“The righteous shall live by faith.” So writes the prophet Habbakuk, and so echoes the New Testament, really all of Holy Scripture. The centrality of faith is unmistakable in the Christian religion. Faith is credited to Abraham as righteousness. Faith comes by hearing, St. Paul teaches, and hearing by the word of Christ. All of the Old Testament saints lived not by sight, but by faith, as we are taught in Hebrews 11.
In our Epistle reading, Paul commends young pastor Timothy for his faith, which he received through his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. And he encourages him to guard this faith, this good deposit, what has been entrusted to him.
And so in our Gospel reading today, Jesus also speaks of faith, to his disciples. They asked him to increase their faith, and he responds with a very strange statement. Let’s consider the whole passage from Luke 17 today, and consider forgiveness, faith and duty, and how it’s all connected.
Jesus begins with some talk of temptation and sin, sin and forgiveness.
First, some warning! Temptation is sure to come! Don’t think that being a Christian makes you immune. Don’t think that sin is no longer a problem for you as a Christian, that somehow following Jesus or being baptized gives you immediate, complete, infallible victory over sin. Temptation still rears its head, perhaps even more for the believer. This is also why Jesus teaches us, in the Lord’s Prayer, that we should pray God “lead us not into temptation.” Sin is serious. Temptation is real. We ought to be on guard.
But even more than for ourselves, we must consider our actions in relation to others. Just as we ought to love our neighbor and do unto others as we’d have done to ourselves, so also we are warned against leading others into temptation, especially the “little ones”, that is, the most vulnerable, for instance, little children.
Who doesn’t shudder at the thought that he might have led someone else into sin? That I, through my own failing, might have caused someone weaker in faith to stumble and fall by my own sin? The picture of a millstone tied around your neck and being cast into the sea – it's a fate as certain as death, isn’t it? It’s what we all certainly deserve.
And yet, it’s also a picture of what Christ has done for us. He took the certain death upon himself. Like Jonah was cast into the sea, and three days later emerged from the belly of the fish, so Jesus was cast into death, into the grave, into the heart of the earth, only to emerge on the third day triumphant over sin and death, and even hell.
The same Christ who warns us about sin and temptation is the one who wins for us forgiveness. The same Christ who warns us about the due punishment for leading little ones into sin, is the one who calls all people, and especially the little ones, to himself, calling us to faith, offering us forgiveness in his blood.
And that forgiveness we have known prompts us to forgive others. So that even if seven times a day our brother sins and repents, we must forgive him. Because God has forgiven us all the more in Jesus Christ.
Of course, that doesn’t make it easy.
We saw a very public display of forgiveness in the last couple of weeks, as a grieving widow stood center stage and uttered these words, “[That man]...the one who took his life... That man… that young man… I forgive him." I’m sure many who saw that were as shocked and awed as I was. What great forgiveness! What great faith!
The disciples are also shocked by Jesus’ extreme demands of forgiveness (and maybe also frightened by the effects of temptations to sin). And so they rightly prayed to him, asked him, “Lord, increase our faith!” It’s a prayer we Christians can always echo.
And Jesus reassures them with these strange words: “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
This is not to show us that our faith isn’t even that strong, or to invite us to try and show off with fancy miracles by our tiny little faith. Rather, it is Jesus reassuring them, and us, that a little bit of faith goes a long way. Don’t despair that your faith is small. Rather, turn to Christ for all good things, yes, even for miracles, and he will not disappoint.
Sin is real, and it is serious. The consequences are grave. But Christ’s forgiveness is real, and more powerful, more miraculous than you know. He grants us faith, and increases our faith, so that we would trust in him and his salvation, and not our own works.
And yet. Faith is active. Faith is alive, and working. The works don’t save us, but the works are there, and they flow from that faith.
Now Jesus moves the discussion to the idea of “duty”, with a short illustration of servants at work for their master. They work all day in the field, or among the flock. They come in smelly, tired, ready to eat. But still duty calls, and they serve the master’s supper before their own. Servants do their duty, without asking or expecting anything in return. They do what they are given to do, called to do, expected to do.
So, too, the Christian. We have received all good things from our Master, health and wealth and possessions and family and even life itself. Even more, he has shed his precious blood and died on a cross to bring us forgiveness of sins, to save us from death by millstone. He works faith in our hearts and increases that faith by his Spirit.
It is therefore our calling, now, to follow him, and to love our neighbor. It is our privilege and joy to be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord, rather than dwell in the tents of the wicked. We are unworthy servants of the one who has served us all.
And he continues to serve us, a blessed meal, as we gather at the altar and receive him under bread and wine. A supper in which he strengthens our faith, and answers the prayer of the disciples. A rich feast we in no wise deserve, but are made worthy only by faith. For who receives this sacrament worthily? He is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words, “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
So he provides, so we receive. So he forgives, so we also forgive. So he grants and strengthens faith, so we believe in him.
For all this, it is our duty, to thank and praise, serve and obey him. This is most certainly true. Amen.
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