Ordinary Saints - 4

Pentecost 19 (C)
Luke 17:5-10
The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord 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.
‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” ’

Sermon
Coming up this October 25 at Conseco Field house, there will be Colin Powell, Rudy Guiliani, Danica Patrick, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Zig Ziglar . . . all titans within their own vocations. Each of them in his or her own way has had a golden touch. Whatever they touched seemed to turn to gold, not literally of course. They had a way of adding value and worth. They each have had a way of bringing something special and precious. They had a way of moving things along, of getting results. Yes, these people show a golden touch.

When you look at the life of Jesus first followers, the disciples, you can see that they, too, had what could be called a golden touch. After Jesus sent them out into the towns and villages to extend his work, they went out and laid hands on people and the people were healed. They proclaimed the kingdom of God and people believed. They cast out demons. They raised the dead. Their lives flowed out of the power of Jesus and into the world. They moved things forward, added value and worth, and beauty to the world. Whatever they touched glimmered with the presence of Jesus.

But then, at some point, the disciples hit a rough patch of road spiritually. Their lives had taken turns they hadn’t expected. There was resistance they hadn’t anticipated. When it came to their work in the world, it seemed that they had lost their groove. They had begun to lose faith. They needed more of it.

And so they come to Jesus today in Luke 17, and they ask for it point blank: “Increase our faith. Help us believe again. We need some more of what we had before.”

Today we conclude our series on Christian vocation, where we have learned that in our tradition it is not just the pastor, the priest, the nun, the bishop or the pope who have a call from Jesus to serve. We all do. Every one of us in this room is called by Jesus. And we have looked at how those who are involved in education, and public safety, and health care extend Jesus’ reach into the world.
Today we celebrate the work of Jesus through those who are involved in business and trades. And it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if those of you who are involved in the business world feel like you have just come out of a golden age. It wasn’t that long ago, maybe two or three years, that it seemed that money pretty much grew on trees. There was money to made almost everywhere you turned, in the stock market, in real estate, in starting new businesses. Almost everywhere you put your hand there was gold to be found. You were moving forward. You were adding value.

Then, it changed. There have been some unexpected turns. There has been pushback. The road forward has been jagged and dark. And many of you find yourselves right where the disciples were: looking for a little faith. Faith in what? Faith in the system, maybe? Faith in the banks? Faith in the stock market? Faith in the government? Faith in our basic system of capitalism? Faith in something, you know, the way it used to be.

The disciples take their concern, their request to Jesus: “Increase our faith. Fill us up. Deepen us. Widen us. Strengthen us.” As if faith was some sort of commodity that you could measure. As if faith was something you could have in greater quantities. As if faith was something you could find in greater density. Often times we think of faith as something we can stockpile. We want to get more of it and store it up for those especially tough times. Then when the world turns against us, when the devil battles against us, we can reach into our arsenal and blast the opposition with and clear out the way.

And Jesus, what does he say? Jesus says “if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry bush, be thrown into the sea and it would be done for you.” Faith for Jesus is not something we measure or stockpile. Faith for Jesus is something we center on. It is the size of a mustard seed, bringing us to a single point of focus, focus on Jesus Christ. It is miniscule, so tiny is its point. But so great is its release.

You might wonder what in the world God could do with something so small. What could God possibly do with such a small package that you need a microscope to see it very well. Well . . . if you believe that God is the creator and take science seriously, you know that scientists tell us that God created the universe out of a microscopic point of bundled energy. God spoke the word and Kaboom! The Big Bang. If God can create all reality out of a singular point, then imagine what Jesus can do with your faith so focused, so fine, so concentrated that it resembles a mustard seed. Focused, balanced, receptive to the life that flows from Jesus Christ.

As you and I live our lives with single minded dedication to one who calls into existence the things that do not exist, the landscape around us changes. Our world gets reordered and rearranged. Jesus says that mulberry trees that once were here, now are over there – in the sea. Mountains, too, have cleared out. The rough places are made smooth. Valleys are lifted up. Living a life with mustard seed faith is to live in a world that is constantly changing, not because of the size or the density or the volume or the strength but because of its source and content – Jesus Christ.
For those disciples among us who have come to Jesus today like the disciples of old, looking for more and more, know this: you have it, already. It is already within you. Clear your mind. Catch your breath. Center yourself.

The stock market will not carry you forward. The banking system will not clear out a path. The government will not bail you out. Jesus Christ, who has always provided you what you need, will sustain you and continue to extend his reach through your work. Your work in business establishes order and prosperity and justice in the world.