Have you ever wondered if you might have a great masterpiece hanging on your walls?

I know someone who did!

Anne, a member of our congregation in Lewknor, Oxfordshire, was a brilliant artist, she has drawings in the National portrait gallery, but on her wall at her very modest house she had a drawing by Delacroix of a rearing horse, a preparatory sketch, I think, for the oil painting, ‘Napoleon crossing the Alps’. Anne knew it was a Delacroix, but the thieves who came to rob her did not. Though Anne had inherited a large fortune from her parents she lived a very frugal life, and there was nothing of value in her house except the drawing by Delacroix, which the thieves knew nothing about.

In our museums and art galleries there are stored away in the vaults hundreds of paintings whose provenance is unknown or uncertain, and the art series ‘Britain’s lost masterpeices’ goes searching for them.

Our painting this week is called ‘Virgin and child with a Pomegranate’, and was stored in the collection of the National Museum of Wales. Bought by a remarkable pair of sisters, Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, it was attributed as a Botticelli, but later downgraded to a copy. Bendor Grosvenor, the presenter of the show, thought he would have another look, and after conservation and infra-red examination revealed under drawing typical of the Renaissance artist hand and studio, it was reclassified as a Boticelli masterpiece.

This is the sort of story Jesus would have told. It is a tale of the hidden treasure we have within us. We can all imagine and identify with the disciples in the storm tossed boat, not knowing that asleep in the stern is the master of the wind and waves. Jesus is talking about us! As Paul counsels:

‘For we live by faith, not sight’ 2 Corinthians 6:7

We have two parables in our readings which speak of the hidden riches which we possess, though we may not know it. Like the story of the lost masterpiece, the parable of the seed speaks to us of the hidden presence of the Kingdom of God within us and amongst us. Jesus tells us that this Kingdom, like the seed, lies hidden and sometimes completely ignored, but within that seed is a powerful force of nature that will generate growth and abundance, given the right soil and climate. The seed has, Jesus says, within itself, all that is necessary for growth. The Farmer can add nothing to it, the power lies within the seed. Not only does the seed grow ‘All by itself’ Mark 4: 28, but it is able to produce an amazing abundance, far beyond what we might believe possible. Its small size is not to be misunderstood as a limit to its future growth.

‘The smallest seed you plant...becomes the largest of all garden plants’ Mark 4: 31 – 32

The Parables often come just before an event which Jesus will use to teach the disciples their true significance. Here in Mark we find the story of the stilling of the storm. Jesus is now in a boat, crossing with the disciples to the other side of Lake Galilee, when a storm overwhelms them, but Jesus is asleep. In panic they wake him and indeed rebuke him for his lack of concern. Jesus is however in control, he is with them just waiting for the call. With a word of command the storm is stilled. Mark records their terror as they see the almighty power of Jesus in action.

“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Mark 4: 40.

Like the seed, Jesus is there, his power though hidden, is available to them, only waiting for the disciples to call on him in faith.

The Church in Rome, for which Mark wrote this Gospel was passing through a storm of persecution. It was small and powerless and clearly feared that it would be destroyed if the persecutions continued much longer. This account of the disciples' despair must have encouraged them to trust in Christ's presence with them and to believe that despite their powerlessness they could call on him, not only to save them, but to strengthen them.

History bears witness to their faith, as the Church not only survived, but thrived and grew far beyond what they could have thought possible. Like the Mustard seed it grew to a size that enabled it to nurture and sustain others.

The Church today faces a similar crisis as our secular culture threatens to overwhelm us. We too can be confident that Christ is not just with us, but the power within us, not just to help us survive, but to strengthen and enable us to grow. Like the lost Botticelli we may have forgotten that we have hidden away and forgotten all the resources we need not just for ourselves, but the needy world around us.