Increase our faith

 

 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 things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.' "

 

- Luke 17:1-10 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus gave another parable to the Pharisees:  "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 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 , '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 tells us that little ones refers primarily to children, and by extension to anyone whose heart is humble and dependent upon God.  In our recent passages, Jesus has been teaching parable alternately to the Pharisees (and scribes), and to His disciples.  First He gave the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin to the Pharisees, after they criticized Him for receiving and dining with tax collectors.  Then He gave them the parable of the Lost Son (or Prodigal Son).  To the disciples, He then taught the parable of the Unjust Steward.  He taught, "You cannot serve God and mammon," indicating that even in material things of this one, one must put God first.  When the Pharisees scoffed at this, He taught the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, in our reading on Saturday (above).  Here, Jesus once again turns to His disciples.  His warnings are not only for the Pharisees and scribes, but also for His own followers, about how they will treat those who are "little ones" -- the humble among those who will come in the Church.

"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."   Again, taken in the context of all the parables and the lessons He is teaching, this is another lesson about humility and power in the Church.  The importance of forgiveness, in the context of the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man given to the Pharisees, and His warning to the disciples about abuse of the "little ones" takes on the understanding of a warning about abuse of power and position.  Here, forgiveness, predicated upon repentance, is an important exercise in learning how to truly serve God in the Church.  God forgives the repentant, so we do likewise.  Seven times in a day is a figure of speech, meant to indicate that there is no limitation to this teaching.

 

 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."  The disciples make the request of the Lord, "Increase our faith," an indication that this is a hard teaching, and that it is faith through which we find the capacity to follow in discipleship, to live His teachings.   My study Bible indicates that the mulberry tree is considered to be a symbol of the devil's works in the image given here.  It is on the leaf of this tree that silkworms feed, worms being an image of hell and corruption (Mark 9:42-48).  This patristic interpretation, my study Bible says, is confirmed 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 comments that the servant plowing is mentioned first, and the one tending sheep second, to show that one must first work out one's own salvation (Philippians 2:12) before one can become a shepherd of others.  Jesus uses a parable to teach about being a servant of God, a theme repeated throughout the cycle of parables He has recently taught.  

"So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.' "  My study Bible comments that unprofitable (or possibly "without merit") doesn't mean without intrinsic value.  What it declares is that all that we have comes from God, and is in that sense owed back to God.  There is nothing we can offer to God that does not already belong to God (see also the reading and commentary on parable of the Unjust Steward).

 

Jesus illustrates to the disciples the importance of having an attitude that we are servants to God.  That is, in this world and in this life, we seek to serve God in all that we do.  They, in particular, as those who will become bishops in the Church, the first in a continuing line, must think of their positions as those of servants to the Lord, and their lives as those who are "in service" in that same sense.  And so, this sense of serving is also extended to all of us who would call ourselves Christians.  It is not so much that we must think of sacrifice and hard work.  It is more like Jesus is giving an emphasis to the true reality of our lives -- that we must always choose whom it is we serve in all that we do, either God or mammon (a purely materialist outlook), for one cannot serve both.  We in the modern West are great fans of thinking that we make all our own decisions and operate entirely independently, but this is truly never the case.  That is, as human beings, we gather ideas and outlooks and understanding from the world around ourselves.  If we do not consciously choose faith and service to God then what we are left with is simply what is around us.  We can choose between a kind of selfishness as learned through the purely worldly or put our faith in service to something much greater than the material world alone, the One who created this world.  God pulls us beyond selfishness as a way of life, self-centeredness as the only way to see and be in the world.  We will all have to choose what or whom we serve.  There is a  danger is that so many do not consciously realize this truth about their lives, motivations, and impulses.  In an age of social media, there is great impact on collective behavior, especially of the immature, by virtue of what everybody else seems to be doing or thinking.  The "group" becomes a very important factor in choices that drastically affect one's life, as is shown in study after study about certain trends, such as anorexia or self-harm among girls, even according to some current studies, the idea of gender transition surgery.   While we can look at teenagers or children and clearly understand the literal lack of maturity/development of the brain and nervous system or lack of experience in life, this sense of being conditioned by the world around us becomes something about which a conscious adult must always remind themselves.  And therein comes the importance of prayer and faith.  So often we are called to serve the immediate needs of family members, and concerns about work and duties and responsibilities always present themselves.   But in this swirl of demands, we really do need to remind ourselves that it is God whom we seek to serve in all of our choices, and faith that sustains and strengthens us in making them.  If forgiveness is difficult, even when another has repented or sought to show good will, then it's important to remember that is God to whom we turn and seek to serve in life.  In fact, the fullness of life depends upon this whole picture of what we're doing in the world, and that includes the One whom we seek to serve.  It is a far bigger and holistic picture of life to understand that we're not alone and isolated in all that we do, that we are in a communion which is much greater than we understand, and that we serve ends that go far beyond the small outlook we know and with a plan for our own future far beyond what we see.  In all of these recent parables, Jesus has given us a picture of unplanned and unforeseen outcomes by those who act with shortsighted behavior.  The images we are given of God in the parables teach us that there is a greater plan beyond the specific moment, a love and yearning for the lost to be saved and found, restored in community, a rejoicing in such an event, and a greater place of belonging where the humble will be our friends and treasure in heaven.  But first we make a choice what we will seek to serve in life, where our time, energy, and all other resources will go, and to what purpose and effect.  Faith becomes a powerful energizer, a way of gaining strength, and doing what we need to do.