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Give Us Faith! Proper 22C October 7, 2007 The Rev. Dr. Larry S. Hunter
This is one of those Sundays when I wish we had Bibles in the pew racks. I know we have children’s bibles, but I’m talking about regular Bibles with all the words in them. The reason is this: sometimes, in order to understand a passage of scripture it is helpful to have its context. Today is one of those sometimes. So let me put our passage in context for you.
Just before the passage we read today, Jesus said to the disciples, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! (Exclamation point) It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown in to the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! (Another exclamation point) If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.”
Then the disciples make their plea for increased faith. Did you notice the exclamation point at the end of their plea? It is there, big as life. The apostle’s said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” There is an exclamation point at the end of that request. And there is a good reason for it. Forgive, and forgive, and forgive. Indeed!
All along their journey with him, Jesus has been teaching them about the demands of the life of discipleship. Let’s see, how to put it into a few simple words
Hmm,
Leave your family and house and home.
Love your enemies.
Bless those who persecute you.
Don’t judge.
Forgive others.
Don’t save up riches on earth.
Carry no possessions.
Be servants.
Deliver people from trouble.
Don’t put yourself first.
Catch people like fish.
Never worry.
Give to whomever asks.
And now,
Don’t cause others to stumble.
Rebuke sinners,
And to top it all off,
Forgive without end. Amen.
No wonder the apostles cried “Increase our faith!” From the distance of time we tend to invest super-humanity in those first followers of Jesus. But they were as human as we are. And they were as daunted by the demands of discipleship as we can be. “Increase our faith!” You bet. We might just join them in that plea. With a double exclamation point!
And Jesus, never one to let them or us off the hook, lets us all know in no uncertain terms that they don’t need more faith, they simply need to live the faith that is in them. If they can just do that, well, amazing things will happen. Jesus uses the mulberry tree, notorious for its extensive root structure that goes deep and holds tightly to the ground and can penetrate a rock foundation, as a metaphor for the power of faith put into action. That would be a very difficult tree to uproot, and even more difficult to plant in the sea. Oh, you didn’t think he was talking about literally moving a mulberry tree with a command, did you? Well, maybe, but I think it is more about showing that with faith put into action amazing transformation can occur. And maybe the most amazing transformation of all will be a transformation of our own lives.
We might just become a people proficient at forgiveness. You see, I think it was that last development that knocked the disciples over the edge. Seven is one of those numbers in the Bible that means more than what it says. It signifies perfection or completeness.
What Jesus has really said is that we must forgive without end. Oh sure, our forgiveness is contingent on the repentance of the offender, so we are not faced with forgiving an unrepentant offender, but it is still hard to forgive.
It is hard enough for us to forgive once when we are hurt by another. It is hard enough for us to summon up the will to say the words, “I forgive you,” when all that is in us cries out for revenge, or justice, or even just a little wallowing in our righteous anger and hurt and the slights and sins of the other.
Parent, child, brother, sister, husband, wife, partner, no matter what, our lives are and will be marked by times of hurt, due to the actions or words of those closest to us. And in the Christian community, in this parish church, our lives will be marked by times of hurt, due to the actions or words of another. By the very act of living in community with others we lay ourselves open to be hurt – and to hurt others. Intentionally or unintentionally. And Jesus says – “you must forgive.”
And the disciples, speaking for all of us, and knowing that we cannot do that on our own, ask for help. And he seems to imply that it is not faith so much as faithfulness that will get us through. The recent disclosures of Mother Theresa’s crisis of faith is helpful here. Sure that she had lost her faith, she continued in faithfulness to her vocation and her ministry anyway. She will undoubtedly become a saint, despite her tortuous doubts, because of her faithfulness. She felt she had not faith, and yet she practiced faithfulness. For the proof of the Christian life is in the living out of it. One becomes a faithful person by practicing faithfulness. You become a forgiving person, not by some magical or mystical outside force making you forgive, but by simply practicing forgiveness. Not because it is easy, but because it is right. And because you and I are created to be people of forgiveness.
I will always remember a time that I took Communion to a homebound parishioner. We prayed the Lord’s Prayer. She commented that every time she prays that prayer, she realizes that Christians all over the world are praying that same prayer, asking for forgiveness and promising to forgive others.
She said that it was a shame that we don’t do what we pray we will. Jesus would agree and would say to us just practice forgiveness. Over and over again until it becomes what you are.
And then Jesus tells a parable. Every time I hear this parable it causes some discomfort for me. I expect that Jesus will at least offer a little bit of reward to the servant, even though the servant is just “doing what was expected.” But don’t you like to be rewarded or at least have your efforts recognized? I do.
I remember when Jan and I were both working full-time and sometimes I would do a few things around the house while she was still at work. When she got home, I would happily point out all the chores I had done. Jesus would probably tell me to cut it out. You were just doing what needed to be done. No need for praise.
For me, it is in living out the Christian life that we experience God. In the act of asking for forgiveness from others, we experience God. In the act of receiving forgiveness from others, we experience God. In the act of offering forgiveness to another, we both experience God – God grace and graciousness to live in renewed and restored relationship.
Jesus knew, and we have to keep learning over and over again, that the act of forgiveness is essential to any community, be it family or church. To be a disciple of Jesus is to look for ways to forgive rather than to look for ways to hold onto a grudge. To be a disciple of Jesus is to look for ways to let go of hurt, rather than to look for ways to nurse our hurt. To be a disciple of Jesus is to ask for forgiveness. To be a disciple of Jesus is to accept forgiveness. To be a disciple of Jesus is to extend forgiveness.
And when we have asked, accepted and extended forgiveness, God does not expect us to congratulate ourselves on our good Christian behavior. God expects us to simply say we have only done what was our duty.
I want to invite you to join me this week in examining our lives for need of forgiveness. Is there anything we need to ask God or another to forgive? Is there anything for which we need to accept the forgiveness of God or another? Is there anyone to whom we need to extend forgiveness? It really isn’t very complicated – just difficult sometimes.
But then, so is baseball. Since we are at a critical time in the baseball season, into the playoffs, I think an illustration from my favorite baseball movie is in order. At one point in the movie Bull Durham, the Durham Bulls baseball team is not doing well. To put it bluntly, they are in a slump. The coach wants to motivate them, to shake them up. The scene is the shower room. The coach suddenly throws a handful of bats at the showering players to get their attention. He then says,
“Now that I have your attention, let me say this. Baseball is a very simple game: you throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball. Any questions?”
Jesus got the disciples attention with the command to forgive without end. We might paraphrase the Christian life like this. The Christian life is very simple: you ask for forgiveness, you accept forgiveness, you extend forgiveness. Any questions?