The Kingdom of God, said Jesus, is like a mustard seed that is planted in a field, but when it is grown it becomes a tree so large that birds nest in it.

We live in a society that is enamored with bigness. We have gone beyond big churches to mega-churches. We are over whelmed with and bedazzled by huge social problems such as world hunger and children in crises. As a result, we sometimes overlook the tiny seed problems that are at the root of so many of these difficult situations.

In 1989 there was a routine United Airlines flight to Chicago that turned out t…