phone, 1 – 800 – 619 – 7301 ext. 278.