URC Daily Devotion for 1 9 2025

Notes from Small Islands 1: Rejoicing in the small

St Matthew 13: 31 – 32

Jesus put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;  it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

Reflection

Jesus never ministered more than a few days’ walk from his home in a rural backwater of an obscure Roman province at the Empire’s edge.  He was at the periphery, in every sense of the word, and had no earthly wealth or status.  He led no armies, had no political allies, yet preached a simple message that transformed the world.  Like the small mustard seed in his small parable, Jesus’ message grew so that peoples and nations came to live within it.  Yet our world tends to disparage and ignore the small and the weak.  

Academics refer to the “small state theory” to illustrate how small states, and small island jurisdictions, navigate the choppy waters of our world.  Alliances with larger nations provide security and investment in exchange for natural resources or geographical location; lacking a large workforce they may specialise in certain sectors (for example tourism) to enhance their economy. They might pool resources and coordinate action through international organizations or coalitions to amplify their voice and impact. 

This is what small congregations and denominations do too.  Ecumenical groupings mean small and larger churches can combine for witness and service. Increasingly congregations don’t try to do everything but, instead, focus on what they are good at.  I know of a church of fewer than 10 people who recently raised over £400 for charity.  Here in Orkney, as in Shetland, the Church of Scotland has united 18 or so different parishes with a combined eldership, but maintaining roughly the same number of worshipping communities.  Smaller congregations don’t have to worry about all the compliance issues as these are pooled, along with the finance.

It’s not surprising then, for the Church to learn from small island communities; Jesus himself valued the small, the insignificant, and the peripheral and, from them, changed the world.  Perhaps the decline of the Church in the West is a chance to reconnect with these values and learn from where they have already introduced change.

Prayer

O God of the small and insignificant,
help us to value that which the world ignores,
to learn from folk on the edge,
to find our security in You,
and learn to make a difference where we are,
Amen.