Text Luke 17:5-10; Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 37:1-9; 2 Timothy 1:1-14
Theme Genug (Enough)
Subject Faith the size of a mustard seed
Occasion Lectionary
27 – 10/07/07 –
There
were two Easter celebrations here yesterday
In the morning we remembered Max Selzer and
Jesus’ teaching that in The
Father’s House there are many rooms
Jesus is the way, truth and life for us on the way to The
Father’s House
In the afternoon we remembered Cora
Foster and
Peter’s report that Jesus is
the Savior: He’s the One
Max was 76
Cora was 78
Both
had been sick for a long time
We knew death was near
When this final enemy comes,
the
resurrection faith is the best weapon
But we can get anxious
Is
it true Jesus?
If Christ has not
been raised, …we are of all people most to be pitied
(1 Cor. 15:17a, 19b)
- - - - - - -
Today Michael Henry-Richard
Daniels gets fully-fitted with the resurrection faith
Belonging with us to the body of Christ
He will be sustained through life’s difficulties
even his own death
We teach and believe that Michael receives the gift of
faith in baptism
Faith is a gift
“I cannot by my own understanding or
effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him”
Martin Luther wrote that; we teach it
Faith is a gift of God
Faith is faith is faith
There isn’t big faith or little faith
My German relatives us the
word Genug which means “enough”
Sometimes they’d say it when my brother Steve and I were
misbehaving
Genug
Other
times they would answer with it
“Min, is there enough milk”
Ya, genug
I’m
convinced that we do have enough faith
Ya, genug
But when the apostles came
like American consumers asking Jesus for more
Of course we wonder why
The context tells us
Our gospel reading is preceded by the call to forgive
Be on your guard!
If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is
repentance, you must forgive. 4
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." (Lk 17:3-4)
Oh Jesus!
This
is too hard:
rebuking offenders;
forgiving repeat offenders:
Increase our faith!
The apostles were not asking
for more security in their heavenly journey
They
want more faith to live with each other
We can surely relate
If it’s just me – just me-and-Jesus
I’m good to go
You too, right?
And our favorite Bible verse
is Philippians 4:13
I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me
Come on Jesus
You do your part and I’ll do mine
We’ll exceed quotas, run faster, and win
But then we hit the wall: reach our limit
Whose fault?
Mine or Jesus?
Come on Jesus, increase my faith
It’s important to remember
that Paul wrote Philippians from jail
How could he write such a thing as
I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me
Truth: through Christ, the body of Christ, who strengthened
him
Not big or little faith
But
faith that united Paul with people - genug
People like the Philippian congregation
People who brought him food and drink
while he was in jail
Today is Worldwide Communion
Sunday
It’s the reason many towns are hosting CROP Walks today
Determined to feed a hungry world
Genug
There is enough if we share
Momentum for our annual fund
appeal is increasing
This new banner proclaims the theme
Give
joyfully; receive happily
How could we imagine such a thing?
Because we know together genug – there is
enough
When Jesus established his
body, the Church, in the world
Everything was wonderful
Apostles fresh with the heat of the Holy Spirit
They evangelized
1000s joined at a time
New ones that had never met Jesus
Unless another member would carry out
Jesus’ mission
The health of the body was at
stake
The witness in the world was at stake
So there was need for rebuke and
forgiveness
Again, this isn’t about heaven
It’s about the health of the body for the sake of
the witness
If there was a thief in a
congregation,
Jesus taught that she should be rebuked and disciplined
She’s not a good candidate for evangelism calling
She needs to be re-evangelized into the
community
The first ones to read Luke’s
inspired account can relate easily
They’ve been facing these problems
Trying to keep the body healthy while continuing
the mission to the world
They found themselves lacking
Oh Jesus, increase our faith
"If you had faith the size
of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and
planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. (Lk 17:6)
Faith the size of a mustard seed will
make a mulberry tree obedient?
A little bit of faith and a whole
lot of obedience
That’s why the stories about
obedient slaves comes next
Not
about slave management but about obedience
Jesus tells of a house where
there is one who tends the sheep and the crops
The same one tends the kitchen and the table
When one duty is completed,
then
comes another responsibility
Obedience is what makes the
household function effectively
Obedience is what keeps the
witness of the body of Christ healthy in the world
Ready to rebuke: to stop anyone who would compromise the
mission
Ready to forgive: it is so vital to the witness
Faith, mature faith, leads
quite naturally to obedience
Faith? Genug Obedience? Ah, increase our obedience
- - - - - - -
Habakkuk
the prophet shouts
O
Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? (Hab. 1:1)
We know this plea
“Help me God!”
And the reading concludes
The righteous live by their faith (Hab.
2:4c)
More familiar is the just shall live by faith
Have enough faith?
Ya genug
It’s
what we live by
Trusting
enough to be obedient?
This is the only way to live in faith
Jesus is our Lord
There
is no need to pray for more Jesus
Jesus is savior of us all
Genug