"A Mustard Seed of Faith" (sermon)

Two Rivers Pastoral Charge
Sunday October 5, 2025
Scripture:  Luke 17:5-10


In school, they give out prizes for all sorts of things.  Last spring, my nephew Charlie got the prize at his Grade 8 graduation for the top student in Geography.  Another nephew, Eddie, was on the Dean’s List at the end of his first year of university.  And another nephew, Jonathan, was given the Sandrine Craig Award by his school, awarded to a student who chooses kindness, cooperation, commitment, and respect, and acts as a moral compass in their classroom, speaking up for those who need help.  (And yes, that wording is straight from his certificate.)

So here’s a question – if Jesus were standing in front of us, what sorts of awards might he choose to give out?  He probably wouldn’t be giving out awards like Best Mark in Geography, or Best Goalie in the league.  So what sorts of awards might he give out?  (Invite suggestions – e.g. the kindest person award; most generous person award; choir practice attendance award; most sandwiches made for Romero House prize)

But if you think about it, this is a pretty silly thought experiment.  Because if we are giving out an award for the kindest person, that would imply that everyone else wasn’t kind.  Or, maybe, that only one person could win at kindness, so if you weren’t in the running for the award, you might as well not try.

In reality, Jesus wants all of us to win the kindness prize, or the most generous person prize, or the most compassionate person prize.  These are things that are expected of all of us – it isn’t a competition.  It would be pretty silly for Jesus to stand here and say, “I give the runner-up prize in generosity to (name)”; or “The third-place winner in the compassion category is (name).”

It's not a competition – instead these are things that are expected from all of us – the bare minimum, you might say!  But even if they are the bare minimum, all of our gifts and all of our contributions are celebrated.  God’s grace means that there is enough celebration for everyone.  Rather than celebrating the winner in the kindness category, everyone’s contribution of kindness is celebrated in the world.  Even my nephew’s award for kindness and cooperation and respect isn’t quite in keeping with God’s dream for the world – in God’s dream for the world, everyone will be celebrated for kindness and cooperation and respect, and not just one person.

So where does that leave us?

In the reading from Luke that we heard this morning, Jesus is using the example of slavery – an analogy that would have made sense to his original listeners, even though it isn’t part of our lived experience in our time and place.

Jesus says that a slave is expected to do their work, and doesn’t expect special commendation for doing their job.

Our job, as followers of the Way of Jesus is to follow the teachings of Jesus, and like the slave in Jesus’s analogy, we shouldn’t expect special commendation for doing what is right.

We are to love God with our whole being.  We are to love our neighbours – all of our neighbours – and love here should be an active verb, not a passive feeling.  We are to live with respect in Creation, as part of God’s community of creation.  We are to seek justice and resist evil.  We are to proclaim God’s hope, peace, joy, and love with our words and with our actions.

And even though we aren’t to seek special commendation for doing these things, I don’t think that it is wrong to celebrate these things in all people.  After all, Jesus said that you only needed to have faith the size of a tiny mustard seed in order to make a difference in the world!

And so even if we, by our own efforts, aren’t able to solve climate change in the world, we are called to do what we are able to do to live with respect in creation so that all of creation can flourish.

And so even if we, by our own efforts, aren’t able to bring about world peace, we are called to do what we are able to do to bring about peace in the spheres in which we move.

And so even if we, by our own efforts, aren’t able to create a world where nobody is hungry, we are called to do what we are able to do to feed hungry people in our neighbourhood around us.

There is no prize for these things – as Jesus says in the teaching, “we have only done what we ought to have done.”  And yet we can celebrate these things when we see them happening, because we are witnessing the kingdom of God in action!

And so as we journey the Way of Jesus together, how are you going to share your gifts with the world?  How are you going to plant and nurture your mustard seed of faith?  And how are you going to encourage your fellow travellers to do the same?

And may the Holy Spirit inspire us and guide us so to do!  Amen.

 

 

 

A Mustard Seed of Faith
Image Credit:  JaBB on flickr
Used with Permission