Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those thing which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'"- Luke 17:1–10
In yesterday's reading, Jesus told the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus: "There was a certain rich man who was
clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But
there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at
his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich
man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was
that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's
bosom. The
rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he
lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my
tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son,
remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and
likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are
tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great
gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor
can those from there pass to us.' Then
he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my
father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them,
lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him,
'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said,
'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will
repent.' But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"
Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should
come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for
him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into
the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." My study Bible comments that little ones refers primarily to children, and by extension to anyone whose heart is humble and dependent upon God. Let us be aware that this is a teaching addressed to the disciples once again, and it speaks to the use of power in the Church to come. In that context, little ones is a term that includes those who are in of lesser stature, including social stature or community standing. Over the course of the past two chapters, Jesus has been responding to criticism from the Pharisees and scribes, who complained that He received and ate with tax collectors and sinners. His parables over the past several readings have alternatively been addressed to the Pharisees and to the disciples. After teaching the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, directed at the Pharisees (see above), Jesus now turns once again to the disciples.
"Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him;
and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times
in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,'
you shall forgive him." For more on this practice, see also Matthew 18:21-35. Seven times a day uses the number seven, a symbol of completion or fullness, here indicating an unlimited amount. This teaching is another indication of the need for humility in leadership, not to abuse power or authority.
And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." Perhaps the apostles' request to the Lord, "Increase our faith," is a direct indication of the difficulty of the teaching on unlimited forgiveness for all of us.
So the Lord
said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry
tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it
would obey you." My study Bible comments that the mulberry tree is symbolic of the devil's works. It's on the leaf of this tree that silkworms feed. As worms are an image of hell and death (Mark 9:42-48), so its association with the devil. This patristic interpretation is confirmed, my study Bible adds, by numerous scriptural images of evil being destroyed in the sea (Luke 8:33; Exodus 14:27; Matthew 21:21; Revelation 20:10).
"And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending
sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once
and sit down to eat'? But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare
something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have
eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank
that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think
not." My study Bible suggests that the servant plowing is mentioned first and the one tending sheep second, showing that we must first work our own salvation (Philippians 2:12) before we can become shepherds (as the apostles will be) to others.
"So likewise you, when you have done all those thing which you are
commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was
our duty to do.'" This word translated as unprofitable literally means "without merit" or possibly "useless"). But it doesn't indicate something without intrinsic value. It means that everything we have comes from God and is owed back to God. Whatever we might offer to God, already belongs to God.
We might be puzzled by the final verse in today's reading. But it is more easily understood if we consider that our precious life -- especially the life everlasting offered to us by Christ -- is of so much more substance than we could ever offer in return to God. In this context, we can also consider the Passion toward which Christ journeys on this road to Jerusalem, and what He will do for us, and how that compares to anything we could do for Him. God's love and mercy, and the life more abundantly that His own "work" and sacrifice as Suffering Servant will bring to us is incomparable in value to what we as servants could possibly do for the Lord in return. As we have discussed over the course of the past several readings and commentary, this language once again touches on terms the reflect the concept of "debt," for the Greek word translated as "unprofitable" indicates a lack of capacity to repay. If indeed we consider that faith as a mustard seed can be so powerful, then truly the faith with which we're blessed is something we don't have the power to repay, for we haven't got the capacity to give a gift on that same order of merit or worth. So God's love and mercy -- and the commands which lead us into the life of the Kingdom -- are things for which we can't create substance of equal quality or value. Our sense of what is most precious must be adapted in order to correctly esteem the value of such a life, and so we are prepared to be humble and to forgive, for we receive so much more in return from God. From where I sit, following the commands of God has only added to my life in this world as well, for to follow His truth is indeed to find freedom in the sense of finding the way to carry one's cross, and to be relieved of false burdens under a much harsher yoke (John 8:32; Matthew 11:28-30). Let us be like the disciples, and demand of the Lord, "Increase our faith." For this is the place where we receive far more than we can ever pay in return.