October 6, 2019: May God’s words alone be spoken, may God’s words alone be heard. Amen.
Wow! It is so good to be back! I have missed you all so very much! I prayed for you every day, and held you close in my heart, these past several months. While I needed this sabbatical, and you needed me to take it, I am beyond happy to be among you once again!
Now, some of our readings today seem like they were tailor made for a sabbatical return. The word sabbatical comes from the Ancient Greek σαββατικός (sabbatikós), and like our own weekly Sabbath, is meant to not only offer rest, but also restoration, a strengthening time for our very souls as we live out our faith in the world. And while the disciples in our gospel reading today kinda miss the boat in what they were asking of Jesus, his response is crucial to our life as a people of faith. But it isn’t likely what you might think, or at least not what some have done with this passage.
Now, the thing is, this is a gospel reading that can be troubling to hear, perhaps because the parts don’t seem to connect clearly. Even the NRSV, the translation we use in The Episcopal Church (and in seminaries as well), even this translation titles this section of Luke “Various sayings of Jesus,” or put it another way “Stuff Jesus said that we have no idea what to do with.”
So, let’s take a look at it, and one of our other readings too, because in these texts we will find a bit of ourselves, I suspect, and it is a message for a time such as this, to be sure.
Jesus is traveling with his disciples, and has been teaching them what it means to be part of the Kin-dom of God, his follower, a child of God. He has told them in the verses prior to this that it requires forgiving over and over, re-shaping our priorities particularly around what we value and serve, and they might want to avoid going to law school ‘cause there’s some “woe to lawyers” comin’ round. That last bit is, of course, not exactly his point, but you get the idea that it requires some fundamental shifts of their lives. And they don’t know the half of it, because Jesus had already set his face toward Jerusalem, as we heard many chapters ago, and has been warning them of his impending death.
And so today we hear that they implore Jesus to “Increase our faith!” Can you blame them? I feel for them, I really do, because I think they just felt overwhelmed by what Jesus was calling them to do. Certainly Habukkuk, the prophet we heard from in our Hebrew scripture, would resonate a bit with the demand of these disciples. And if we think about it, given all that is happening in our world today, so can we.
Now, we don’t get to hear much from good old Habukkuk. In fact, this is the only time we hear from this interesting prophet, and that’s kind of a shame as he is pretty awesome. So let me give you the Habukkuk in ten seconds rundown. See, Habakkuk lived around the time of the first temple destruction in 587 BCE and the invasion of the Babylonians over the Hebrew Kingdom of Judah. This prophet is not willing to sit around and accept what was happening, but demands that God do something about the injustice of the world, because things just are not going well – there is economic oppression, violence, and a brutal empire on the rise, and just exactly when is God going to take care of this mess, because it is really trying his faith.
Now God does answer back, and that’s a sermon for another day, but I think we can understand this lament of Habakkuk’s right? Our government is further oppressing already oppressed people on our Southern border, our court system is racially and economically unjust, there seems to be mass shootings nearly every week, and people are persecuted for their gender, who they love, where they come from, what they believe, or what language they speak.
So it is entirely understandable why Habakkuk might ask God why this is happening, or the disciples would implore Jesus to give them more faith. Because if we are honest with ourselves, most of us will also recognize those pleas as being a part of our own faith journey. It is the cry of many of us in those dark and difficult times, when we feel inadequate to the task, unable to take the next step, or feeling that the problems of the world, or of our lives, are just too big, our ability to manage it too small, or that somehow we have come up short.
And in the news this week, I came to understand this deeply, and perhaps you did too, because we heard the conclusion of the murder trial of a white Dallas Texas police officer, Amber Guyger who killed an unarmed 26-year-old Botham Jean, who was black, in his own apartment while he sat eating a bowl of vanilla ice cream. She said she mistook Jean’s apartment as her own and thought he was a burglar. Guyger lived one floor directly below Jean. Amber Guyger was rightly found guilty of murder, but was sentenced to just 10 years in prison. Ten years!
I was angry. Much of the country was, and still is, angry. I was asking what I think many people of faith cried out, as Habakkuk did so long ago, “O God, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? …Destruction and violence are before me; …and justice never prevails.”
And then we also heard something that came next, just after her sentence. The victim’s brother, Brandt Jean, spoke in court, and said to Guyger “I don’t want to say twice or for the hundredth time how much you’ve taken from us. I think you know that… I don’t even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you because I know that’s exactly what Botham would want.” And after imploring her to give her life to Christ, he asked the judge “I don’t know if this is possible, but can I give her a hug please?” He stepped down, crossed the courtroom, and hugged this woman who had taken the life of his older brother.
When I heard this news, the disciples plea resonated deep within, and perhaps it did for you too. I have felt this before, when the Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania forgave Charles Roberts, who shot 10 young girls in their schoolhouse, killing 5 of them. Or I heard about how the brothers of Taize visited the woman in prison who had killed their beloved brother and founder of their community during a service of evening prayer.
These are extraordinary acts of faith, perhaps acts that are at first filled more with hope of forgiveness than forgiveness itself, but living into it day by day more fully along the way. Of course, faith is not only about forgiveness, though I think it is when it is most challenged, even when we know that it is not about freeing the one we forgive, but freeing ourselves from the bondage of hate, anger, bitterness, and resentment.
Faith is also a life of love, of service, of being aware of those in need and responding to the least, the lost, the lonely, and the forgotten. And it is times like this week when we may feel we don’t have enough.
So this plea of the disciples is something I think most of us can understand, which is why perhaps Jesus’ response take us aback at first until we dig deeper. Some take it as a rebuke of the disciples for a lack of faith, but that is not the case. What he is saying, if you go back to how it was originally written, is “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed [which you do have], you could say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Of course, that is absurd – you can’t plant a tree in the sea, but in some ways, I think that is Jesus’ comical way – and we know he did have a sense of humor – it his way of telling them Hakuna Mata, or “chill folks, you have all you need and more.”
Sadly, this is where those who take the bible literally lose not only its deep truth, but do great damage to others. Jesus is not saying that if you are a person of faith, all you ask for will happen. That it is some sort of test of your faith if your loved one is cured or dies, or you get that job or are homeless in the streets, or if a hurricane destroys your home, or you are spared from its wrath, or if you are able to forgive the person who kills someone you love or just can’t get there.
I mean, I don’t know about you, but I could never worship a God who would be so punitive, cruel, or unjust… could you? Jesus is saying instead that faith isn’t something you measure at all! It also isn’t something that is unwavering, unshatterable, or without bumps in the road. As I say often, faith is not certainty. Faith and doubt are intertwined like light and darkness. And there will be times when we will feel that ours is just a bit too weak. Jesus is saying not to worry…it isn’t about how much you have at any given moment. This isn’t a contest. Nobody gets a “Best Christian EVER!” trophy. God is with you, and within you, always…and that will be enough.
Jesus is also getting at something just as important… trying to measure our faith, or increase it, is a ridiculous thing to do in the first place, because it can’t be done. It would be like saying “increase my love!” Faith is entirely about relationship – with God, with one another, and with ourselves, just as love is. And like love, we will feel it differently at various times in our life. Take the case of romantic love – it burns hot and crazy in those early days, but that does not mean the couple feels more love than two people who have spent forty years together. It is just different.
Love cannot be measured, just demonstrated.
Faith cannot be measured, just lived.
See, I think the issue here is, we see faith as a noun, rather than a verb – yet it must be in action to be kept alive. Or perhaps easier to think about – it is like a muscle. It will only be as effective as it is put to use. Believe me, I have been trying to get in better shape during my sabbatical, and dang if that gym equipment doesn’t move by itself. Those running shoes don’t leave the closet and run on their own – I personally think this is a matter of false advertising. And sadly, my body isn’t going to get any healthier sitting on the sofa. Faith is like that too – it needs to be worked. And like getting in shape, it doesn’t happen all at once, but in tiny little increments, that over time, make a big difference.
As Mother Teresa once said “Our calling is not to do great things, but to do small things with great love.”
And that brings us to what Jesus was getting at, and it is something we need to hear in these troubled times. Faith isn’t about wearing a red cape, scaling mountains, or for that matter, moving them (the Matthew version of this gospel). Faith is a daily act of hope. It is a choice, and in choosing, we have all we need. Faith is just getting up each day, stepping out into the world, and trusting that God will guide us to who we are to see, and what we are to do.
Faith is opening ourselves up to our role as partners with the Holy Spirit as we speak for the voiceless and rise up against oppression.
Faith gives us the ability to see beyond what is, to what is possible with God, and then step boldly toward it.
And faith is the acts of kindness we do every single day, big and small – listening deeply to that troubled teen, reaching out to the one we pushed away, and yes forgiving others, and most especially ourselves. Because when we do all these things, when we live our faith, we grow ourselves more fully into what God dreams for us.
It wasn’t more faith that the disciples needed…they just needed to grow into the faith they already had, into the life into which they were called, one small act at a time. And the key to helping them do this is found in their very plea.
They said “Increase our faith!” They did not say “Increase my faith!’ Faith is lived out in the world, but is grounded and nurtured within community. And that brings us back to sabbaticals and sabbath. Every week we are all given a mini-sabbatical – on the Sabbath – here in our parish community. We are strengthened by one another, in prayer, in the Word, and in the body and blood of Christ. We need this sabbath rest from our labors, if we are to ever fully grow into who we are called to be. Now, I know that sometimes life can make us want to stay in bed on a Sunday morning and attend the church of the Holy Comforter, but like a sabbatical, we need this restorative moment each week to strengthen and renew us. If we are to live this life, we need to gather here, because from here, in ways small and large, we will make a difference in the world. You already have!
While I was on sabbatical, you all opened our doors to offer a medical day to local residents, stood in grocery stores collecting cans and boxed goods for a local food pantry, and sent letters advocating for prisoners to government leaders. You visited those who were sick, and demonstrated in the streets to fight for those with no voice. And through it all, you came here to be restored at this table, and in community.
Love cannot be measured, just demonstrated.
Faith cannot be measured, just lived.
And with the faith we already have, restored here in community and at this table, we can do incredible things, because we do not do them alone – we do them together and with God. With faith, we can move more than mulberry trees, we can move mountains as the Matthew Jesus says. We can not only move them, we can flip these mountains that weigh down upon God’s creation right over.
With faith, we can overturn the mountain of poverty.
With faith, we can overturn the mountain of injustice and oppression.
With faith, we can overturn the mountain of hate and violence.
Because with faith, we come to understand that we are bound in a relationship of love, not only with God, but with one another, and every act we do, big or small, done out of that love, will make a difference.
We need only faith the size of a mustard seed, and once planted in the soil of love, God’s love, and nurtured in community, we will grow to become and to do far more than we can ask or imagine.
And that, my friends, is not only faith enough, it will make all the difference in our lives, and in the world.
Amen.
For the audio from the 10:30am service, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here:
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
October 6, 2019
Pentecost 17 – Year C – Track 2
1st Reading – Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
Psalm 37:1-10
2nd Reading – 2 Timothy 1:1-14
Gospel – Luke 17:5-10
