Sermon preached by the Reverend Donna Downs

St. Paul’s on the Green, Norwalk, Connecticut

The 19th Sunday after Pentecost - October 7, 2007 at 8:00a.m.

Many years ago, when I was in seminary, a professor of mine preached on this passage. He said that faith is like being on an airplane. Once the doors are closed and the plane is in the air we have given up complete control to the pilot of the plane. We trust, even though we don’t know the pilot personally, that he or she knows how to fly a plane. Our lives are inadvertently in their hands. Likewise, God desires us to place our lives in obedience to God’s plan for us.

The disciples are asking Jesus to strengthen their faith because prior to this passage Jesus tells them that they will be tempted to sin and when they sin or someone else sins against them, that they are to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. They recognize that it isn’t always easy to ask for forgiveness or seek reconciliation with someone so they ask him to strengthen their faith.

Jesus doesn’t assume the disciples lack faith, rather, he knows they believe in him and have faith. Right now it isn’t as strong as they’d like it to be. Jesus with patience and love affirms the faith they have and encourages them to act on that faith. They will need to be obedient to carry out the call to be his disciples after he is gone. Jesus has called them as he does us and with that call is a promise by God to be always with us in everything. Faith requires a step forward even when one is uncertain as to where that step will lead them.

Jesus tells the disciples that faith as big as a mustard seed is sufficient. If you’ve ever seen a mustard seed, it is miniscule; it is slightly larger than a grain of salt. Jesus tells us that even when we have what seems like a little faith it is sufficient.

Jesus is telling us as he did the disciples to use the faith they have now even if it seems as tiny as a mustard seed; because that mustard seed has a lot of potential. The Holy Spirit transforms us and helps us renew our faith day to day. Jesus was reminding the disciples that he would always be with them and that they would never approach any task alone.

God doesn’t expect us to have all the answers or be fully equipped to serve the church and people around us. All God desires is a willing heart. Often faith is difficult to grasp as it ebbs and flows like the tide. Sometimes it is stronger than at other times. Faith is trusting that God is present even when God seems absent.

Faith is strengthened through community and the receiving of the sacraments. In the sacraments we receive God’s grace through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Faith can be strengthened when we think back over our lives and see that God was present when we thought otherwise. God promises to be with us always and in all circumstances.

It is often easy to have faith in what we can see, touch and feel. We have faith that we will wake up in the morning after going to bed at night. We have faith in another person who cares for us that they will continue to do so for sometime. Children are prime examples of trusting and having faith in the adults who care and love them. We don’t even think about acting in faith in most areas of our lives because it comes so naturally.

We are reminded this morning that in those times when we can’t seem to offer God much faith that God reaches down and takes whatever we do have, blesses it and helps us become who we are meant to be. Responding in faith and recognizing Christ’s presence can be about continually being drawn to something, or to something that keeps coming to mind and won’t go away; a nagging sense deep within. It’s believing by faith that God weaves and knits our lives together in ways we could never expect or anticipate, that God’s presence and words can shake us to the very core of our being and wake us from our slumber.

As big as a mustard seed (author anonymous) Loving God, we confess that we have failed, we have not been what you intend us to be, we have not been what we want to be: We would touch the world with goodness, but we chase after our own salvation, We would care for your creation, but we squander it with little thought for those still to come, We would meet the needs of others, but we find ourselves reluctant to share. We would stand for truth, but we remain silent in the face of evil. We would live with love and compassion, but we take on the values of this world. We would share our faith joyfully, but we lack courage to trust in you. We need you, God, if we are to become who you want us to be. Transform us by the power of your Spirit. Renew our faith day by day and make it as big as a mustard seed, full of promise and possibility, so that we may live with courage and purpose and see the signs and parables you have for us in the world today.