We are Easter people, said St Augustine. Easter – the death and resurrection of Jesus – is central to the life of the church, we know that. Yet, in celebrating this big moment, Easter is also about little moments too: the preparations for the last supper, the walks to and from Bethany to visit Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Jesus washing the disciples’ feet at the last supper. Little moments which point to the importance of the little moments in our own lives too.
There are lots of big things happening in the world today, some of which we might very much like to change, and some of which can tempt us to think the smaller moments are somehow less significant. But the presence of a butterfly in church the other day reminded me of the butterfly effect. It’s a concept put forward by the meteorologist Edward Lorenz who said that some small action like the flap of a butterfly’s wings, could trigger a cascade of atmospheric events that result in a storm on the other side of the world.
And for us, small and seemingly insignificant moments can have a huge impact on someone else’s day, which might not be obvious for us to see; a kind word here or a helping hand there may make all the difference.
Dave Brailsford, the British Cycling manager who oversaw some huge successes for the British Team, talked about marginal gains, paying attention to the little details, the sum of which can have a huge impact. What could this mean for us in church?
I recently popped into the ‘tech café’ at the Christ Church coffee morning where Nikki and her team help people with their tech problems; getting online, sorting out emails, you name it – fixing tech’ problems one click at a time. It’s on the third Saturday of the month from ten ‘til twelve if you want to see for yourself. Another example was a concert offered by the Eden Singers to help raise money for church repairs. And then there’s the cleaning teams in our churches, unsung heroes all of them! Our church communities are held together by such acts of kindness, and each week I come across more and more.
Jesus told plenty of stories about the little things we can do, a reminder that those who are faithful in a little are faithful in much. So, thank you for all the little acts of faithfulness and kindness, seen and unseen, which sustain and encourage and build our communities, whether in church or not. They make the world a better place.
