Loving God, you provide the faith that is needed in order to live in love.  Empower us by your Spirit, providing all that is needed in order to share your love with all people, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Today’s gospel is a little bit different from the parables that we have been hearing over the past few weeks.  We don’t necessarily see any connections between the first part and the second part, and we certainly don’t like the idea of referring to ourselves as “worthless slaves” (Lk. 17:10).  So, what are we to make of this?  Is there good news in there somewhere?  Let’s dig in and find out!

         First of all, it might be important to know what prompted Jesus’ followers to ask him for more faith (v. 5).  In the verses right before today’s gospel reading, Jesus is teaching about forgiving others, and about rebuking other believers who sin, and about the dangers of causing others to lose their faith (vv. 1-4).  He does so with strong and insistent language. Woe to those who cause one of these little ones to stumble.  “Be on your guard!”  “You must forgive.”

         Those who are listening to Jesus, it seems, believe that they will need a lot more faith to be able to do what Jesus says.  However, as it turns out, they already have as much faith as they are going to need.  All it takes is a tiny bit, says Jesus – faith the size of a mustard seed – and you could get a tree, or maybe even a mountain, to obey you.  No, maybe their request to Jesus needs to be more like this 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” (Stoffregen).

         During this week that included the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I have to admit that my thoughts turn to residential schools when I read verses about causing little ones to stumble.  I think about how many have lost their faith because of what happened in the residential schools.  I think about the people who worked at the schools, and knew what was going on, and did not rebuke their brothers or sisters in the faith.  I think about how difficult forgiveness must be for all those who suffered abuse and neglect.  However, at the same time, I think about how easy it is for us to point fingers at others.

         After all, have any of us ever acted in ways that have caused others to lose their faith?  Have any of us seen others who bear the name of Christ engaging in sinful or even abusive behaviour and failed to address it?  Have any of us ever refused to forgive a brother or sister in Christ who has wronged us, but then repented?  These are the things that seemed too difficult to the disciples – unless, of course, they had a lot more faith.

         The thing about faith, though, is that it is like a muscle.  It only gets stronger as it is used.  And – if we’re going to be honest – using our faith doesn’t have to be as dramatic as ordering a tree to go throw itself in the lake.  Most of us are not called to perform signs and wonders, but to do simple things, every day, in order to share God’s love with others.

         For some of you, that means feeding those who are hungry.  For others, it means a visit or phone call to those who are lonely or struggling to cope.  For some it might mean lending a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on.  For others, it might mean giving generously, believing that God will continue to provide.  And then there are the things mentioned in Luke 17: protecting little ones from harm, and forgiving those in the family of faith who have repented after wronging you.  According to Jesus, we have been given as much faith as we need to do these things, and so much more! – which brings us to the slave serving the master at the table.

         In the culture in which Jesus lived, having servants or slaves was expected and commonplace – at least, if you were wealthy enough to have them.  However, Jesus kept turning things upside down by insisting on serving those who followed him.  Just as they couldn’t imagine a master serving a slave when he came in from the fields, so, they had a hard time when Jesus insisted on washing their feet.  Yet, when we come to the table, it is Jesus who serves us.  It is hard to find a modern-day equivalent, but perhaps a restaurant owner serving all of the wait staff (and still paying them!) might come close.

         The implication in the short parable seems to be that no reward is to be expected for doing what we should have been doing anyway.  There is nothing we can do that would be so impressive that God would say to us, “Wow.  That’s really great.  Thank you!”  Instead, God gives us grace and goodness long before we have done anything.  In fact, God also gives us the faith that is the size of a mustard seed.

         Far from being worthless, God’s message to each one of us is that we are created in the image of God and that we are worth the death of God’s Son.  Now, is our proper role as a servant of Christ? – Yes!  By all means!  But no matter what we do, big or small, it is “with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us,” as 2 Timothy reminds us (1:14).  “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline” (1:7), which keeps us in God’s grace.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Lectionary 27C                                 Luke 17:5-10

October 2, 2022                               2 Timothy 1:1-14

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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