You have faith enough!

Luke 17:5-10

Today it’s my turn to talk about measuring what matters. Faith matters. Is your faith larger than a mustard seed? Is it large enough to move a tree?

We could think about a mustard seed’s size. You get 5 mustard seeds to the inch, if you lay them side by side next to a ruler. There are smaller seeds, and larger seeds, but these are the ones Jesus mentions because the plants can grow quite large if left alone.

Or we could talk about the size of the mulberry tree you could move. Jesus says we could move one from here to there, no problem.

But what the disciples are measuring is the amount of faith they have. Jesus, they say, increase our faith. And Jesus responds that they all have enough faith to do amazing, unexpected things, like moving trees.

… Amazing, unexpected things happen when we have faith, no matter how little. Francis of Assisi heard a message from God: rebuild my church, which is in need of repair. It wasn’t the building Francis was called to rebuild, but people’s faith in God. Through simple preaching, he brought the truth of God’s love to those who had stopped paying attention.

His determination to depend fully on God attracted the attention of others, who joined him and soon formed a community of like-minded brothers. Beyond that, women heard the message and formed cloisters, totally dependent on God and the community to provide for them, even as they provided for those in need. It wouldn’t have happened if Francis didn’t have the faith to pay attention to God’s message in the first place.

… Amazing, unexpected things happen when we have faith, no matter how little. Yesterday when I got home from the pet blessing, I watched a few segments of the service of Installation of the New Presiding Bishop of the ELCA. It is with faith that the Churchwide Assembly elected Yehiel Curry as the new Presiding Bishop. He is a younger – as bishop standards go – Synod Bishop. And he’s African American. In this Church that has been known to be a bit racist, the election of a Black man to lead the denomination is nothing other than amazing. Congratulations, Bishop Curry! We have faith that you are called by God to lead us into the future.

… Amazing, unexpected things happen when we have faith, no matter how little. Yesterday, we had 35 people and 17 dogs at our pet blessing. There were, of course, dogs from Gloria Dei homes, but there were also canine guests from the community. And some of the visiting pet owners were interested in worshiping with us. We weren’t sure anyone would come, but we had faith God was leading us to try it.

… What do you think the size of your faith is? Is it at least as big as a mustard seed? Then you, too, can do amazing things. And how much faith do you think there is in the whole congregation? If our collective faith is the size of our membership, then let’s say with 100 people in the congregation, using the mustard seed measurement, we have 20 inches of faith. Or, with our faith, we could move 100 mulberry trees.

It doesn’t make sense for us to move mulberry trees unless we want to start a silk fabric business, or make a gallon of honey mustard dressing unless we are serving a lot of salad, so let’s think about what else we could do with that much faith.

* Everyone tells the story of how Jesus helps them get through each day. Ten families join Gloria Dei because of this.

* Everyone gives 10% or more of their income to the ministries of Gloria Dei. As a result, the congregation has enough money to support a full-time pastor and their family.

* At least half the congregation gives extra, beyond the 10%, to make sure every student at Leesburg Elementary School has enough to eat every day. The news of our generosity leaks out and we receive 10 families because of our reputation as a generous congregation.

Our faith, our generosity, reaches others, and brings them to faith, and soon they, too, have enough faith to share God’s love and give to the ministries of the congregation.

… This past week, I heard three presentations by Dr Mark Allen Powell, a New Testament scholar. One part in particular caught my attention. He talked about the value of pretending. Jesus says we are supposed to love our neighbor, but it can be hard to love certain neighbors. Powell says, Pretend to love them, and see what happens. You may not end up best friends, but you can at least smile and be kind to each other.

It works the same with faith. Pretend you are brave enough, have faith enough, to tell your neighbor or someone you know that Jesus loves them. Pretty soon, you will be wondering why you were afraid. The conversation that you end up having is amazing for both of you.

So, I want to suggest we apply the same idea to our giving to Gloria Dei. I know that your income may be finite, and it feels even more finite with inflation and other factors that affect the cost of everything we buy and pay for these days.

I suggest you pretend you have the faith to be more generous this year than you were last year. Pretend you won’t miss the extra $10 or 20 you put in the offering each week. Pretty soon, you will realize it’s true; You don’t miss it!

… The disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. He responded by assuring them that they already had enough faith. All they had to do was to act as if they did have it. With the faith they had, they preached, healed, invited, and changed the world. We all have this same amount of faith – at least a mustard seed’s amount. It is enough.

… I hope this week that you will consider the many ways in which you have enough faith. And when you doubt that you do, try pretending. It just may work. Amen