Having Enough Faith?
Can be listened to here
Gate Pa – Year C - 20th Sunday Pentecost; 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Readings:
Psalm
Lamentations 3:19-26
First
Reading: Lamentations 1:1-6
Second
Reading: 2
Timothy
1:1-14
Gospel:
Luke 17:5-10
What I want to say:
What
does it mean to increase our faith? Is this a real question? What is it we have
faith in God to do? Fix it? Be with us in the midst of life?
What I want to
happen:
people to reflect on what it is we
have faith in God to do?
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
sad story from Facebook
people posted – praying hard son healed
believed
son healed
God
glorified
have
faith
three days – son died
hard
imagine devastation
family
many people who had had faith God would intervene
God would heal little boy
several posted how angry and devastated they
were that God had not healed him
some wondered if they had had enough faith
maybe
if they had had more?
so many asked
-
why God has this
happened
-
and why did you
not heal this little boy
-
why did you not
spare this faithful family this terrible pain?
They had faith that God would fix it
but God didn’t fix it
maybe if they had more faith?
2. Disciples
disciples too were looking for more faith
today heard how they asked Jesus for more
faith
with each story
Jerusalem
gets closer
with that disciples get both more hopeful and
more anxious
they
hope that their arrival will cause miraculous toppling of both Rome and Judean
elite
reign
God restored
Jesus
at centre of all that
they
- his disciples also at centre
seen enough crosses on the road and during their
lives to know how this story usually ended
seen enough death to know that Romans, Herod
and Sanhedrin did not take threats lightly
so they wavered
they
believed
and
they doubted
“increase our faith!” they said
increase our faith that you will win
that we will win
with the friends on Facebook they prayed
increase our faith that you God will fix this
and it will be all good
3. The cross
We the hearers know that with each step the
shadow of the cross grows darker
we know that God does not fix it
we know this path leads to betrayal
guilt
devastation
death
Jesus knows that with each step the shadow of
the cross grows darker
that God will not fix it
that this path leads to betrayal
guilt
devastation
death
What then is faith?
what it is that we are to have faith in God to
do?
4. Jesus responds
to be honest it is hard to know how to read Jesus’
response
some suggest he is saying that with the
smallest amount of faith we can do miraculous things – including planting
mulberry bushes in the sea
-
which is
miraculous, and silly
some say that he is saying faith will lead us
to see things in new and out of the box ways
-
like planting a mulberry
bushes in the sea
-
who would have thought
of that
some say that they really are missing the
point
either
have faith
or
not
ð like your arm is broken, or not
ð or pregnant – or not
just giving facetious answer
because Jesus wasn’t about casting mulberry
bushes into the sea
he was about changing the world
was faithful to his disciples
loyal to them as they were to him
that is what we are talking about here
being loyal
being faithful
trusting
that is faith
saying – either you are loyal and trusting
or you are not
together we are living reign of God
wherever that will lead
5. Faith
what it is we have faith in God to do?
fix it all?
Bible really clear that God will not fix it
reading of Lamentations is this astounding
reading of grief in face fall of Jerusalem
people are left crying out
-
why God has this
happened
-
and why did you
not stop the destruction
-
why did you not
spare we your faithful people this terrible pain?
today we join in that lament
that prayer to a God who does not fix it
and we bring our own griefs
our own cries
-
why God has this
happened
-
and why did you
not stop this
-
why did you not
spare us your faithful people this terrible pain?
6. Faithful Praying
to be able to pray that is to have faith
trusting that God is with us even when it is
not fixed
even
when we are in midst of the darkest place
God is there
faith is not gaining rewards
faith is not holding on to a God will fix it
all
we are not asked to trust that God will make
it all good if we have enough faith
So what is faith?
faith is trusting God
that God is bringing in reign of God
creation is being restored
faith is trusting in reign of God when all evidence
is to the counter
faith is trusting that God is with us
even
when nothing is fixed
when
there seem to be no rewards
even
when all we can do is join in the lament
so then
what it is that we are to have faith in God to
do?
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