17th Sunday after Pentecost-The Rev Melanie Lemburg

 17^th Sunday after Pentecost—Proper 22C

October 2, 2022

 

        The disciples are really stressed.  Jesus has just shared with them some really difficult teachings—don’t be a stumbling block to any little ones, (and if you do, it’d be better for someone to tie a millstone around your neck and throw you in the water); if someone sins against you 7 times and comes to you and repents, then you have to forgive them.  They are feeling overwhelmed and not up to the task, and so they plead to Jesus, “Increase our faith!”  And Jesus tells them an odd parable about slaves just doing what they’re supposed to do. And so it seems like when the stressed, overwhelmed disciples say, “Lord, it’s too much!  Increase our faith!” Jesus tells them “no.”  Just show up and do what you’re supposed to do.  Doesn’t seem very Jesus-like of him, does it? 

        And yet, Jesus commends people for their faith all the time.  Think of all the stories in the bible when someone seeks out Jesus for healing, and he tells them, “Go, your faith has made you (or whoever you love and are petitioning for) well.”  So what do these people have that the disciples don’t have? 

        Faith has come to mean a sort of intellectual belief, but that isn’t really what faith is or is about.  Faith (the Greek pisteo) means setting your feet upon a path and walking it.  Faith means doing the next right thing, taking yet another small step in a lifetime of small steps toward Jesus, doing the next small act of love in a life-time of small acts of love.  It helps to not be as stressed or overwhelmed to know that we, like the disciples, don’t have to be able to move mountains with our faith.  We just have to be able to take one small step toward God; we just need to be able to do the next right thing in order to be faithful.

        Today at St. Thomas, we are kicking off our annual giving campaign:  “See, I am doing a new thing.”  You’ll be getting a letter in the mail about this from Jamie McCurry, the chair, and me along with a pledge card, and on the Sundays in October, you’ll hear from others how they are trying to live out their faithfulness in how they give here in this community of faith. 

Throughout the month, I invite you to think about what the next right thing, the next faithful act of love looks like in your giving to God through this church.  Maybe that means making a pledge or a commitment to give for the first time; maybe it means holding steady in what you are already giving, maybe faithfulness means an increase if you are doing especially well to help cover those who might be struggling and need to decrease.  What is the next right thing, the small act of love, the one step closer to Jesus on the path that is your life of faith that you are being called to do to grow in your faithfulness in this place over the coming year?