Pentecost 20

Pentecost 20 (Luke 17:5-10) “If you have faith…”

The seeds of faith grow in the soil of service.

The disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. They were probably
looking for a set of religious  rituals, spiritual practices or even a moral code.
Jesus gave them a very strange answer in the form of a story about a slave.

On occasion Jesus deliberately shocked his followers in order to help them
wake up from their cultural assumptions about God, humanity and themselves.
Jesus understood that many people sleep walk through life and miss the blessing
God has designed into the universe.

It is important to hear what Jesus has to say about waking up and growing in faith though an attitude and acts of service.

The principles of the Kingdom of God are frequently counter intuitive to the principles our culture teaches us. The fundamental contradiction between what Jesus teaches and what most of us believe is in the area of freedom.

The world teaches us that freedom is the ability to get what you want when you want it. Jesus describes such an attitude as slavery. Freedom is union with God the Father through God the Son by the indwelling real presence of the God Holy Spirit. Jesus sets us free from the slavery to fear that defines our lives and haunts our desires.

The way of faith is the way of freedom. And, the way of faith is the way of service. Such service does not come easily to us. Jesus uses the story of a slave to illustrate his point. The slave in the ancient world, and sadly in many parts of the world today including the United States, has no control over his time or his work. His master sets the schedule and the work. The slave is responsible to assist the master and care for him even after his normal work day is over.

The way of faith is the three fold way of love. The three fold way of love is service to God through worship, service to others through acts of compassion, and service to the authentic self by seeking to transform our mind, heart and will in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

When the disciples say: “Lord, increase our faith” the first question Jesus asks is” do you have faith? Faith starts small and grows much as a tiny seed grows into a large bush or a tree. If you have faith then that faith, no matter how small, will grow. That is what faith is. Faith is the seed of unconditional universal love. It starts small. It grows, It expands. It widens its scope. It actually increases the ability of the soul to experience and share greater levels of blessing.

So, if the disciples are asking to have their faith increased then there must be a problem. Faith will always grow as a seed will always grow unless something in missing. For a seed it could be nutrients in the soil, sunlight, water or pests.

For faith, the problem hinges on the word “Lord”.

Do we really believe Jesus is Lord? Do we really believe what God has revealed to us through Moses, the prophets and the apostles? Do we really pay attention to the model prayer Jesus taught his disciples and the disciples passed on to us? Are we honest in our prayer when we say to God: “Thy will be done”?

“Thy will be done” is the response of a servant to his master. It is the preeminent prayer Jesus prayed on earth as He followed God the Father’s Plan of salvation.

As will all things in the universe God created it starts with a choice. Have we chosen to accept Jesus as the one who saves us from sin and death? That is the first step. The next step is to enter into a life long process of transformation by which we can honestly call Jesus Lord.

As with the slaves of that time, to call someone Lord and Master means that He, not us, sets the agenda for our time and behavior. It means our life motto and our daily prayer will be: Heavenly Father, not my will but Thy will be done. All souls who choose to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven do so as they make a real choice to say to God: Thy will be done. All souls who refuse to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven so as they make a real choice to proclaim. “My will be done.”

The disciples had some concept of faith. They had some sense of the value of faith. They even perceived within themselves a deficit and a defect in faith. They thought in worldly terms of knowledge and power. They thought they could practice the way of faith as an add on to the way of pride and self-will. Jesus wanted them to understand that the way of faith is personal. It is based in and nourished by the personal relationship God the Father seeks to establish with us through God the Son.

For those who have even the smallest disposition towards a life of faith, God the Holy Spirit supplies the opportunities for us to increase our faith. Faith is personal but not individual. Faith grows only as we make daily choices to enter into the three fold path of universal unconditional love in relationship to the One who is the personal incarnation of love.

When we begin to say: Jesus is Lord, we begin to acknowledge that love is the meaning and purpose of our lives and of all life. As we begin to walk the way of Jesus through faith we find opportunities to grow and transform.

Once a week Jesus invites us to join him at the altar of sacrifice to receive an infusion of grace that will increase our faith.  Jesus expresses his Lordship over our time by setting aside a specific time to practice our faith.

Every day Jesus invites us to join with him in ministering to the material, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs of others. Jesus expressed his Lordship over our resources and possessions by bringing to our awareness and presence those in need of food, housing, medical care and companionship.  Our faith increases as we perceive human need to be the divine invitation to meet that need. The vast material poverty that currently exists on this planet is a reflection of the spiritual poverty in our souls. It is the perfect mirror to reveal to us where we still refuse to acknowledge Jesus as lord.

Every day  Jesus invites us to read the Bible, study the Bible and memorize the Bible. Every day Jesus invites us to enter into a conversation with him through prayer. Every day Jesus encourages us to ponder the reality of God in the beauty of nature, in the smile of a friend, in the kindness of a stranger.

The disciples made a wonderful request. Increase our faith. Jesus wanted to make sure that faith comes from paying attention, from hearing, and from acting on the Word of God incarnate. Faith is like a seed. And like a seed it grows in the soil of service to God through worship, service to others through practical acts of kindness, and service to the image and likeness of God by praying to God: not my will but Thy will be done every day in every way today tomorrow and forever. Amen.