Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 17:5-10; Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4; 2 Timothy 1:1-14
Have you ever considered how many ways there are to measure the world around us? Our travels are marked each day in terms of miles traveled, while if we are building something we may use feet and inches. We measure volumes with ounces, liters, quarts and gallons. We cook with teaspoons and cups. The arrival of fall may cause us to pick a peck of apples, or if we are energetic maybe four pecks which is a bushel. We measure time in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years and so on into the millennia which also suggests something of how we measure the distance to the stars in light years. On the other end of the extremes of measurements from the galactic is the microscopic. And increasingly the measure of things sub-atomic. Scientific journals refer to the nano-structures of our world. And then there are the measures of wealth in terms of dollars and investment percentages and productivity. We have created whole new measurement systems to catalog the speed and memory capacity of our computers, ranging from bytes to gigabytes and beyond. Yet we also preserve some very unique and old ways to measure some thing—like the fistmele which is a distance equal to the width of a clenched fist with the thumb extended. About 6 and a half inches. This is a unit of measurement still used in archery to measure the bow brace height and in kayaking to measure various critical dimensions of the boat. We measure the success of sports teams by their win-loss records, averages and increasingly payroll. And then there is the measurement of intellect and knowledge. We get grades and we take the ACT, SAT, GRE; MCAT and LSAT, and if that measuring isn't elusive enough we even try to measure more subjective categories like art, music and theater. We give the song a five. Nice beat but I'm not sure you could dance to it. The painting is interesting but I wouldn't want it in my house. And then there are the human emotions.
Sooner or later we all hear the question, "Do you love me?" followed by the inevitable "How much?" Measure with whatever instrument you want. We know of the impossibility of ultimately quantifying certain parts of human experience and the world in which we live. Which brings us to our gospel lesson for today. "Increase our faith!" the disciples said to Jesus. How much faith do you have? We know of those who have lost their faith. We know of those who have found their faith. But the quantity question has always puzzled me. "Increase our faith!" Increase it from what to what. Is it possible to have too little faith? too much? And how do I know. How do I measure my faith? The chapters of Luke that immediately precede our Gospel lesson have been part of our Sunday worship for the last few weeks. We have heard Jesus instructing those who would follow him about the meaning of discipleship. Jesus stressed the importance of bearing one's cross and then he told the series of parables that described the great joy there is in heaven over those who are lost and then found. He went on to describe the importance of investing ourselves in heavenly goals and priorities. He cautioned us not to get wrapped up in the earthly and materialistic distractions that surround us. Then, in the verses immediately preceding our text Jesus turns to some very straight talk declaring that "Temptations to sin are sure to come" so be on guard and be ready not only to resist the temptations but also to forgive those who sin against you.
It is in this moment with the vision of temptation and forgiveness set squarely before the people that the disciples declare "Increase our faith!" What we have here is an all too human response to the divine possibility. Fear and anxiety about the future had overwhelmed the disciples, fear of the future and not feeling prepared for what is to come. We know this feeling all too well. It begins when we are very young and find ourselves unable to sleep as we think about the big game to be played the next day and how poorly we've played lately. It continues with the anxiety that causes us to cram for the exam the night before trying to stuff one more piece of information into our head. And continues with the nervous stomach all day before that special concert or the stress headache right before that important job interview. And the fear and anxiety never fully leaves us. It just keeps finding new forms through which to enter our lives. We try to defend against it. Build ourselves as much fiscal security as we can. Live in the best neighborhoods we can afford but the dark uncertainty haunts us with doubts about ourselves. Our values. The unlimited years to come begin to shrink. Our hope fades. The vision of future terrors replaces the future dreams.
As a nation we politicize our fears. Pass laws that we hope will protect us against the threats. Flex our power against the fears. Send in the troops only to find new anxieties and fears for our young soldiers even as we would secure ourselves. We want to believe that there is someway to be made stronger, safer, more of everything that will keep us from losing our way to the world. "Lord, increase our faith." Life is hard. No matter how secure we might think we are. No matter how comfortable we are with our circumstances. Life holds new challenges, uncertainties. It is not always easy to believe. For some of us it is difficult just to believe in God Let alone to motivate ourselves to get to church on a Sunday morning. For others it is hard to have faith in ourselves, to believe that through our discipleship we can make any difference in the world or another person's life. Increase our faith, we say, and then we might be able to forgive our neighbor that second time. More faith still and we might manage that second time and maybe even a third, if absolutely necessary. Slowly, and with enough faith given to us, we might even climb our way toward forgiving that almost unimaginable seven times in a day. With still a little more faith we might even be able to move beyond our old grudges and anger to truly forgive and repair the broken relationships between family members and friends. Increase our faith, Lord, then we could follow in your way. Then we could truly be disciples. If we just had a little more faith, then we could, really be successful Christians.
It seems a reasonable request. a good prayer to pray. Increase our faith and then we will be more understanding of other people's needs and problems, and kinder to them. Increase our faith and we will be able to truly change the way we see the poor. We will be able to break the walls of prejudice. We will see life as others live it and we will be willing to make the changes in our lives that will bring hope and justice to people in places outside our community. Increase our faith, Lord, and we can be the kind of Christians we want to be: more disciplined in our habits, more committed to regular worship, more constant in our prayer. We want to pray, we want to study the scriptures, we want to come to church regularly, but something just always seems to get in the way. Increase our faith and the old excuses will lose their power over us. If we only had more faith, we wouldn't be so susceptible to the trivial temptations that keep us from being the disciples we want to be. Increase our faith, and then we will be more loving, more considerate of our spouses and patient with our children. With a little bit more faith we might even care about people outside our families. We might even take a shot at loving our enemies.
Increase our faith and we will be more hopeful. We will have more confidence about ourselves and our future, and not feel that we have to grasp and hold tightly everything to ourselves. We will be extravagant in our generosity and stewardship if only we had more faith. So many wonderful things we could accomplish if we only had a larger, stronger faith. Increase our faith, Lord! It seems like such a reasonable request. To that reasonable request Jesus responds with words both familiar and beyond reason. "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." Jesus is clearly smiling as he speaks. Faith the size of a mustard seed. We all know what Jesus meant. At least He didn't cross over into the nano-structures of minutia. A mustard seed is small enough to make his point. We really aren't talking much faith here. Seed size faith. The stuff of beginnings we have been thinking increases our faith. The faith we have been thinking about is a fully developed hope filled promise making Gospel proclaiming hand waving jump up and down shouting type of faith. Jesus says a seed will do. In fact a seed will change the whole landscape of your life. Trees will move and much much more. All you need is to begin to believe and the miracle of life in the faith will start to grow before your very eyes. The faith we have is sufficient. small as it may be. Do you believe there is a God?
The polls tell us that 98% of Americans say they believe in God. That is seed faith. A beginning. And Jesus says that is enough. Even that small a faith can bring about some drastic changes. Not just horticulturally. Jesus warns that the smallest faith is an opening for the Spirit. Faith changes the way we see the world. and how we interpret the world. Faith opens a door that allows the possibility of a miracle to enter. And then there is hope. the end of the dark despair. It is so easy to give up on faith. To forget that the seed once planted has the potential to change the world we know and see and believe. Faith sees the world differently. This past week a plane crashed near Montana's Glacier National Park some 2,000 feet up the side of the mountain. The County Sheriff investigating the crash site and the burned remains of the plane declared that all five people aboard the plane had died. But two days after the crash two passengers from the plane walked out of the wilderness alive. The sister of one of the survivors had insisted from the moment she was told of the crash that her sister was alive. She simply could not believe otherwise she said. Even when the reality said to despair and abandon hope. She held to her belief in life for her sister, and her sister walked out of the wilderness. A miracle of faith or a lucky quirk of circumstance. the eyes of faith see the world differently.
"Increase our faith," the apostles said. Jesus took measure of their faith and signaled that it was sufficient. Faith does not increase in quantity. It deepens. Becomes more complete. Faith is shared and even relocated. Faith may move from the head to the heart. What we believe becomes what we live. and that changes the terrain of our lives. One thing is sure. Faith is not a reward. A profit or a gain. Jesus said that just as the slave who serves gives service because that is the slaves calling. So the person of faith believes because that is what faith does. Faith is its own reward. to seek anything more from faith is to misunderstand faith. Faith does not cause the miracle but rather reveals the miracle, makes the miracle possible. That does not mean that there are no people of great faith. The world is filled with people of great faith. Giants of faith. Faith that has been tested in the fires of doubt. Stretched by the trials of crisis. But God gave them a faith that is made stronger in its testing. A faith that waits to be proclaimed. To those who doubt their faith the Bible says simply wait for it. Wait for the Spirit to reach you at the right time in the right place. Trust in your faith. It is a gift from God. Planted in your baptism The apostles said to Jesus, "Increase our faith" Jesus smiled and said simply. It is enough. the seeds of faith have been sown. Wait for it. Grow in it. Proclaim it. Live it.
Amen