The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us
more faith.” But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no
‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of
a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and
it would do it.
“Suppose one of
you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep.
Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t
you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table
for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your
supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him?
It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be
matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”
This lesson falls
right on the heels of some fairly difficult texts the last of which is Peter
asking how often someone should be forgiven.
Jesus’ response catches us off guard, particularly when we think about the
infinite kind of forgiveness that following Jesus demands. No wonder the
disciples’ ask for more faith.
Have there been
times in your life when you felt like your faith was inadequate for what you
were facing? What was helpful for you at
this time? Did you find support in a worshiping community? Did you find
strength through prayer? What grounded
you, connected you, or helped you through this time or these
circumstances?
Faith, as Jesus
reminds the disciples, isn’t about having more or less. Faith is about acknowledging the seed I have
and finding others whose seeds of faith will take root with my own. When our faith is strengthen by the faith of
others, we can move mountains into the sea, tell trees to jump in the lake or
at least call our stubborn seemingly unmovable Congress to remember the people
they serve for all of our sakes.
Please join us for
World Communion Sunday, October 6 at 10:00am in Christ Church as we join with
our brothers and sister around the world in faith and prayer. Looking forward to seeing you in Church!
No comments:
Post a Comment