Sermon by The Rev Chris Yaw, 10/2/2022, Luke 17:5-10
Then the salesmen at Matick Chevrolet went to the General Manager and said ”Increase our sales!" The sales manager said, "Okay, go make more cold calls."
Then the bodybuilder at 24-Hour Fitness went to his trainer and said, “Increase my size!"
The trainer said, "Ok, workout more."
Then the Detroit Symphony Orchestra musician went to her conductor and said, “Increase my solos!" And the conductor said, "Sure, practice more."
So when the disciples went to Jesus In our Gospel lesson this morning with the three-word request, "Increase our faith!" They were asking a simple question with a simple answer.
Notice I said a simple answer, not an easy answer.
"Increase our faith!"
How do we do that?
Trust more in Jesus.
Increase your trust in Christ.
Increase your dependence, your reliance, your life's emphasis, on the Lord.
Become more like him.
Spend more time with him.
What can I spend less time on so you can spend more time with him?
For me, it's TV, listening to music, writing, exercising, working.
So yes, I’m not up on the latest TV shows.
I’m not up on the latest music.
I’ve not written as much as I’d like.
I’m not in the best shape I could be in.
I’ve not gotten as much ‘done’ as I could.
You mean I’m being asked to sacrifice some things I like to do to make more room for God?
Sacrifice for God, as God has sacrificed for me.
That’s because, like physical exercise, like practicing an instrument or sales technique - it will be good for us - because we will get better at what we want to be better at doing – following Jesus – our life’s quest.
We get better at doing the things Jesus does by mimicking the things Jesus did.
And why would we want to do that?
What happens when we’re able to ‘Increase our Faith!’
Jesus says we’ll be able to tell a mulberry tree to hop into the sea and it will do so.
And since I think most mulberry trees are planted in pretty good places and are in no need of my amateur re-location - I think I’ll keep them out of the sea…
So, of course, Jesus is giving us a metaphor here.
He is saying that with faith, the absurdly impossible becomes possible.
Things we felt were absurd and in no way possible, become possible.
Here’s a list of the absurdly impossible things I’d like to see happen —
In my life, I’d like to become:
Few things would bring us more joy - or witness to others more thoroughly the verity of the Christian gospel - than a picture of you and me doing just one of those absurdly impossible things.
Calm in the Storm.
Riding a roller coaster at Cedar Pointe, a teenager sitting next to an older girl nearly lost his voice screaming after the coaster seemed to hit a rock on the tracks and barely hang on by two wheels before somehow righting itself. After the coaster stabilized, the frazzled teen asked the older girl why she was so calm - she hadn’t screamed or gripped the armrest through the whole ordeal. “Easy,” she said, “this is my 8th time on this ride today, we weren't really in danger, that’s just part of the ride.”
She knew how the adventure was going to end. She was certain all would be well.
How much more for you and me, when Jesus promises, on so many occasions, that no matter what threatens us - no matter how big the rock in the road - the darkness of the sky, the speed of the wind, he will always be with us, he will not desert us, and that our end is always with God.
So Calm in the Storm, perhaps it's an absurd possibility for you as well - then there's being:
Content in Uncertainty
While vacationing in another country, a British couple rented a motorbike to get to through Athens - where not only the street signs written in Greek, but most of them were missing or defaced anyway. “How are we going to get across town?” asked the husband. “Hop on,” said his wife, as she explained that she had Google Maps pulled up on her phone. And that at every turn she would be given instructions as to where to go. “Left in a quarter mile,” “Right at the next turn,” “Your destination is on the Left.”
While at any point in their journey, neither of them actually knew exactly where they were, they were relaxed and calm, knowing that they would be told where to go and when to go when they needed to know.
Friends, you and I may not know exactly where we are or how we’ll get to where we're going - but God is here to hold us and guide us and guide us on a need-to-know basis. It is our job to believe that is the case - that we are in the place we're supposed to be, on the path we're meant to be on.
We can be content in uncertainty.
Another absurd impossibility is to be:
Joyful in distress.
I had lunch this week with a Christian dad whose only-son turned 20 a few years ago, only to be diagnosed with a serious case of Schizophrenia.
He told me about his son's hospitalizations, medications, delusions, and threats he'd made with weapons - and the ways he and his wife were coping.
And we talked about my friend's health, his faith, and his commitment to live out St. Paul's advice in the Epistles to 'Rejoice always.'
And we discussed the distinction that we need not thankful for schizophrenia, or any other such illness/challenge.
But we can be thankful in that illness/challenge. How?
and here’s where we went:
- We can by thankful in this suffering because in assisting them (and not retreating), we are obeying a central command of our faith: to love one another.
- We can be thankful knowing that being in close relationship with the suffering will make us, friends, family, and especially children, more compassionate
- We can be thankful knowing that forging through with poise will test/strengthen our patience and grit. Like a muscle, it gets stronger with exercise
- Also, when we forget through with faith, our every act of aid will draw us closer to God and that person - knowing that God is always closest to those who suffer.
- We can also be thankful knowing that we are becoming more understanding of what other caregivers are going through.
- This will deepen our appreciation for doctors/hospitals etc.
- We can be thankful knowing that our faithfulness means we’re being faithful to God, our vows, and our conscience.
- And what’s most mysterious when we look to be thankful in distressing situations, is that we often see, quite profoundly, that out of suffering comes magic.
Being Joyful in distress, seemingly absurdly impossible, then:
Loving our opponents Lord, increase our faith to help us do that!
A high school friend hosted an old classmate who came to town this week from Washington. He's raising money for two congressional candidates. I talked to my friend, who's got political views diametrically opposed to the guy he's hosting.
'Why are you hosting him?,' I asked,
'Because he's an old friend, another human being, and if I put my political opinions above someone who's made in God's image, what does that say about idolatry and my commitment to healing the political divide that's plaguing our country?'
I thought that was a pretty good answer.
I also thought that he must have recently prayed for the Lord to 'increase his faith ' - because that's what we need to go to battle with the demons of division - to be loving to those with whom we may have serious disagreement. ##
We also need to increase our faith to be patient in suffering.
What can help, is to discover the power of ‘yet.’
A friend recently reminded me that sometimes a small, three-letter word can make all the difference.
Yet.
To illustrate, listen to the difference in these two sentences:
“I am discouraged because I don’t know how to figure this out.”
“I am discouraged because I don’t know how to figure this out yet.”
Adding this critical word opens up possibility and hope.
The first sentence states a fact, a statement that seems to be the end of the story - rather than the mid-point of a story that is still going on.
Adding this small, but powerful word helps people move, in the words of researcher Carol Dweck, from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.
“I don’t know how to change my unhealthy drinking patterns.” yet
“I am burned out in my work, and I can’t figure out a way to make a change.” yet
“My grief – my depression - is overwhelming, and I have no idea how to create the next chapter in my life.” yet
Each challenge here is significant and is not quickly resolved by simply adding the word ‘yet.’
But without that vital word, we will lack the mindset needed to keep trying until we figure things out, as well as being open to asking for help from others.
Are you stuck right now in a loop of thinking that a particular concern in your life cannot change? That your suffering will be never-ending?
This week, try to shift to a “yet mindset,” one that creates an opening for growth and change. That's your homework, using that little three letter word, yet.
Being patient in suffering is made easier with the power of yet.
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Friends, the disciples prayer is our prayer, 'Increase our faith!'
It is to help us do the absurdly impossible:
"Increase our faith!"
How do we do that?
Trust more in Jesus.
Increase your dependence, your reliance, your life's emphasis, on the Lord.
Become more like him.
Spend more time with him.
What does that look like for us?
How might we further our way down that path?
How is God calling us to take that more seriously?
May Our God of power, who granted the disciples their wish to ‘increase their faith’ do so with us as well.
Amen.