1002022 – Luke 17. 5-10
Jesus got a little testy, this morning… Maybe he got up on the wrong side of the mat or something…
And surprisingly, it’s not with the Pharisees, not with the rich or the powerful, not with the scribes, but with his buds—his homeboys, the disciples.
The story begins with the FRIENDS approaching him with a seemingly reasonable request: “Lord! Increase our faith!”
Which is kind of an understandable request given the sort of stuff Jesus has been talking about:
- Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. Go the extra mile.
- Bless those who curse you.
- Forgive even when it’s not deserved.
- Give without expecting anything back.
- And, while your at it, pick up your cross.
Jesus responds to his homies request with a touch of irritation— “the Greek word” suggests a bit of “snarkiness”—a little bit of “bite,” as he tells them that if they had faith as small of a mustard seed, they could command a mulberry tree to uproot itself and replant in the sea…and it would obey them.
He then proceeds to ask them if a servant would be so cavalier as to “demand a meal with his master,” or “receive special praise” for doing his “basic household chores.”
Now, this may strike us as “a little odd” because we know Jesus wasn’t in the habit of taking down or speaking unkindly of people of lowly status.
Instead, Jesus was usually in the business of “turning hierarchies and power structures” on their head, so why does he resort to conventional social structures to make this point to his disciples?
We have to keep in mind that, throughout the gospels Jesus reserves “his harshest criticisms” for “the proud” and saves his most “biting satire” for the folks who need to be brought down a peg or two.
From the beginning, Jesus’ ministry was about lifting up the humble and humbling the proud, of challenging those in authority and giving voice to the marginalized, so it’s safe to assume that there must have been “an element of pride” or “entitlement at work” in the disciple’s request to warrant this kind of response. YOU OWE US THIS!
And I wonder if we don’t get “a little clue” as to what that was…in Jesus’ strange—downright bizarre—image of “a mulberry tree getting planted in the ocean.”
Imagine if you can a mulberry tree suddenly uprooting itself, flying through the air, and then replanting itself in the ocean somewhere.
What on earth was that all about? Why would anyone want to do that? What an odd thing to even suggest!
I wonder if Jesus was gently, playfully poking fun at the disciples’ ongoing preoccupation with “flashy signs and wonders?”
Remember when James and John wanted an upgrade on powers, so that THEY could call down fire from heaven every time someone didn’t like – what they had to say?
But the “signs and wonders” performed by Jesus and described in the gospels always had a point. They were always constructive. They…healed…freed… multiplied…fed…blessed…restored… and comforted.
They pointed to “the mission of Jesus” and “to the purpose of the Kingdom he inaugurated.”
Today these stories remind us of our own call to…heal, free, multiply, feed, bless, restore, and comfort, those in any kind of need.
There’s nothing more “ridiculously useless” than replanting a trees in the midst of the ocean!
I wonder, if perhaps, Jesus wasn’t reminding his disciples that faith isn’t about “flashy magical tricks,” or pointless, “self congratulatory displays of power,” or in “destruction, and uprooting,” but in small little daily acts of faithfulness—those small little things that we do, one little seed at a time.
Do something. Do little things. Do anything. Help as you are able.
Faith, after all, is a gift.
And we don’t have any business telling God we don’t have enough, when God always gives us more than enough of what we need…
Maybe the mistake the disciples make isn’t so much in asking for more faith, but in thinking “they didn’t have enough,” in thinking God’s gift to them was insufficient. They were short-changed by God, somehow!
When in actuality they were letting their desire for MORE keeping them from working with what they had!
We all share the same God. And our God has given us everything we need to be faithful. So even if it’s just the size of a mustard seed, you’ve got MORE THAN YOU NEED.
It is sufficient. It is enough.
Just rely on it, use it, call upon it…and accomplish what you can on behalf of others… Amen.