“Faith Works” – Sermon on Oct 6, 2013
October 6, 2013
Scripture: Luke 17: 5-10
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?
Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
Sermon: Faith Works
by Rev. Doreen Oughton
I’m a night owl. I like to stay up late, whether working or watching tv or on the computer, then sleep in in the morning. I am fortunate to have a job that allows me to do that most days, but sometimes, even on days other than Sunday, I have to get up a few hours earlier than usual. But I don’t usually go to bed earlier the night before, so I lose a few hours of sleep. When I have a busy day ahead of me, I anticipate that I will be tired, and sometimes I am even tired right when I get up just thinking about it. I often say a little prayer on those days asking God to give me a particular helping of energy that day – as Isaiah says, to run and not be weary, to mount up with wings like eagles. And I usually get through the day pretty well, and find my energy returns to me at night. It’s interesting that on the days I have to get up early, but don’t have much planned for the rest of the day, I often will be quite tired mid-day. I might even nap, or spend extra time relaxing. Now maybe it’s because I didn’t pray for energy that day, or maybe it’s because it is the busyness that energizes me as much as the prayer.
Our scripture passage this morning starts with a request from the apostles to Jesus to increase their faith. You might wonder what it was that spurred them to such a request. Well, Jesus has been teaching for a while. This passage is part of the discourse that started 2 chapters ago – the teachings on the lost sheep and lost coin, the prodigal son, the dishonest manager, Lazarus and the rich man. In verses 1-4 Jesus warns the disciples against being a stumbling block to the faith of any “little ones” or newcomers to it. He tells them they must forgive any offender who repents, not just once, twice or three times, but up to seven times a day. It is a lot to take in. Their heads must be spinning. They must be wondering, “How can we do it? How can we remember and practice all these things? How can we avoid the pitfalls? We’re not supposed to make a wrong move that causes problems for others, but when they cause problems for us we must forgive and forgive and forgive. Is that even possible?” And so they make their request. You might think of it as saying a little prayer. “Lord, increase our faith!”
But Jesus tells them they don’t need an increase of faith. A tiny smidgen of faith is all that is needed. Some people hear this as a rebuke to the disciples, an implication that they don’t even have this little mustard-sized faith. But I don’t think so. I think Jesus is saying that they do have faith. They have shown they have faith by following him, by listening to his teachings, by going out themselves to share his teaching and to heal. The teachings he is giving them now, I think he is saying, are not so different from what they have heard before – look out for one another, seek out the lost, celebrate the found, share what you have.
Jesus goes on to talk about how one would treat a servant who has finished the outdoor work and is ready to come in. He says the work is not finished. It is not time for the servant to sit and eat, to be made a fuss over. The servant must complete the indoor work – prepare supper, serve it, perhaps even clean up after. Those things are no harder, no less a part of the job description. There will be a time for the servant to eat and drink, to relax, but not until later. Jesus then turns the tables and lets the apostles know that they are not the master here, but the servants – servants of God. They have been doing work, they have been listening and learning, teaching and healing, but there is still more work to do. They don’t need to lament or get ahead of themselves about how much they have to do or how hard it will be. They just have to keep letting their faith guide them. It is their faith in Jesus that brought them this far, and it is their faith in Jesus that will enable them to continue. It is enough. They don’t need more of anything. Their faith will not fail them. One foot in front of the other, complete the tasks.
I think it is fine for the apostles, or for any of us to pray for an increase for something that is not so much a matter of degree as a matter of on/off. We might pray for more patience when all we need is a tiny bit of it. We are patient or we are impatient, we are acting in faith and love or we are acting in fear, we are doing or we are not doing. By praying for more, we are turning the switch on, we are reminding ourselves that our day is not done, there is still work to do. And in that work we will find all that we need – faith, patience, love, purpose, and gratitude. May it be so.
