Sermon: 19 Pentecost C
“Increase our faith”? Does anyone else feel like we’ve missed something with today’s gospel reading? Why do the apostles come to Jesus saying, “Increase our faith”? I mean, these are the ‘big guys’, the ones who have been out preaching, healing, driving out demons. What has led them to think that their current level of faithfulness is not good enough? Why do they need “more faith”?
Perhaps it’s because of what Jesus says right before this text. Don’t put stumbling blocks in others’ ways. In fact, Jesus says, it is better to drown than to make someone else stumble. If someone sins against you seven times in a day and repents seven times, you should forgive them seven times.
These are pretty hefty orders, but the apostles have already done so much that it is amazing that they think they need “more faith” to carry these orders out. Maybe they recognized their own stubbornness. The part about keeping stumbling blocks out of other’s ways might be somewhat easy, but who really wants to forgive someone who has sinned against them once, let alone seven times in one day?
The apostles were held back by what they thought they couldn’t do. Jesus responds to their request with the statement, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed…”. They thought they didn’t have enough faith to do what Jesus was commanding them to do. But they were wrong. They did. Jesus’ “If” statement wasn’t “If you had faith (but you don’t)…”, it was “If you had faith (and you do)…”. Jesus was telling them, “If you believed in your faith, you could make this tree be uprooted. You do have the faith to do this, you just don’t believe you do. Your lack of belief is leading you to be afraid, and your fear is paralyzing you, preventing you from acting.”
How often do we allow fear to get in the way of our faith? We, too, are given faith from God - faith that is the size of a mustard seed - but we remain paralyzed by fear: fear of failure, fear of others, even the fear of what might happen to us if we give in and actually live out that faithful life the Gospel calls us to live.
I recently read a prayer: “O God, I don’t pray for enough faith to move mountains. I can get enough dynamite and bulldozers to do that. What I need and ask for is enough faith to move me.”
It’s not always a lack of faith that keeps us from acting, but our fear: fear of failure, fear of being laughed at, fear of being ostracized for doing what we know is right. How often do we allow that fear to take over, and not trust ourselves in what we can accomplish? How often do we not trust God when God tells us we can do what God wants us to do?
This is what the apostles were asking for: faith to move themselves into action. They knew they had faith, and they knew that faith made them able to perform miracles and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. What they needed was the faith to believe they could do what Jesus had commanded them to do.
The apostles thought they could get an increase in faith, and be able to do what was expected of them, and that would please God. But they were wrong. It wasn’t just about doing what was expected; it was about going over and above what was expected to do what’s right.
How many of us think the same way that the apostles did? How many of us think that because we come to worship, because we sing in the choir, because we serve on the council, because we lead worship that we are doing what is expected and that’s okay because that is all we need to do? Well, guess what…we’re wrong. There is so much more that we need to be doing. Don’t mishear me - we don’t do these things to assure our salvation, our “rightness” with God. We do these things because we are called to witness to the world about God’s great love. By only doing what we think we are supposed to do, we’ve missed the mark completely.
Asking God for “more faith” can only mean one thing: more action. More action on our part. God gives us faith, and we ask for more because we think that our personal spiritual journey is failing. Maybe it is. And maybe “more faith” will help. But maybe it’s not our lack of faith that is the problem, but our lack of faith in our faith.
We ask for “more faith” but fail to realize what comes with it. With that “more faith” comes the responsibility to speak out against the injustices that happen not only in our own backyards, but also in the whole world. With that “more faith” comes the responsibility to actually go out into the world and do something, rather than sit in our homes and complain that “Someone should do something”. With that “more faith” comes the responsibility to put aside those things that we think are most important, and focus on the things that God has deemed most important. With that “more faith” comes the responsibility to listen to the call to follow more closely the footsteps of Jesus - even when those footsteps lead to ridicule, condemnation, suffering or death.
After all, don’t we receive the call to act every week? Take out your hymnals, and turn to page 137 in the front. Here, we have the dismissal. We hear it every week. One of the worship leaders says, “Go in peace. Serve the Lord.” and the congregation responds, “Thanks be to God.” But look at the other options there: “Share the Good News”, “Remember the poor”. It’s not “Go in peace, and don’t do anything”; it’s “Go in peace and do something.”
We may pray for “more faith”, but when we think about what “more faith” means, do we really want it? With that “more faith” comes more responsibility, not only to God, but also to our fellow men and women - and who wants that? Who among us can say we have prayed for “more faith”, and in response to God’s response have gone out and done something about it? I know that I have asked God for “more faith”, but I don’t think I always understand what comes with that “more faith”.
We ask for “more faith”, and God responds. And what is our response? Nothing. That “more faith” has gotten us through this time, this crisis, this disaster, and now we don’t need it anymore. So we’re not obliged to respond to the responsibility that comes with it.
Wrong! We are responsible to it! Why are we so afraid to hold ourselves accountable to what comes with “more faith”? Why can’t we hold up our end of the deal? What are we so afraid of? And why does God continue to grant us “more faith” even as we squander what God has already given us?
We are worse than the worthless slaves Jesus talks about; we have not even done what we ought! And God knows that. God knows that we do not always do what is right. But God loves us anyway. God blesses us with the gift of God’s grace even though we don’t deserve it because we have done nothing. That is how good and gracious God is.
There were once parents whose daughter informed them that she was going to join a Christian commune that was devoted to helping the poor. The parents exclaimed, “We raised our daughter to be a Christian, not a fanatic!” Is that what we are afraid of - becoming fanatics?
If that’s what we fear, perhaps we should reexamine our priorities. If helping others, proclaiming our disgust for injustices throughout the world, standing with those who are oppressed is considered fanaticism, then we should all want to be fanatics - fanatics proclaiming God’s love and grace to the entire world.
“Increase our faith”? Just remember: that faith may lead us to become fanatics - fanatics for God and for all of God’s creation. So be careful the next time you pray, “Increase my faith”. Because God is listening, and you just might get what you asked for. Amen
Perhaps it’s because of what Jesus says right before this text. Don’t put stumbling blocks in others’ ways. In fact, Jesus says, it is better to drown than to make someone else stumble. If someone sins against you seven times in a day and repents seven times, you should forgive them seven times.
These are pretty hefty orders, but the apostles have already done so much that it is amazing that they think they need “more faith” to carry these orders out. Maybe they recognized their own stubbornness. The part about keeping stumbling blocks out of other’s ways might be somewhat easy, but who really wants to forgive someone who has sinned against them once, let alone seven times in one day?
The apostles were held back by what they thought they couldn’t do. Jesus responds to their request with the statement, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed…”. They thought they didn’t have enough faith to do what Jesus was commanding them to do. But they were wrong. They did. Jesus’ “If” statement wasn’t “If you had faith (but you don’t)…”, it was “If you had faith (and you do)…”. Jesus was telling them, “If you believed in your faith, you could make this tree be uprooted. You do have the faith to do this, you just don’t believe you do. Your lack of belief is leading you to be afraid, and your fear is paralyzing you, preventing you from acting.”
How often do we allow fear to get in the way of our faith? We, too, are given faith from God - faith that is the size of a mustard seed - but we remain paralyzed by fear: fear of failure, fear of others, even the fear of what might happen to us if we give in and actually live out that faithful life the Gospel calls us to live.
I recently read a prayer: “O God, I don’t pray for enough faith to move mountains. I can get enough dynamite and bulldozers to do that. What I need and ask for is enough faith to move me.”
It’s not always a lack of faith that keeps us from acting, but our fear: fear of failure, fear of being laughed at, fear of being ostracized for doing what we know is right. How often do we allow that fear to take over, and not trust ourselves in what we can accomplish? How often do we not trust God when God tells us we can do what God wants us to do?
This is what the apostles were asking for: faith to move themselves into action. They knew they had faith, and they knew that faith made them able to perform miracles and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. What they needed was the faith to believe they could do what Jesus had commanded them to do.
The apostles thought they could get an increase in faith, and be able to do what was expected of them, and that would please God. But they were wrong. It wasn’t just about doing what was expected; it was about going over and above what was expected to do what’s right.
How many of us think the same way that the apostles did? How many of us think that because we come to worship, because we sing in the choir, because we serve on the council, because we lead worship that we are doing what is expected and that’s okay because that is all we need to do? Well, guess what…we’re wrong. There is so much more that we need to be doing. Don’t mishear me - we don’t do these things to assure our salvation, our “rightness” with God. We do these things because we are called to witness to the world about God’s great love. By only doing what we think we are supposed to do, we’ve missed the mark completely.
Asking God for “more faith” can only mean one thing: more action. More action on our part. God gives us faith, and we ask for more because we think that our personal spiritual journey is failing. Maybe it is. And maybe “more faith” will help. But maybe it’s not our lack of faith that is the problem, but our lack of faith in our faith.
We ask for “more faith” but fail to realize what comes with it. With that “more faith” comes the responsibility to speak out against the injustices that happen not only in our own backyards, but also in the whole world. With that “more faith” comes the responsibility to actually go out into the world and do something, rather than sit in our homes and complain that “Someone should do something”. With that “more faith” comes the responsibility to put aside those things that we think are most important, and focus on the things that God has deemed most important. With that “more faith” comes the responsibility to listen to the call to follow more closely the footsteps of Jesus - even when those footsteps lead to ridicule, condemnation, suffering or death.
After all, don’t we receive the call to act every week? Take out your hymnals, and turn to page 137 in the front. Here, we have the dismissal. We hear it every week. One of the worship leaders says, “Go in peace. Serve the Lord.” and the congregation responds, “Thanks be to God.” But look at the other options there: “Share the Good News”, “Remember the poor”. It’s not “Go in peace, and don’t do anything”; it’s “Go in peace and do something.”
We may pray for “more faith”, but when we think about what “more faith” means, do we really want it? With that “more faith” comes more responsibility, not only to God, but also to our fellow men and women - and who wants that? Who among us can say we have prayed for “more faith”, and in response to God’s response have gone out and done something about it? I know that I have asked God for “more faith”, but I don’t think I always understand what comes with that “more faith”.
We ask for “more faith”, and God responds. And what is our response? Nothing. That “more faith” has gotten us through this time, this crisis, this disaster, and now we don’t need it anymore. So we’re not obliged to respond to the responsibility that comes with it.
Wrong! We are responsible to it! Why are we so afraid to hold ourselves accountable to what comes with “more faith”? Why can’t we hold up our end of the deal? What are we so afraid of? And why does God continue to grant us “more faith” even as we squander what God has already given us?
We are worse than the worthless slaves Jesus talks about; we have not even done what we ought! And God knows that. God knows that we do not always do what is right. But God loves us anyway. God blesses us with the gift of God’s grace even though we don’t deserve it because we have done nothing. That is how good and gracious God is.
There were once parents whose daughter informed them that she was going to join a Christian commune that was devoted to helping the poor. The parents exclaimed, “We raised our daughter to be a Christian, not a fanatic!” Is that what we are afraid of - becoming fanatics?
If that’s what we fear, perhaps we should reexamine our priorities. If helping others, proclaiming our disgust for injustices throughout the world, standing with those who are oppressed is considered fanaticism, then we should all want to be fanatics - fanatics proclaiming God’s love and grace to the entire world.
“Increase our faith”? Just remember: that faith may lead us to become fanatics - fanatics for God and for all of God’s creation. So be careful the next time you pray, “Increase my faith”. Because God is listening, and you just might get what you asked for. Amen