World Communion Sunday October 4, 2009 "Seeds of Faith" Reverend Michael D. Powell Luke 17:5-6

This morning we are celebrating World Communion Sunday. That in itself is an act of faith. In a time of global division and polarization, in a time when all too often we focus on our political, national, ethnic and spiritual differences, we are bold to gather and to celebrate that which binds us together. We gather as people of the Judeo-Christian tradition, but I personally do not feel that our tradition should divide us from those who come to God by way of other spiritual traditions. I understand the Body of Christ as a universal, interfaith Body. Jesus Christ is my way to God, but that doesn’t have to mean that God divides people up according to particular traditions and then accepts some and excludes others. The Christ I worship is the unique and living embodiment, within the Judeo-Christian faith tradition, of a universal, loving God who dwells within every human heart and who is continually growing within those who are receptive to the divine seed of God’s presence. Recognizing that takes faith and faith takes practice!

Our text this morning begins with a plea from the apostles, "Increase our faith." Jesus responds by telling them that if they have even the smallest amount of faith, even as tiny as a mustard seed, they will work miracles. The key to this passage is found in the word "seed." A seed contains life. A seed is full of potential for growth and change. What a seed needs to release that tremendous growth potential is nourishment and attention. God has planted the seeds of faith in each of our hearts, but we need to help our faith grow.

Universally, the seed stands for the Living power of God. In our Christian tradition, it stands for Christ himself, whose spiritual life and eternal presence continues to grow in the Body of the Christian Church. There are 1.6 billion Christians in the world. Using the metaphor that Jesus himself provides, who would have guessed that two thousand years ago, when Jesus’ body was planted in the ground, it would sprout and grow and that the yield would be 1.6 and still growing today?

But, although all of us have tremendous growth potential, not all of us grow. I heard a pastor tell a story that I’ll share, changing the name of the character for obvious reasons. He said Hank had been in church every Sunday for 40 years, but he was still a major grouch. Everyone understood that that's just the way Hank was until one day someone asked him, "Hank, are you happy?" Hank thought for just a moment and then kind of grumbled, "Yeah, I'm happy." To which the questioner responded, "Tell your face."

There was an interesting point to the story, a very telling comment on how we "do church." Nobody really expected Hank to change. Isn't it reasonable to expect that as we spend year after year participating in the Body of Christ we ought at some point to begin growing into the likeness of Christ, becoming more gentle, more gracious, more compassionate and forgiving, more positive and more joyful? But nobody really expected Hank to change. Nobody challenged him or helped him to grow in his faith.

How do we change? How do we grow? Contrary to popular opinion, it isn't by trying. It's by practice, and by training. We tend to overestimate what can be accomplished by trying and underestimate what can be accomplished through training. You can't just read a foreign language, no matter how hard you try, but if you practice, if you study and train yourself, one day you'll learn the language. A runner can't just go out and try hard and expect to win the race. The runner has to practice and to train, gradually growing muscles and increasing endurance. Anni's been training herself to do intricate Ukrainian egg designs for years. You don't just whip one of those things out by trying hard. It takes practice. And it's the same way with our faith.

In Galatians 5:22 there is a list of the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. No one of us has the full-grown fruits of the spirit. But we all have the seeds, and by choosing just one of those fruits, focusing on it and training ourselves through prayer and discipline, we can nurture our faith seeds until we grow to become more patient, or more joyful, loving, kind or generous.

This morning is World Communion Sunday. Millions of Christians all over the world, of all denominations, all languages, all nationalities and all races are united in their prayers for faith and unity, for justice and for peace. This does not, however, mean that all Christians or even all churches have themselves experienced faith and unity, or peace and justice. What it means is that we're practicing our faith; we're training ourselves to become the Body of Christ. We're nourishing the seeds of our faith that we might grow into the likeness of the Prince of Peace.

Each and every one of us has that divine seed of God’s Love implanted within. You were created to grow in the strength of God’s spirit. When Jesus tells this story he’s talking about the Kingdom of God, an experience of God’s presence that is not “out there” someplace. The Kingdom of God is within, as near to us as the very breath we breathe. It’s the Spirit of God’s presence that dwells within each of us.

We come on this World Communion Sunday, unpracticed and imperfect though we may be, in order to practice, in order to be trained, in order grow in our faith and to pray for unity with Christ and with one another. Come to the feast of the Lord. Receive the Bread of Life and the Cup of Love. Feed on him in your heart, and may the seeds of your faith be nourished and grow. Amen.

May God bless our church. May God bless the Church universal, and may we all continue to grow in the fullness of that Loving Spirit that we are. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.