From the Daily Lectionary for Tuesday in the Twenty Fourth Week after Pentecost
Luke 17:1-10
Jesus said to his disciples, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.”
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “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.
“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’”
How we practice the faith matters. Whether we like it or not, or whether we feel worthy or not, we are exemplars of the Gospel. Paul would say that we, the church, are the very risen body of Christ for the world. That means that in our public lives we choose truth over falsehood; compassion over callous indifference; justice over injustice; embrace over exclusion; peace over violence. These things must be practiced in order for them to take root among others, in the “body politic” of our broken world.
If we fail in our choosing, we become what Jesus refers to as “stumbling blocks” to those who look for hope. Our testimony is that love is stronger than evil; stronger than fear; stronger than grief and despair and shame; stronger than death itself. The disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith in the face of such a daunting calling, but Jesus reminds them that just acting as if the Gospel vision is true is quite enough. Love has exponential ramifications on the receiving end. Faith is not about quantity, or quality for that matter; it is just “acting as if.”
We, good people, are slaves to the truth, slaves to the noble process of creation. There is no other reality. The world pines for the love of God. Let’s not keep them waiting.
A Prayer for Christians in their Vocation (BCP p. 256)
Everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: receive our prayers, which we offer to you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
