The Third Sunday after Pentecost - June 29

A Question of Scale
Matthew 10:40-42 
(Proper 8)

For me, today’s Gospel reading raises a question of scale.

I don’t know for sure if you know what I mean by scale. It’s not the sort of scale you weigh yourself on, or weigh vegetables on.

I’m thinking of scale as it means relative size or significance. The size or significance of one thing is measured relative to something else. In my previous life as a field geologist, scale was very important. Geologists who work in the field use photos a lot to illustrate important observations. But if I take a photo of a fossil surrounded by a bunch of rock, you have no way of knowing if the fossil is ½ inch high or 2 feet high. Which is why field geologists always carry a penny, or a pen, or a lens cap to place in the photo for scale. So you can see the size of the fossil relative to the size of something else.

The idea of scale comes up in other contexts as well. We say: Jimmy is short, for a fourth grader. We’re not taking about his actual height, but his height relative to other kids in his class. And recently, I’ve heard comments like: The current flooding on the Mississippi in the Twin Cities area is on an unprecedented scale. Relative to other floods, this is bad.

Scale always involves a comparison. It always involves evaluating the size or significance of something relative to, or compared to, something else.

I’m thinking about this in terms of being a disciple, a follower of Jesus. Disciples do what Jesus taught us to do. And it seems to me, there is a huge difference in scale between last week’s reading and today’s, in terms of what disciples do.

In today’s reading from Matthew, Jesus says, “whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple” will be rewarded. Jesus praises disciples who give a cup of water to “these little ones.” He probably meant all those who were considered of no account at the time. That would have included children, and many more. Jesus praises an act of discipleship that involves giving just a cup of water to someone who is considered of no account.

Last Sunday… and today’s reading follows directly after last week’s… so this us just a few verses earlier, Jesus says: “whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me”

Giving somebody unimportant a glass of water versus turning away from relationships with your closest family. That seems like such a huge difference in scale with respect to what a disciple is asked to do.

So what are the implications of this for us? Sharing a glass of water. It seems so easy. Especially on the scale of acts of discipleship. It is so easy it may seem insignificant. Does it really matter? Why bother? Such a small act won’t really make any difference in the big picture. And we might also think, if that’s all I do, I must not be much of a disciple. All of these thoughts come out of the world of scale. Where measurement and comparison rule. This is such a small act of discipleship compared to others. And because it is so small, it can’t be of much value.

I can give you several reasons to persevere in small acts of discipleship.

One of Loren Eiseley’s most well-known essays is called “The Starthrower.” It describes a young man who went out to the beach at dawn after a night of severe storms. In the storm surge, many starfish had been stranded on the beach. If they weren’t returned to the sea, they would die. The starthrower was casting them, one by one, back into the sea. In the essay, the observer asks, “What does it matter, there are so many?” And the starthrower replies, “It matters to those I save.” Small acts of discipleship matter to those who are the recipients.

Another point. Crowd sourcing. A new term, but an old idea. The term comes from the internet age. But the practice is much older. The combined action of a number of small acts can create a large result. A lot of people, a crowd, doing small acts can add up to a large result. Christians are a big crowd. When each of us does our little bit, combined, they can produce a large impact.

And then there’s the “butterfly effect.” According to Wikipedia, the butterfly effect is… “in chaos theory, the sensitive dependency on initial conditions in which a small change at one place in a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. The name of the effect… is derived from the theoretical example of a hurricane's formation being contingent on whether or not a distant butterfly had flapped its wings several weeks earlier.” Human beings are nonlinear systems. I’m sure you can imagine a scenario in which a small act of kindness, a small act of discipleship, a kind word, a small gift, might create a chain of events that leads to a big result.

Those are all good things to bear in mind. And if they motivate you to do small acts of discipleship, I hope you’ll hang on to them. But they are part of the world of scale. Where the value of something is measured by its relative size compared to something else.

My main point today is different. My main message today is this: I don’t think scale exists in God’s kingdom or in the life of discipleship. There is no scale in the life of discipleship. Things aren’t measured by relative size. It isn’t about comparing one act of discipleship versus another. There is no scale among acts of discipleship. ALL acts of discipleship are God-sized.

There isn’t a “big” God versus a “small” God. God is the immeasurable size of God’s wonder and love. There isn’t a “real” God’s kingdom in contrast to a “partial” kingdom. There is only the fullness of God’s kingdom. And every act of discipleship that acts to bring God into the world is God-sized. And every effort to make real the kingdom of God is full of the fullness of God’s kingdom.

I think it’s almost impossible for us to imagine that world, that world without scale. But try.

There is no scale among acts of discipleship. Acts of discipleship are not measured by the size of the results. The value of very act of discipleship is in the action itself. And every one is immeasurably important. There are no big scale acts of discipleship versus small scale acts of discipleship. All acts of discipleship are God sized.

This is not the world we live our daily lives in—a world without scale. No, but I really believe it’s God’s world. And in God’s world, more is not more. Every single thing… every individual creature… every one is all.

I am reminded of an article I read years and years ago in the Christian Century about a father taking his daughter for a hike. As I remember it, the question came up whether or not small, individual acts of environmental stewardship were worth it. Does picking up that one candy wrapper make a difference? What’s the point of preserving one example of a rare plant? Will it matter in the big picture? The response is that these are the wrong questions, the wrong perspective. We do these things because of who we are, because cherishing God’s creation is what God’s people do.

The article referenced the story from Scripture of the widow’s mite. The widow who gave her two pennies to the temple. Was that gift less valuable than the larger gifts of others? No. Because it is the giving that matters, not some measure of the result.

So do not try to measure the result of any act of discipleship. Every act of discipleship is God sized. The widow who gave her two mites and the martyrs who gave their lives are the same scale. The value of an act of discipleship is not determined by the size of the result. It’s not a business or a sports endeavor. The value is in doing God’s work. And that is always immeasurably God-sized.

It occurs to me that if I were taking pictures of acts of discipleship, like I used to take pictures of rocks, Jesus would be the scale in each picture of discipleship.

The implications of this scale-less world of discipleship will be different for different people. But those implications are mind blowing.

The key for all of us is to focus on living as disciples, followers of Jesus, and doing acts of discipleship, whatever they may be, whenever they present themselves. God-sized acts of discipleship.