Pastors corner

The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith,

a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain:

‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t

be able to tackle.” The words of Jesus. Matt. 17.20

The star in the sky is gone, and the Magi are on their way home. The shepherds are back to discussing whether the clouds hold rain.

On the home front, the Christmas lights are coming down, and the decorations have been returned to the attic for the next 11 months.

Now it is time for the work of Christmas, for the work of Christ, to begin. It is time to find the lost and the wandering. It is time to heal the broken in our midst. The time is here to feed the hungry in body and in spirit. The time is here to be peace keepers. It is time for Christians from throughout the world to do the work of their newborn King.

My home is blessed with a view of a 400 million year old rock formation that we know as “Steptoe Butte.” Many very faithful people live around that landmark, but if those faithful folks were all to join forces and order that mountain to move, I’m quite confident that the peak would remain securely in place.

There is a mistake in believing that God’s presence is always to be found in the big events, like the moving of mountains. True faithfulness is almost always seen in actions that the world sees as inconsequential, like the tiniest of seeds.

Our response to the “ultimate seed,” the birth of Bethlehem’s Child, is to seek both large and small ways to serve God through the gift who went to the cross in our place. When we give to the local food bank, or to Meals on Wheels, we are expressing our faith and doing God’s work. When we reach out to a neighbor in need, others may not notice our efforts, but God notices.

Steptoe Butte may not be moving, but God is there in your life planting tiny seeds.

Rev. Bob Ingalls, pastor

Malden Congregatonal Church