Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

Luke 17:5-10

The heading in my bible for today’s Gospel is

“Some sayings of Jesus.”

Think for a moment what “some sayings of your parents” might be. Or “some sayings heard in my house.” What are they? Things regularly heard around your household. Or in your group of friends.

In my house, common sayings are: Unload the dishwasher. I don’t know, ask your dad. 10/10 would recommend.

My first couple cracks at this Gospel, I thought it was maybe “some sayings of Jesus” that were just sort of left over things he might have said and since someone went to all the trouble to write them down, they had to put them somewhere.

Or like, a collection of Jesus’ social media posts that didn’t get that many likes.

The apostles say, “Increase our faith!” And Jesus says “Even if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could tell that mulberry tree to be uprooted and replanted in the sea.” Moving a mulberry tree into the sea is just actually stupid.

The apostles are asking for more. More faith. More trust. More super powers. I think that’s actually what they want here—some sort of magic. So Jesus gives them a ridiculous answer to their ridiculous request.

Our Gospel makes more sense if we back up a few verses. Just before this, Jesus tells his disciples: If someone sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying, “I repent, ‘ you must forgive them.”

Jesus is saying to his disciples: “Oh friends, you already have what you need—-just get on with it.”

And what you have is the ability to forgive one another. Maybe we’d rather have something cooler like magic powers to uproot and move trees. But what we offered is practice of forgiveness. This is entry level Christianity. Basic. All it takes is a mustard seed of trust.

Forgiveness 101:

1. We are all bound to one another in Christ. We belong to one another. That’s how we live in the world. We believe and live as if that’s true. We belong to one another at this baptismal font and at this altar when we break bread and as we walk out these doors today, we belong to those we sit next to on the bus ride home and our actual neighbors in the apartment next door and our co-workers on Monday.
2. Which means, when we do harm to someone, we admit it. Directly. This can sound like, “I messed up. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?” When someone does harm to us, we care enough about them to tell them directly.  If someone else is causing harm to someone else and we know about it, we intervene on their behalf.

   Directly, in person. Not by writing a social media post about it.

   About a decade ago, I was sitting in a Caribou Coffee Shop biding time between pick ups for my kids and I saw this mug.
   “I’m sorry for what I said when it was winter.” It was late March in a year that winter would not let go of us. And it made me laugh so hard I bought the mug. And then in 2020 I took a Sharpie and crossed out winter and added covid. I’m sorry for what i said when it was Covid.

Not everyone is ready to hear your confession. It’s possible that there are things that you are not ready to let go of. Because the pain is too deep. I pray that you someday reach a place where you are able to. This isn’t easy. It’s entry level Christianity but it isn’t easy. But it’s available to us and it does lead to freedom.

So much of my pastoral care over the years has been listening for an hour to a painful situation and then at the end of that hour, saying, “What if you said that directly to the person.”

And I cannot even believe the lengths that we will go to avoid saying something directly.

It’s not comfortable. It’s actually fairly uncomfortable.

A number of years ago, I carelessly reposted an article on fb that unfairly demonized a political group that someone I love identified with, it hurt them. It felt personal. Honestly, I hadn’t even taken time to finish reading the whole article because what I read felt so right and true and I reposted it.

Anyway, the most amazing thing happened. He called me and told me directly. It took my breath away. And it opened an immediate floodgate of shame in my body. I should have known better being the dominant voice. But because he told me that I hurt him, I was able to apologize and ask for forgiveness.

Guess what? It didn’t fix everything. Not immediately. It did not undo the damage. But it did create a tender space in which we could begin repairing our relationship.

We both believe we are bound together in Christ—and we live and act as if that is true. Which means, there is room to make mistakes, to mess up, to practice forgiveness. Once, twice, seven, seventy times seven. As many times as needed.

As practicing Christians, the goal is not: to never making a mistake. Did I just use a double negative? Yes, yes I did. Hear it again. The goal is not: to never make a mistake.

Back to today’s Gospel. Upon hearing Jesus’ instruction on forgiveness, the disciples begin to hyperventilate and have to takes long deep breaths, breathe into a bag, and say to Jesus, you want us to forgive one another? Well, you are going to have to give us something here, throw us a bone because that forgiveness is challenging so how about:  “Increase our faith!”

And Jesus doesn’t scold them for this request.

This is not, “You dumb dumbs will never get it and you are talking about mulberry trees and I’m at my wit’s end with you people.”

This is, Jesus coming in with encouragement and kindness for his friends, as one who would do just about anything for them. Even, you know, die. Jesus says, beloved, you have what you need. You have everything you need. Even if you only has this (an inch) much trust, you have enough to do whatever is asked of you.

It is not the size of the faith but the tenacity of it in the moment.

I found a commentary written by our own Gloria Dei beloved member, Lois Malcolm. Dr. Lois Malcolm. And she reminds us all that throughout the Gospel of Luke, those we least expect to have faith are often help up as role models. Isn’t that so comforting? For those in this room who are just getting themselves through each day with a glimmer of hope that God is still here? You are likely a role model of faith for others around you. Lois says, remember the woman, labeled a “sinner,” pours ointment and kisses Jesus’ feet. Remember the beggar who is blind who wants to see, remember the Samaritan with leprosy who comes back to thank Jesus. Remember the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years who reaches out and touches the fringe of Jesus’ garment in order to be healed. Does she live a life bathed in prayer and devotion to God? We have no idea. What we know is in that moment, she has enough trust to reach out for Jesus. And remember the Roman soldier who asked Jesus to heal a trusted servant. He was a Roman soldier, which means he is one of the oppressors. His life is violence. And Jesus’ response to this man is “Not even in Israel have I found such faith.” We can’t write anyone off, church.

We think we need mature tree sized amount of faith and all we need is enough to trust each moment is wrapped up in God’s love. That each moment healing is available. That each moment we are capable of giving and receiving forgiveness.

A tiny, mustard seed amount. I consulted with my crop farmer brother about growing mustard. He has strong opinions. He said no farmer in their right mind would grow mustard on purpose. Because it spreads. Pretty soon it’s in ditches and messing up the rows of beans and mixed in with the wheat. Next year, up it pops in places you had not planned. Your neighbor plants it and all of a sudden you are both on a mustard growing journey together.

For us, it’s maple seedlings. Those fun helicopter seeds that rain down in the spring. This year, it’s been bananas in my yard. A bumper crop. They are everywhere I don’t want them to be. In the flower beds and raised bed veggie gardens and in between boards in the deck which makes no sense because there isn’t even dirt there. In the grass and in the stone pathway. Places it has no business even trying to grow, there is a tiny maple seedling, laughing at me.

These little things persist. And grow. Despite the odds or even my attempt to put a stop to it.

A tiny amount of trust today, and again tomorrow, moment after moment and pretty soon we have whole lives of faith. We take these small steps, remembering that what we do matters. All the little moments of doing good, acting with moral courage, obediently, stubbornly like maple and mustard seeds matter to the world.
And when we feel like our tanks on on empty or we are breathing into a paper bag because everything feels hard and we turn to Jesus and say, “Increase our faith!” Jesus says I’m right here. All you need is right here.