Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4| Psalm 37:1-10 | 2 Timothy 1:1-14 | Luke 17:5-10
Luke 17:5-10
5 The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ 6 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. 7 ‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? 8 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”? 9 Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10 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!”’
Introduction
Our gospel text is an interesting and complicated one. It seems, on the surface, to be a few random snippets all thrown together. The NRSVA translation of the Bible, for example, titles Luke 17:1-10 “Some Sayings of Jesus,” which is what biblical scholars and publishers call things when they’re like ‘I don’t know how all this goes together.’ But in fact, I think Jesus is making a logical argument, piece by piece. It’s a three-point argument. 1) In the Kingdom of God, abundant forgiveness is a normal thing. 2) But, it takes a foundation of faith. 3) And it does not earn you any rewards.
Let me try to explain a bit.
1. Forgiveness
Note the first line in our Gospel text. “Lord, increase our faith!” It’s the first time in 8 chapters that the apostles have been explicitly mentioned. There’s an exclamation point. It’s striking and seems to come from nowhere. And so we must ask: ‘why?’ Why do the apostles suddenly realize they need an increased faith? If we draw back in the context to what Jesus has just said in the previous few verses, we realize we’ve just entered the middle of a conversation that started this way:
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, “I repent”, you must forgive.’[1]
The theme is the ordinary practice of forgiving sins. And the key word is daily. Jesus is not talking about an extraordinary forgiveness, but the kind that is given out seven times per day. It’s hyperbole. He’s saying, the normal, default condition of the Christian is one of forgiving those who sin against you. And not forgiving is major stumbling block for the follower of Jesus.
2. Faith
And it is to this comment that the apostles exclaim: “Well, increase our faith!” You see, Luke uses the noun faith here. It’s the fifth time he’s used it in the Gospel, always with a sense of faithfulness or fidelity. So, it’s not so much ‘increase our faith’ in the sense of help us believe more. But rather, ‘increase our obedience. Our faithfulness. We don’t think we can do this daily forgiving people thing you’re talking about Jesus, without more faithfulness than we possess.’
3. Rewards
Jesus, then, takes an interesting turn. It’s a hard turn to follow. He says: ‘if you had even a little faithfulness, the size of a mustard seed, you could do impressive things like tell giant trees to move… and they will.’ Then he tells an odd parable. Let me read it again:
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?[2]
You need to know that the word thank there has a deeper meaning in the ancient Mediterranean of the first century. It’s not referring to a general statement of gratitude. It’s talking about a reward. An overpayment of sorts. A disproportionately grand and lavish bonus for doing a normal day’s work. And so the point of the parable is this: ‘when a servant does his job, he shouldn’t expect some extraordinary gift. He should go on to the next part of his job. He should not expect some disproportionate reward for doing the normal day’s work.’ And Jesus concludes there in verse 10: “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!’”
There are a few layers to this. First, Jesus seems to imply that they have no faith (again, in the sense of faithfulness) when it comes to normal, daily work like forgiving people who sin against you. Second, he tells them a parable that makes the point that it is just that: normal. You don’t need an extraordinary faithfulness to forgive, and you won’t get an extraordinary reward when you do. It’s just part of the Kingdom of God. It’s a typical, every day, part.
Conclusion
So? Is this us? Do we regularly forgive others as a matter of being faithful Christians? Or do we hold grudges? I find, that as I get older, it’s harder for me to forgive. Maybe the wrongs are wronger. Maybe I am losing patience for imperfections and irritations. But it is harder. And to be clear, I’m not talking about overlooking someone else’s mistakes or when they annoy you. I’m talking about real forgiveness. Moving past it to a point of peacefulness in your own heart. Is this how we approach others? Are we forgiving? While Jesus seems somewhat dismissive, rightly, making the point that forgiveness ought not be some extraordinary thing in the Kingdom of God, but a normal thing… I still identify with the apostles. ‘Lord, increase my faithfulness to forgive others who have trespassed against me.’ It is hard. And perhaps the answer to the question of how to do such a hard thing is an answer to the question of why. Why forgive others? Because we have been forgiven. Christ does forgive me as normal, everyday, sinner. And as the Lord’s prayer indicates, my forgiveness of others is bound up in God’s forgiveness of me.
So, I pray: Heavenly Father, help us to be a people who daily remember your extraordinary sacrifice in order to forgive us. Likewise, help us to be a people who daily remember to turn and forgive others in like fashion. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
[1] Luke 17:1-4.
[2] Luke 17:7-9.