Sunday Readings: Habakkuk 1.2-3; 2.2-4 2 Timothy 1.6-8,13-14 Luke 17.5-10
His disciples said to Jesus, “Increase our faith, Lord.” Jesus answered, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.”
Luke groups four wise Christian sayings together in 17.1-10; the last two form Sunday’s gospel. The first saying declares that disciples are better off at the bottom of the sea with a millstone around their necks than to be a scandal. The second insists disciples must forgive one another seven times a day. Third, faith the size of a mustard seed can uproot trees. Fourth, like Jesus, disciples have a duty to serve rather than expect to be served. Together the four sayings picture a composite Christian, one who is for real, forgiving, faith-filled, and committed to service, not status.
Faith has power. It lives in us. Like a seed it holds and generates new life. A smidge can accomplish the impossible. That’s how Jesus talks in Sunday’s gospel.
The message speaks to our time when many confess they hang on to faith by a thread. Scandals in the church have disheartened many, and so has treatment of those in our families who are gay and lesbian. But a thread is enough, according to Jesus. A question is enough, even a doubt. Curiosity, engagement, disgust can take us to a threshold that invites growth.
Faith lives in the currents of our relationships. Faith ties our lives to those we trust and thank. Faith grounds us in existence and purpose. Faith is about to whom and to what we belong. Faith is to our conscious lives what blood is to the body; it sustains and animates our whole selves. Faith is our heart for embracing life, its giver and sustainer, the incomprehensible mystery of it all. Faith is a verb, setting one’s heart.
What is faith in your experience? Why does so little go so far?