Year C - Proper 22 - October 6, 2013

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III

Trinity Episcopal Church

Towson, MD

RCL Year C - 20 Pentecost (Proper 22) - October 6, 2013

Scripture Readings

 

When we come to church, we hear a lot talk about faith. We read about faith in the Bible and we even sing songs about faith… But what is Faith? I have often heard people mistakenly say that faith is the opposite of doubt. But we know that the opposite of doubt is certainty… So, what is Faith?…

 

In today’s gospel story, Jesus’ disciples made what would seem to be a logical and obvious request… “Increase our faith!" We can just picture them there on the road… prepared for discipleship…  carrying with them all the stuff they needed to build up the kingdom of God…  They were ready for mission, and have packed wisely for the journey… They were welcoming the stranger in their midst, and they were even eating with tax collectors and sinners… Jesus taught them well… He taught them how to be steadfast followers, and how to use all the money and stuff that they were entrusted with to glorify and build up the kingdom of God…

 

I get the image of the young rookie football player, all suited up in a new uniform, helmet on…  looking right in the coaches eyes… We all expect him to say “put me in coach, I am ready to play.” But instead, the young player is saying… “help me please...  what if I get hurt?, what if the others don’t block for me?...”  "What do I do if…  and his worries go on and on and on…

 

The disciples are prepared…  Jesus knows they are because he was the one who prepared them… But with all the preparation, the disciples still don’t get it, they still don’t trust that God will be with them… So they ask Jesus for and increase in their faith…

 

They think they can top off their tank with “faith” and be ready to continue the journey. Sort of like a “fill-er up” with super holy octane! Jesus’ response to his disciples relates directly to the power of faith itself… The power so strong that even the smallest bit of it could prove to be a tremendous force… Then Jesus takes the discussion to the unexpected level.

 

He basically says, to do the Job I have given you to do… to be my disciple… isn’t going to require very much faith at all. All we need to do is obey God and do our duty… Jesus then depicts each of the disciples as a humble servant, who’s duty is to be hardworking, not expecting to be thanked.

 

He says that this… This is what faith is… Our duty within the relationship to our God… I think, most simply, when we say that we have faith, it means that we trust God to be God. Sometimes, most often where people are ill, folks will say, “if you have faith, you will be healed.” Or worse yet, “your faith isn’t strong enough.” We assume that if Jesus says that our faith can move trees… then if we had any faith at all, we would certainly be healed…

 

I think that we fail to realize that this means we would be manipulating God…  In other words, we get hung up in the world of, “If I have enough faith, then God has to do exactly what I want God to do!” That’s not what Jesus is saying at all!

 

Jesus makes it clear that we are expected to have faith… it is part of being a follower of Christ, just like serving is part of being a servant… Our faith doesn’t require God to do anything. God does not heal us because we have faith. God heals us because God is God. God loves us simply because God chooses to love us...

 

God is active and present in our everyday lives, and gives us more than we could ever ask for or deserve… Neither our faith nor our actions can earn us God’s favor or  salvation! (which is another misconception and another sermon in its entirety)…

 

I heard a story the other day about an example of faith… you may have heard this before, so bear with me… One day, a little girl got lost in the woods on a farm near where she lived. The farmer who owned the land found the little girl and said to her, "Don't be afraid; I'll take you home."

 

The little child looked up at him with a smile, said, "I'm not afraid.

I knew you would come; I was waiting for you."

"Waiting for me?" said the man. "What made you think I was coming?"

 "I was praying that you would." she said.

"You were praying?" the farmer asked.

"When I first heard you, you were just saying 'A B C D E F G.'

What was that for?"

 

She looked up again and said, "I wasn't sure exactly what to say, so I was praying all the letters of the alphabet and letting God put them together the way God wanted them. See... God knew I was lost and God knew how to put the letters together much better than I do." She had faith that God loved her and cared for her. She had faith that if she asked God to help her, God would.

 

How much faith is enough?  

Do we need to have a lot of faith,

or will just a little bit do?

The answer may surprise you.

 

The followers of Jesus said to him, "Increase our faith." Jesus answered them, "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." When we have faith in God, our faith isn’t quantitative… it isn't a question of how big or small our faith is, it is qualitative…  it is a question of how powerful our God is, and with God all things are possible!

 

As we approach the holy table this morning to receive by faith the body and blood of the Lord our Savior Jesus Christ, my prayer is not to ask God to give us more faith. It is simply to ask God to help us use the faith that we have, and trust God to do the rest.