If you’ve been in worship the past several months you’ve heard over and over that I’ve been reading C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia with my daughters. You’ll be pleased to know that several weeks ago we finished the seventh book, The Last Battle, meaning that we are done with the series. Now, you won’t have to hear anymore C.S. Lewis stories or quotes in my sermons for a very long time. But, unfortunately for you, we just began the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling… so I’m sure Harry Potter and the topics of faith and community and death and resurrection will make its way into my sermons really soon. Even after reading the first book I see a lot of Christian themes in Harry Potter, just as I did in the Chronicles of Narnia. These Hogwarts kids couldn’t do incredible things quite yet and they needed each other to defeat the evil around them. They needed faith in themselves, in their professors, and in each other. The characters were being formed and they needed to grow in their faith.
Jesus needed the disciples to grow in their faith too. He needed them to get their act together. They just couldn’t keep up with Jesus. They needed more faith. And I feel like the disciples weren’t simply sweetly asking the Lord, “Increase our faith.” No, I think they were screaming it. That’s why if you look up where the disciples say, “Increase our faith,” you’ll find an exclamation point at the end. It doesn’t feel like the disciples were making a request. It feels like a demand! They knew that even in the presence of Jesus they were woefully underprepared to do the work of God in the world. They couldn’t cast out demons without faith. They couldn’t pray for people without faith. They couldn’t overthrow the destructive powers of the world without faith. They just couldn’t do it!
And so, they needed Jesus to teach them, to teach them how to get more faith. But, Jesus wouldn’t simply pull out his magic wand like Harry Potter and increase their faith with a magic spell and a flick of the wrist. No, he had to teach them and grow them. He taught them about the essence of faith, the substance of faith. He used common elements from nature to show them how even their miniscule efforts could make a big impact to bring God’s reign to earth.
And Jesus had also been pushing the disciples hard. For the past several months, all of the gospel texts we’ve been reading in church have related to Jesus setting his face to Jerusalem and his journey to the cross. It was not easy to be a follower of Jesus. The disciples probably knew this so they shouted out to Jesus, “Increase our faith, even just a little! We need something, Lord, to go on!” One commentator said, “Jesus turns to the disciples, leaning in close. Things will get hard, he says, but don't screw it up. It would be better for a big stone to be hung around your neck and you dropped into the sea than for you to stumble. If someone sins, no matter what they do, seven times in a day, you have to turn back to them, you HAVE to forgive them, Jesus says. No wonder [the disciples] ask for their faith to be increased. They are exhausted! I [certainly] am, just walking through what they have lived in these chapters. This kind of discipleship is demanding. It is painful. I mean, we don’t get into this thing entirely for the rewards; but secretly, deep down, we kind of hope for some kind of reward. For something.”
And I don’t blame the disciples. I feel just like them. I wake up every morning, listen to my NPR podcast, hear the hurt and violence and deceit in our world and I pray fervently to God, “Increase my faith!” There are so many needs in our community and I don’t feel like I can do anything about it. “Increase my faith!” The problems seem to be mounting and our mustard seed faith seems so insignificant. People are scared and scarred, damaged and devastated. We suffer from financial debt. We suffer under the failing of the environment. We suffer under the greed and ineptness of our public leaders. We suffer under a sea that is angry with huge crashing waves and we feel like the disciples in the boat and Jesus is fast asleep! “Increase our faith!” Give us anything, Jesus. Just a morsel of your power and your patience and your perseverance so we can get to Jerusalem right along with you.
The disciples just needed something, something to start small. And isn’t it amazing when something we think is small makes a big difference in our world, when something that seems impossible is possible? And we shouldn’t get lost in whether a tree falls into the ocean or a mountain gets thrown into the sea. We shouldn’t get lost in the image of a small mustard seed that grows into a plant, flourishing and large. No, the language in the Near East when this parable was written was meant to be vivid and symbolic. The purpose of this story was to show that something that looks incredibly impossible could actually be wonderfully possible.
I mean, think about all of the stuff that wasn’t possible 100 years ago with medicine and surgery and transportation and technology. A hundred years ago many things we see today would be considered miracles. I found an article recently that emphasized that those born between 1976-1983 are smack dab in the middle of Generation X and Y, of the Xers and the Millennials. I’m in this group. According to the article, we have a difficult time fitting into one category or the other. So, a new category was made… Xennials. Xennials were right on the edge of technological breakthroughs. Like, I was similar to many of you and grew up with a phone on the wall. It wasn’t until my first year of college that I actually carried a cell phone. Well, I also carried a pager but that’s a different story. I didn’t have email until college as well. And now, many of the things that were introduced when I began college are like second nature to us. The amount we have learned and created in a short amount of time is miraculous.
I think we need to realize the context of today’s gospel text. Luke and Acts, written by the same author, trace the path of the good news of Jesus Christ and the beginning of the church. The beginning of the church meant stronger relationships between Jews and Gentiles, the formation of house churches, the spreading of Christianity outside of Jerusalem, and Christianity’s raw confrontation with the Roman Empire. Christianity at this time was the mustard seed fighting against the vast sea of tyranny. Early Christians needed a word of hope, a word of faith.
Richard W. Voelz writes, “Luke’s Gospel accounts for how the fledgling church met the many challenges it was facing. A word on the power of what faith can accomplish, even to the point of absurdity, serves to encourage disciples of Jesus in the midst of the challenge. Here, then, is a pastoral word from Luke to the communities that received it then – and receive it still. How significant it must have been – and indeed is – to repeat the promises of world-altering power for those living into the reign of God.”
And that is the purpose of the gospel lesson today. If we approach life with the attitude that something cannot be done, then it probably can’t be done. Yet, if we approach it with the attitude that it must be done, there is a pretty good chance it will be accomplished. We are beckoned by God to approach every task with the idea that anything is possible, because God is with us and God surrounds us with power. The things of this world demand that we not lose hope. We must have the faith and determination to be Christ’s love in the city of Dallas. For if we don’t do it, no one will.
And I know many of us feel like we only have a mustard seed of faith, a mustard seed of money, a mustard seed of time, a mustard seed of energy to give to this church or to our city. I get it. But God isn’t saying we need to have a tree-sized faith or a mountain-sized faith to change the world. No, Jesus is saying you need just a little bit, a morsel, a crumb, an idea, a bit of passion to do great things. Because when we add all of our bits of faith together, we find we have the ability to move mountains.
As we move throughout this week, we need to remember that even the simplest and smallest things can make a huge impact in our lives and the lives of others. What is your mustard seed this week? What is one small thing you could plant in your own life and in the world that would bring vitality and growth? What ordinary act of faith could bring an extraordinary blessing? Faith isn’t simply a small seed. Faith isn’t an idea alone. Faith is a muscle. Faith is a tree planted deep, growing strong roots. Faith, the more we use it and the more we cultivate it, the stronger it gets. Dr. David Lose agrees, saying, “And so, Jesus tells his disciples – both then and now – that we’ve got all that we need to be faithful, and that being faithful, finally, is about recognizing all the God-given opportunities just to show up and do what needs to be done: doing our work, caring for those in need, protecting the vulnerable, reaching out to the lonely, befriending the friendless, keeping the world going, contributing to the common good. It’s all the ordinary stuff we do all the time and, taken together and blessed by God, it’s pretty darn extraordinary.”
Church, we can do some extraordinary work together. Instead of asking Jesus if our faith is big enough and worrying that we don’t have what it takes to make a difference in the world, maybe we should be obedient with the little bit that we do have. Jesus says that if the disciples had a mustard seed sized faith, that they could’ve thrown a tree into the water, that they could’ve moved mountains. So, I’m guessing since the disciples couldn’t even do that that they had faith even smaller than a mustard seed. And that’s ok. Because we live into that faith by being those who serve God and serve others, even with the tiny bit of faith that we already possess.
Remember in “To Kill a Mockingbird” when the mob of white men came to the jail in the dead of night to surround and intimidate Tom, a black man wrongly accused of a crime? Because of the hate of the men, they did not see Tom; they only saw an enemy. They were blinded by rage and hurt. Scout, a little girl, watched them. Her fear told her to get away, to run and go home. But Scout didn’t run. She didn’t fight. And she didn’t have much stature or authority to make a difference. But she stepped out in faith. She found the right word that became the mustard seed. Scout looked at one of the men in the mob and said, “Hey Mister Cunningham, don’t you remember me? I go to school with Walter. He’s your boy, ain’t he? We brought him home for dinner one time. Tell your boy ‘hey’ for me, will you?” There was a long pause. Then the big man separated himself from the mob, squatted down and took Scout by both her shoulders. “I’ll tell him you said ‘hey,’ little lady.” Then the mob dispersed.
Scout whispered a word of grace. She gave the mustard seed of faith that opened the man’s eyes and heart and soul. Instead of an “us versus them” world, she revealed a world of grace. God whispers words of grace and the power of faith deep into our souls. God doesn’t necessarily want us to do great things. God asks us to simply do small things with great love. We don’t necessarily need to have more faith, we just need to use the faith we have.
And just like the servants in the text today who brought the food to the table, Jesus has brought us today to the Table of the Lord. All are welcome. It doesn’t matter if your faith is big or your faith is small. It doesn’t matter if your skin is lighter or darker. It doesn’t matter if you are gay or straight or non-conforming. It doesn’t matter if you have more doubts than you have certainties. It doesn’t matter if you can pay the bills or if you are struggling to make ends meet. You are welcome at this table, where Jesus serves us of his life and of his love. Remember, all you need is a little bit of faith.
Amen.