He looked as if he had been beat up, but he had not. The stress of the situation was getting to him.
“Pastor, do you want to know how many times I have had to forgive my sister?
Ever since she got her first dollar, she knew how to blow it.
She has drained my elderly parents dry! I don’t know why they keep helping her.
I’ve told her over and over again that she needs to get a handle on her spending, and over and over again she says she is sorry, and over and over again she just blows it all.
If it was just her money that she was blowing, I really wouldn’t care. She doesn’t have anyone other than herself to worry about. But, it’s our parent’s retirement money!”
The man looked lost. He did not know how to help his sister. All of the nagging and chiding over the years had done nothing.
“Pastor, do I need to keep forgiving her? I think I need a little more faith.”
And, there is was: the statement that has been echoing throughout the ages ever since the apostles first uttered the words. They ask for more faith after being challenged in a similar way by Jesus to forgive each time they rebuke someone and hear words "I'm sorry, forgive me" in response.
This request is no small request! Jesus tells them that they must forgive even if the sin happens seven times a day. Seven times a day!
“Jesus, that is a steep order, I think we need a little more faith!”
But, it is not just the difficulty found in forgiving people that drives us to utter a desire to have more faith.
There is just so much in the world going on that needs to be solved from school shootings, to black lives and police relations, to election day fears, to unspeakable suffering in Syria, to young girls being raped trying to escape central America, to…well, as I said, it is too much.
And, that does not even start to talk to issues closer to home such as drugs that place stress on our families, elderly parents who are faltering, and even the shrinking of churches all over the place. Could it be that this generation of believers will let the faith disappear? How do we turn all of these things around?
The needs of the world are so great that we join with the apostles as they look to Jesus and say, “I think we need a little more faith!”
We request this as if faith were a commodity that could be measured out and increased like flour in baking a pie or gasoline in powering a automobile.
Now, you would think that Jesus would love all of these requests for more faith. I mean, is that not the point of Christianity; for lots of people to have lots of faith?
Instead, Jesus seems a little perturbed by the apostles' request.
He says, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.’”
Apparently, the apostles do not have faith even the size of a tiny seed. Or, maybe, the apostles are allowing something other than faith to control their thoughts. Maybe, their fear has negated their faith.
Way back in the beginning of the biblical story, we have a world with practically no followers of God, except for Abraham and Sarah, or Abram and Sarai as they were know at that point in the story.
The two followed God. But, there was one problem, they could not have children. Knowledge of the Lord was potentially just two people away from extinction in those early days. As menopause overtook Sarai, it seemed that knowledge of the Lord would disappear for good. Except for one tiny hope.
One night, the Lord took Abram outside and told him to look at the stars.
“Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.”
Then God said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
It was a promise.
Though their situation in life seemed so unlikely and impossible to fix, and there was nothing that Abram could do about it, God had given Abram a promise. Though it is a small, almost minuscule response, Abram trusted God's promise. That is faith.
Sometimes, we forget that our Heavenly Father is an actor on the stage of the world.
Sometimes we become so overcome by the insurmountable, that we forget the one who created the world out of nothing and brought Jesus Christ back from the dead is still present with us through the Holy Spirit.
The Father of us all is here, we do not face these challenges alone.
The pastor looked at the Man and said, “It might be wise to make sure that the rest of your parent’s money is made safe. That being said, as ridiculous as it sounds, just keep forgiving your sister. I don’t know for certain that the forgiveness will do anything, but Jesus seems certain that it is the way that things are healed.
I know, it seem ridiculous. But, just like employees simply do what they are told, and don’t necessarily know the reasoning behind it, we simply forgive and trust that Jesus will take care of the rest.
Maybe, just maybe, a little act such as forgiveness will sprout from a small seed and bloom into a huge bush that provides life to birds and squirrels. But, whether or not that happens is not up to us. That is up to God.
We might not be able to change race relations in our nation, but we can love our neighbor and listen to their struggles, no matter the color of their skin. Maybe, that simple act of love will sprout into something great, but that is up to God.
Our job is to simply love our neighbor.
We might not be able to prevent all school shootings, or war, or hatred, but we can love and forgive others.
We might not understand how this will help, but, Jesus thinks it is the way to bring new life to the world. He staked his life on it on the cross.
If that is what our Lord thinks, we are free to have trust the size of a mustard seed, and leave the growth up to God.
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