Proper 22
Luke 17:5-10
In the midst of
that teaching, that journey, the disciples turn to Jesus and say, “Increase our
faith.” Give us more faith.
One commentator
I read had an interesting observation about this request. Proximity to Jesus doesn’t ensure
perfect or abundant faith. These
were the people closest to Jesus, who had been with him for some time. They knew him. They had seen and heard all that he had
done. But they didn’t feel like
they had enough faith. But maybe
we shouldn’t be so anxious if our faith does not always seem to be perfect or
full to us. Don’t worry if your
faith isn’t all that you think it should be. That’s just how it is for us human beings.
The Greek word
translated faith in this passage and in much of the New Testament is pistis. It’s a general Greek word beyond its religious usage. It can also be translated trust,
confidence, or commitment.
We are so used
to thinking of faith as belief, it’s hard to go beyond that understanding. And belief is a part of what pistis implies, but not all of it. This sort of faith is much more about
action. Belief, yes. But belief that Jesus’ words are
trustworthy to act upon. It’s what
motivates acts of discipleship. It’s
the confidence and commitment to act based on Jesus’ words and promises.
Today we are
also so focused on quantity… How
much of something do I have or need?
Last week’s
reading of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus urged us to not focus on
quantity, quantity of money. It’s not how much money you have or
don’t have, Jesus said. It’s what
you do with it.
And this week
Jesus seems to be saying… it’s not
how much faith you have or don’t have.
It’s what you do with it.
Here’s the heart
of it for me. What would you do if you had more faith? The emphasis is on “do.” Faith motivates action. So what would you do if you had more
faith?
And what’s
really stopping you from doing whatever it is? Go on out and do it, Jesus says. You have enough faith to do pretty much anything.
I remember very
little of the Greek I took in seminary.
But this week I read quite a bit from people who are good at Greek. And Jesus’ words to the disciples are
interesting. That first phrase,
where he says, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed,” is a particular
sort of grammatical construction in Greek. It’s conditional with an implied positive result. What the Greek actually says is, “If
you had faith the size of a mustard see…
Which you do!” It may not
seem like much, but you have faith the size of a mustard seed. And with just that much faith, you can
work wonders. You can do the
faithful work you are called to do.
Why doesn’t
Jesus give them more faith when they ask?
They don’t need more.
So no need to
fret or fuss. Just do what Jesus
commands us to do. Love your
neighbor as yourself.
Like the
disciples, we have enough faith to do what faithful people do.
