The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost ---- 6 October 2019

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

1:1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw. 2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous— therefore judgment comes forth perverted.

2:1 I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint. 2 Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. 3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. 4 Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.

Luke 17:5-10

5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6 The Lord replied, "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. 7 "Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, "Come here at once and take your place at the table'? 8 Would you not rather say to him, "Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? 9 Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, "We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!' "

"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.”

·       How much faith does a person need? Can we measure it by the bushel or the litre, by the meter or the spoonful? The apostles ask Jesus to “increase our faith”, almost as if they considered it a commodity or a substance that could be measured and added to.

·       Often times, faith is measured by how strong or how weak it is perceived to be. Again, how can it be measured? How many of us have moved mulberry trees recently by the power of our own faith? (… and why would we want to, for that matter.)

·       How much or how strong is not the question. Jesus is assuring the apostles that the faith they have is more than enough to do what is needed.

·       We know that God is not concerned with replanting trees and bushes in the middle of the sea. Really now, how would that help anything or anyone? What we are called to do as Christians does require faith because faith is the steering wheel of what we do. The grace of God is the motivator and the power behind all we might do. The prophet Habakkuk reminds us but the righteous live by their faith. (Habakkuk 2:4) It is the way a disciple walks and does whatever they do.

·       In response to the apostles’ request for a “topping off” of their faith, Jesus tells them that faith the size of a mustard seed would be enough to do amazing things. If we couple this small saying with the examples used in what follows – we could call them the servant stories – Jesus could be saying that his disciples can take the faith they have - whatever size it might be – and apply it, doing what Habakkuk spoke of when he said the righteous live by their faith. It may be that living by faith and living out the faith we have is the norm and not some astounding act or event. It may even cause a disciple to say We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!

·       This is not a ‘put-down’ or an expression of self-hate, even though it sounds a bit like one. Jesus is not despising what his disciples do; what he is actually doing is making it the norm. Doing what you are supposed to do, fulfilling your obligations, even if self-chosen, is not out of the ordinary. Jesus made it very clear on a number of occasions in the Gospels that he dearly loved his disciples and the fact that he died for them - and for us – attests to the infinite worth of each and every disciple.

·       He’s simply stating that living by faith is what they are to do in the general course of their lives.

·       It is still worth continually praying and asking for the gift of faith. It might be worth praying that we be put into situations where our faith might show. I’ve used the example from the movie, “Evan Almighty” before. The character who embodies God in the movie responds to a question about patience and love with this: “Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?” To me, it seems that grace is found in the moment.

·       There are times when my faith is weak, when questions overwhelm me, and I wonder what it is all about. At those times, I depend on you. When I am weak, you help strengthen me and show me the grace of God in action, in what you do and have done, in where you’ve been and where you wish to go. I can only hope to do the same for you and for others.

·       We need to lean on each other when it comes to faith. For us to support one another in the grace of God might be a greater sign of faith than flying mulberry trees.

"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.”