Proper 22

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

King David was granted great wealth and ability, which enabled him to set things up for his Solomon, his son, to build to build this grand Temple for the Lord.

In the epistle reading, St. Paul gave thanks to God that the Thessalonians faith had increased, because they needed it to endure persecutions.

Likewise in the Gospel reading: Jesus pointed the disciples not to the strength of their faith, but to the strength of its object (Jesus). Nothing is impossible for God. Therefore, if Jesus gives us a command, we can confidently obey it, trust he will provide for all we need.

GOAL—That the hearers would recognize that when they do good they are only doing their duty. Vs. 5-6 teaches that through our faith may be small, it is still large enough to do a lot for the kingdom.

MALADY—The mention of the mustard seed demonstrates that the smallest amount of faith can do wonders, but we typically think we need more if we are going to serve Christ.

MEANS—God feeds us with His Word and Sacrament, which equips me for every good works that He gives me to do.

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Living in this world we have grown accustomed to have benefits and rewards increase as authority and responsibility increase. An individual gets a promotion on the job from a worker to a manager, and often times this advancement comes with a salary increase and extra benefits.

In Christ’s kingdom however, this works in the exact opposite way. An increase in responsibility comes with an increase in opportunity for service. An increase in faith brings an increase in opportunity to cling to God’s promises despite the trials and challenges that arise.

Living in the world this would normally cause a person to be filled with bitterness and resentment. But, this is not the case for Christians. We know we serve the One who first came to serve us. We consider it a privilege to imitate Him in our service to others. Just as His service to us brought Him great joy, so does our service to others.

In our text today Jesus corrects the disciples’ desire for more faith. He says the quantity or degree of faith does not matter. It is sufficient just to have faith. The illustration of the mustard seed emphasizes that the smallest amount of faith can do wonders.

Minimal Faith Produces Maximum Results

And He illustrates this in a very interesting way—pointing directly at the one who tempts someone to sin, and saying “woe” to them. And Jesus says that we need to go and rebuke that person, to which the disciples respond: “Lord, Increase our faith!”

So, let’s first talk about The Fact of Faith.

The Fact of Faith

Haven’t we at times caused offence?

We have lived selfishly, without regard for the needs of those around us.

Perhaps we have lived immoderately (in the use of alcoholic beverages, money, language).

Luke 17:2 “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.”

In Jesus’ illustration, the little ones (weak Christians) may have been led astray by the actions of a Christian who should know better—a very serious and deadly matter. To put it another way, to cause offense is to be an unworthy servant.

Have we not sometimes refused to deal lovingly with sinning brothers and sisters?

We have failed to rebuke them personally for a sin we see them committing. Perhaps we have taken the attitude, “It’s none of my business.”

And when someone has repented—acknowledged their sin—have we failed to forgive them as often as they repent?

When we see our tendency at times to deal harshly and self-righteously with sinning brothers and sister, we must confess our unworthiness—hence the disciples comment: “Increase our faith.” In Jesus’ example, to know that we have not always done our duty is to have the right perspective on duty.

But how, the disciples wondered, sensing their unworthiness, can we do our duty toward a fellow believer? They sense that the fulfillment of their duty is related to faith, or the amount of faith. But,

Faith makes it possible for us to do our duty.

We need only to exercise the faith we have.

What matters is not the amount of faith, or even faith itself, as though we were now obligated to get faith to do our duty. Rather, faith is instrumental.

Faith joins us to Christ so that through faith we receive His power. Thus, even a little faith can do great things (Luke 17:6).

Wherever there is faith in Christ, Christians will deal lovingly with one another.

We should not expect praise for doing our duty.

Jesus gives faith and increases it (Luke 17:5).

He does not owe us a thing; it is by His grace alone that we have faith and are about to do our duty.

The Proper Perspective of Faith & Duty

We Look to Jesus

We look to Jesus because He is the object of our faith. It is in Him we have the strength to do our duty—those things that need to be done.

Additional faith is not what is necessary, Jesus is all we need. He the author and finishers of faith. He joyfully went to the cross and bore the shame of our sin for us. Hebrews 12:2.

The faith we already have is enough to save our souls from hell, therefore it is sufficient for us to carry out our duty, or bear fruit. However, this faith needs to be tended:

John 15:4 Jesus tells us that as we abide in Him we will bear fruit. As we abide in Him, as we gather to hear His Word and receive His Sacrament. Jesus further tells us in John 15 that our Heavenly Father is the vinedresser—gardener—of the vineyard. He has designed the Word and Sacrament to cultivate and fertilize our lives.

Christ’s Word has made us clean (John 15:3) and it keeps us clean. As we just sang in the hymn of the day: “Open now the Scriptures Lord, seed to life eternal sowing, scattered on the wind abroad.” God’s Word is powerful and effective, and does what it says.

Christ’s Sacrament is the other gift that causes us to abide in Christ. John 6:56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” The Sacrament not only forgive sin, it keeps us connected to Christ, who is the object of our faith.

The right perspective on faith and duty is to realize that we are unworthy servants. But the right perspective on faith and duty is also to know that with God all things are possible. Through the faith He give us He enables us to do our duty and by His grace accepts the good that we do.