Jesus reminds us, saying: “For when two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Numbers, the size of the group, aren’t important to the Holy One. What matters is singleness of heart, purity of spirit, trust in the Beloved. In our culture bigger is better, whether it is the size of the crowd, the amount of money in our bank account, the size or cost of our car or house. That was not the way of Jesus. He chose just twelve folks, common people, uneducated for the most part, marginalized by society, to carry his message to the world, the message of self-giving love for each and all. Today, I expect most churches in our country want to grow—to show they are successful, to have the resources to reach out into the community. Groups within the churches want to grow—to share with others what feeds them, to share the workload. It is the American way to prove our effectiveness. Mega churches inspire our envy with their numbers yet Jesus says it takes only two or three, while trusting God for the results.

That lesson was brought home to me years ago when I felt inspired to offer an Advent Quiet Day for my church. A woman who had a lovely house and property on the river offered her home for the day, and we put out the word. When the day came, I appeared with the materials I had prepared. The hostess was ready with a pot of soup on the stove for lunch, and the first participant arrived. And that was it! Three of us, not an auspicious beginning, but Christ Jesus was in the midst of us. It was a blessed day, and after that I never worried about numbers at any program I ever led. I knew I could trust God to bring those who needed to hear what I had been given to share.

As the Holy One told the prophet Samuel in referring to David (I Sam.16:7), God doesn’t look on the outside but rather on the heart. In us individually and our institutions collectively, regardless of the measurements we may use to gauge ourselves, the Beloved is looking for Love incarnating in the world in and through us day by day. Two or three committed to our Divine Source will suffice.