Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity
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Readings: 2 Timothy 1: 1-14 and Luke 17: 5-10
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” It’s no doubt a request we’ve all made from time to time, either because we generally feel fragile about our Christian beliefs and commitment, or because certain events or upsets in our lives take away some of the certainty we thought we had within ourselves.
All the same, it seems slightly strange that the disciples should put the request to Jesus. There he was standing in front of them! Maybe we’ve often considered that faith would be easier if we could see or touch the one in whom we put our trust. No doubt many other people would turn to the Lord if he were to appear in flesh and blood here in our lifetime. But the fact that the apostles had Jesus standing there in front of them, and still had to ask ‘Increase our faith’ rather shows the complex nature of faith. One writer suggests that the disciples realized that things were coming to a head between Jesus and the religious authorities, and they wanted some miraculous injection of faith that would insulate them from the tension building up. Unfortunately, faith doesn’t work like that.
What is faith? One schoolboy gave the answer “Faith is when you believe – ‘cos you want to – something which you know ain’t true.” The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews gives a slightly more considered view at the beginning of chapter 11: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen.”
Today, many people have no faith at all. Now there are, perhaps, two levels of faith. The term ‘Christian faith’ refers to a knowledge or belief in the God who exists and who has sovereignty over the world. Many people would say they ascribe to that belief, but don’t take the issue much further. But when the apostles asked ‘Increase our faith’, they certainly weren’t denying the existence of God: they wanted help and advice on how to develop and maintain this trust. The philosopher William James, writing in 1879, said, “Faith means belief strong enough to determine action in something concerning which doubt is still theoretically possible.”
Now there are a number of classic arguments put forward for the existence of God, but none of them produces a watertight case. And, in any case, I suspect most Christians don’t worship God because they’ve been persuaded through some subtle argument that he exists, but because they have experienced God in their lives; because they have accepted Jesus his Son as Saviour, and know his Spirit to be with them and in them.
It isn’t just pleasant, fulfilling experiences in life that bring people to Christian faith: sometimes they turn to God after a tragedy, an illness or bereavement, or some other adverse experience. They realise that they have been missing that deeper meaning to life which has only come into sharp focus through a particular event which has brought them up with a jolt. The beginnings of mature faith may well be sparked off by a particular incident in life. For others – like myself – faith seems to have been around since childhood and there was no one pivotal moment. But what we may say about all believers is that they have had some measure of revelation. Don’t be frightened by that word! It just means that in some way God has revealed himself, or disclosed himself to us in such a way that makes sense; that makes us want to worship him; to follow him; to know more. We may not feel we can wholeheartedly follow, because of doubts, or a sense of unworthiness. But even if we can only cry out ‘Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief” – as did the father of an epileptic boy Jesus encountered in Mark’s gospel – then we are inviting God in to take us further.
The apostles asked, “Lord, increase our faith.” And Jesus replied, “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. It’s worth remembering that it was the custom in the ancient near-east to use language in the most vivid way possible, and the mulberry tree was known to have particularly stubborn and invasive roots. Jesus is saying here that even what looks completely impossible becomes possible if approached with belief in an active and life-changing God.
In life generally, if we approach something saying ‘It can’t be done’ then it won’t be done. If we approach it saying ‘It must be done’, the chances are much stronger that it will be done, or attempted. Writing on this passage, Jane Williams says, “The disciples don’t need more faith – they just need to use what they have already got.” So our will must be in tune with God’s will; for us to be able to take risks and chances, firmly believing that we approach no task alone, but that with us there is God and all the power of God.
This is the gist of the message from Paul to Timothy in the reading today. Timothy has received his faith, it would appear, not from a dramatic conversion like Paul’s, but through his family- his grandmother and his mother – perhaps like many of us. It would seem that Timothy was a young man who lacked confidence. But Paul reminds him that he has a God-given ministry and must not be timid about exercising it. I found some words from Sue Hope helpful here: ‘It’s sometimes tempting to think that it’s only extroverts who are called to bear public witness to Christ and to share the good news. If these were things we could do in our own strength, there might be some truth in this. But God’s work can be done only in the power and strength of the indwelling Holy Spirit. And, sometimes, those who feel most vulnerable and uncertain are those whom God can use most. For when we feel weak, we lean on God for strength. We may not feel his power with us – even after prayer, we may still feel foolish, tongue-tied, awkward and stumbling – but, with his help, even our simple words may become carriers for his mighty acts.”
I remember a lady in one of my previous parishes – Victoria. As age took its toll, she had to give up driving and rely on taxis to get her the two or so miles to church each week. She was a very private person, the last to talk about faith openly, but the taxi-driver was curious about this church he was driving Victoria to. He got the job each Sunday, and over the weeks she was able to develop the conversation about why she found it important to be at church each Sunday. I remember her being so pleased that she had the opportunity to witness to her faith in this unexpected way.
When the disciples asked the question about faith, there were perhaps expecting some deep philosophical answer, or an instruction to go and pray harder, or to read the scriptures more thoroughly. But they didn’t. In fact, they didn’t receive a very straightforward answer at all. Jesus reminded them that they were in their master’s service, and were no more than slaves doing what they ought to have done. This is quite a challenging concept for many people, I expect. How often we crave praise for doing our duty. How often relationships are marred by our insistence that our sacrifices should be rewarded and our hard work recompensed. Rather, we are urged to lay down our self-centredness and become willing to work for others for their sake, and not for the sake of recognition.
So faith requires of us boldness and effort and imagination. God may sow the seed and set the spark alight, but we are the ones who may have to put a foot into the unknown; to take risks which might fail; to take action in a situation well beyond what the evidence suggests is sensible – for God’s sake. Perhaps to go two miles when only prepared for one; and then at the end of the day not to think that God is in our debt, for we are merely slaves doing what we ought. Perhaps we are talking about humility here. A life shaped by humility is a life that finds joy and freedom in service.