How Much Faith is Enough?
Lamentations 1:1-6; Luke 17:5-10
NO 10/7/07 MW

Scene

Jesus is focusing on the last teachings for his closest friends and he has just told them about the consequence of causing someone else to sin.  And now those dear friends who have followed him through thick and sin tell him to give them more faith.  I could almost hear the voice of Jesus as he turned to them and asked, “Tell me, how much faith is enough?”

I proposed that question to both of the Bible Study groups this past Wednesday and after an initial silence words came forth from several people saying, “Whatever amount we have is enough.”  Some said, in one manner or another, “We have enough to do whatever it is that God would have us do.”

            The Mustard Seed Chastisement

Usually, these references to the faith of a mustard seed are times of chastisement – “If only I had the faith as large as a mustard seed…”  And that may be an accurate interpretation of this passage for it is certainly the central thought throughout history.  And it is easy to see that response of Jesus to his disciples, who never understand him, and to us, who never understand him.

                        Increase Our Faith

This time, however, the disciples are not asking Jesus to give them faith as if they have none but they ask him to increase their faith.  They have some amount of faith and they want more.  And Jesus talks about the mulberry tree being moved but if you read this very carefully it seems that Jesus is reminding them that there is no way that they could ever move the tree but if they had some manner of faith and asked then God could move it.

The story always comes back to being about God and what God does and what God can do and how we can relate to God and to our world at the same time.  Rather than one or the other I believe Jesus is reminding the disciples that they life in two worlds at the same time: the Kingdom of God and their society.  We are in the same situation.

If Jesus Had Increased Their Faith

We are not told what would happen if Jesus had increased their faith but there are some things that we might surmise from their and our being human.  I can visualize the disciples gathering somewhere away from Jesus and getting into a contest about which had the most faith and soon the land would be barren as they moved mountains, trees, houses, etc.  They might have invited the whole town out to see how they could move mulberry trees with just the flick of their fingers. 

            Bif and the Hoover Fire Station Doors

When Bif was about four years old I would often take him to the Hoover fire hall – Station 1 which was the only station they had at that time.  I was a volunteer and the guys would really go out of their way to make Bif have a good time.  One of the paid firemen would get Bif to wiggle his nose and when he did the doors at the station would raise or shut.  Bif just could not believe he had such magical powers that he could just wiggle his nose and up and then down those huge doors would go.

                        More Faith

I think Jesus understood that if these guys had all the faith their wanted they would have no idea how to use it.  You know, faith is not something kept in a zip-lock bag.  Faith is a right now kind of deal with God.  And that, I believe, is the rest of the story.

You Are Given the Amount of Faith You Need to Do God’s Will

It seems to me that Jesus is telling the disciples and us something like, “Guys, I want you to know that you have all the faith you need at the moment to do God’s will at the moment.”  I think we think of faith as something we do because we confuse faith with belief.  Belief is that list of thoughts about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Church, neighbors and self that we are aware of and can list on a piece of paper.  Faith, on the other hand, is that step beyond that neat powerful list where we don’t understand and are not aware of anything other than our need to depend upon God.  Faith is that time when we hear ourselves saying, “Lord, I’m just plain lost and need your hand…”

            Faith Comes from God

We collect our beliefs and they are important.  Some of our beliefs even come from our experiences of walking in faith.  Faith, however, comes from God.  God gives us faith and I believe God gives us whatever faith is necessary to meet the challenge set before us.  Faith, as I understand it, leads and we follow.  We don’t know where we are headed but we trust that God does.  This kind of experience can happen at any age to any one.

                        The Seven Wonders of the World

A group of Geography students studied the Seven Wonders of the World.
At the end of that section, the students were asked to list what they think were considered to be the present Seven Wonders of the World.
Though there was some disagreement, the following got the most votes:
1. Egypt's Great Pyramids,
2. Taj Mahal,
3. Grand Canyon,
4. Panama Canal,
5. Empire State Building,
6. St. Peter's Basilica,
7. China's Great Wall.
While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student, a quiet girl, hadn't turned in her paper yet.
She asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list.
The quiet girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many but I think I have them now."
The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have."
The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the Seven Wonders of the World are:
1. to touch
2. to taste
3. to see
4. to hear
She hesitated a little, and then continued,
5. to feel
6. to laugh
7. and to love
Then the room was so full of silence it was deafening! It is far too easy for us to look at the exploits of man and refer to them as "wonders"- while we overlook all God has done for us regarding it as merely "ordinary".
Don't overlook the everyday important things like family, friends, hugs, laughs...they're some of the most important of all.  (An anonymous e-mail article)

Conclusion

How much faith is enough?  As much as God gives us is enough!  We will always be provided enough faith.  I can look back over my life, as you can, and wonder why God called me to be a follower of Jesus.  I can see times when I believe God took my mess and transformed it into a useful relational gift to others through me.  I’m willing to wager, and I don’t do wagering, but I am willing to wager that if you look honestly at your life you will ask the same question – “Lord, why did you choose me to be a follower?”

We can all clearly see those moments in our lives when we know we were called and we turned the other way.  We tell ourselves, “If only I had had enough faith.”  I want you to know that I believe Jesus told the disciples and each of us that we have all the faith we need to do what God has planned for us to do.  And I want to suggest that those times we turned away were times when God was saying, “Trust me, this is not the time.”

We celebrate the Lord’s Supper today and we are held in the love of the one who had faith enough to save the world.  We rub shoulders with the one who recognized that all the faith we can muster up for ourselves amounts to nothing.  It is Jesus who is telling us that we have all the faith we need to do God’s will.  It is this same Jesus who tells us that we are living in the Kingdom of God today and we will live in the Kingdom of God through eternity.  Step just one little step beyond your comfort zone in a direction the Spirit nudges you and see what happens.  I believe you and I will have all the faith we need for that moment.  Amen.