Faith Alone, Grace Alone, and Mustard Seeds

Luke 17:5-10

This week I celebrated an anniversary – my baptismal anniversary. When I decided to go to seminary I had to put the date of my baptism on the forms I submitted. I never quite knew what the date was, so I had to research it a bit. This year, for the first time, I remembered that date when it arrived. I think it was partially due to the fact that we celebrated a baptism last Sunday. That baptism aided me in remembering my own baptismal anniversary. As I went about my day on Tuesday, my baptismal anniversary, I thought about grace. I thought about the waters of grace that were poured on my head when I was just over two months old. At that age I had no idea what baptism would mean for my life or why it was even happening. Now I know that it was happening because I am an unworthy sinner. I am a worthless slave. I am undeserving. In the act of baptism I was given the gift of God’s grace and God’s unconditional love. In baptism I was given faith – the same faith that the disciples in our text today asked Jesus to increase.

In the four verses that precede this text Jesus sets a standard for discipleship and servant hood. Jesus tells the disciples to repeatedly confront and forgive those who sin. The disciples are not sure that they are up for this challenge. They demand, “Increase our faith!” I don’t think Jesus responds the way the disciples were hoping. Jesus says, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed…”

When we hear “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed,” it is easy to think “of course I don’t have that much faith.” In Greek, this sentence has a different emphasis—the gist of this sentence is: "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed (and you do) ..." or “Since you have faith the size of a mustard seed…” Luke is affirming that they have the faith to do what is expected of them. No increase in faith is necessary – they already have ample faith. If they would believe and act on the faith that they already have, then they would be able to rebuke and repent and forgive within the community. In essence, he seems to imply that they don't need more faith, but to make use of the faith that they already have.

While the faith I have today is similar to the faith given to me at my baptism, it is also different. I think that our growth in faith is nearly always a movement from faith to faith, rather than from unbelief to faith. Similarly, who I am today is both the same and different than who I was as an infant. My essence – my DNA is exactly the same, but my knowledge, physical size, abilities, etcetera have changed considerably since birth.

The same is true of the disciples in our text today. They have faith. They have DNA. Their essence has not changed. However, their life circumstances have. When the disciples were each called to follow Jesus I bet their faith leaped to a new lily pad in the pond. When they witnessed Jesus doing miracles I would imagine they hopped to another. And in today’s text they are challenged to adopt the attitude of servants whose actions are responses to their identity rather than works seeking reward.

The same is true for all of us. We have the faith that was given to us at baptism. We have a DNA that is exactly the same as it was the day we were born. Our essence has not changed. Yet, our life circumstances have. Maybe your faith was altered when you traveled to Nicaragua or Zambia. Maybe your faith leaped to a different lily pad when your first child was born. Maybe it was when you helped with the food pantry or participated in the walkathon for the homeless shelter. Maybe it was when someone you loved died. The beauty of being individuals is that our faith is not identical. Faith cannot be shaped by a cookie cutter or a Jell-O mold. For this reason we cannot measure our faith by its quantity, nor can we compare our faith the person sitting next to us. Faith is ever-changing for all of us, yet different for each one of us.

We are each disciples. We are each called to servant hood. We are each called to adopt the attitude of servants whose actions are responses to our identity, rather than works seeking reward. We are called to live in a manner that proclaims “For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith—and this not from ourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” It is not about living a life of servant hood “if” we have faith. It is about living a life of servant hood “since” we have faith.

I spent Friday and Saturday at the Bolger Center with the church council and the chairs of the ministry committees. We spent our time together strategizing how to live out the new vision statement for St. Paul’s: “SAVED by God's grace and nourished through Word and Sacrament, we, the community of believers at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, are SENT by the Holy Spirit to SHARE the Good News and to SERVE our neighbors following the example of Jesus Christ.” We prayerfully considered what this church and its members are being called to do in the years ahead “since” we have faith. We don’t need God to increase our faith. Since we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we are called to be active in the way we live as servants who already have faith.

May we be filled with faith so that we can live lives of servant hood in response to our identity as God’s children redeemed and forgiven by Jesus’ gift of grace. As we work together in the kingdom, may we remember that we do not need Jesus to increase our faith, because Jesus has already given us all the faith we need. May we have the courage to live out the reality that we already have faith the size of a mustard seed and can therefore do whatever it is God is calling us to do.

Let us pray. O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.