Year C
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
Psalm 37:1-10
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Luke 17:5-10
May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every year\u2026 on the first Sunday in October\u2026 Christians around the globe celebrate World Communion Sunday\u2026 which is a day to remember that Jesus is the Head of the Church\u2026 and on this day\u2026 people draw faith and inspiration from seeing that they’re part of a community with millions of believers and worshippers\u2026 and that every Christian Church\u2026 and any denomination which promotes Christian Unity\u2026 are One\u2026 in fact\u2026 my former bishop in southern Ohio used to say that the divisions between us\u2026 are lies\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are One\u2026 what happened here last Sunday evening\u2026 the break-in\u2026 and the damage\u2026 and the theft\u2026 has affected all of us\u2026 and what just happened in Florida and the southeastern part of our country\u2026 has affected all of us\u2026 each and every one of us\u2026 certainly not in exactly the same ways\u2026 but in some way\u2026 every one of us\u2026 especially those with homes\u2026 or relatives\u2026 in the storm’s path\u2026 a priest in the diocese had family members trapped on Sanibel Island when the eye made landfall\u2026 their home was raised ten feet off the ground\u2026 and still had a foot of mud in it\u2026 and they had to be airlifted off the island Friday morning\u2026 but they’re safe\u2026 and the widespread damage\u2026 which looks like the result of mass bombings\u2026 is lamentable…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lutheran Pastor Diane Roth wrote\u2026 to lament is to name the devastation\u2026 to hear the stories without talking back\u2026 lament lets us name the pain and grief\u2026 it opens up a space for us to hear stories that are true\u2026 even if we don’t want to hear them\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Book of Lamentations 1:1 says\u2026 How lonely sits the city that once was full of people<\/em>\u2026 and in our context\u2026 this could apply to Ft. Meyers and many other cities on the west coast of Florida and beyond\u2026 which also used to be full of people\u2026 and the prophet Habakkuk lamented\u2026 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. Why do you make me see wrong-doing\u2026 and look at trouble? Then the Lord answered and said: Write down my vision; make it plain on tablets, so that even a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end of these things, and does not lie<\/em>\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n And we are hearing not only the stories of individuals\u2026 but the experiences of a people\u2026 of a community\u2026 because the hurricane’s devastation and damage happened to a collective us\u2026 and the break-in happened to us too\u2026 [ even those of us here at Holy Trinity\u2026 because I bring some remnant of it here with me\u2026 ] and those in the synod or diocese who hear about it\u2026 may wonder\u2026 will it happen to us too\u2026 but we lay it all before God\u2026 and are silent\u2026 and listen\u2026 and whether we hear something or not\u2026 lament is a faith-filled process\u2026 it is a holy process\u2026 but often\u2026 the lament is\u2026 I don’t know if I’m up for this\u2026 this is not going to be easy… and it’s going to take a long time\u2026<\/em> and we may wonder about our faith\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hebrews 11:1 says that\u2026 faith is the assurance of things hoped for\u2026 the conviction of things not seen<\/em>\u2026 and the apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith\u2026 this request is a cry for help\u2026 because it comes on the heels of Jesus telling them that the “little ones”\u2026 those who have just begun their spiritual development\u2026 ought not be made to stumble\u2026 and of Jesus telling them that they must be endlessly ready to forgive whoever offends them\u2026 and we can imagine them\u2026 or the people of Two Churches\u2026 and the people of Florida\u2026 saying\u2026 I don’t know if I’m up for this\u2026 this is not going to be easy… and it’s going to take a long time<\/em>\u2026 maybe if I had more faith\u2026 I could do this\u2026 so it’s easy for us to understand why they thought that more faith is better\u2026 Fr. John Meulendyk writes\u2026 for the disciples\u2026 faith was like money\u2026 if you can increase your position in the world by having more money\u2026 then you can certainly increase your position with God by having more faith\u2026 but having faith doesn’t mean that everything will go the way we want it to\u2026 or that the more faith we have\u2026 the more effective our prayers will be\u2026 and faith is not static\u2026 faith is surrendering and leaning forward\u2026 and acknowledging that God’s plan is bigger than we can see\u2026 that having faith doesn’t mean that we will never have doubt\u2026 and faith is about losing your position in life all together\u2026 and then finding out how to deal with it\u2026 faith results from people opening to\u2026 and responding to God’s initiating action\u2026 faith is contending with God\u2026 and being renamed as Jacob was\u2026 this allows us to bring about the world that God envisions\u2026 so faith is not about unaided human powers\u2026 it’s about human abilities which are in league with divine intentions and activity\u2026 and it is a choice\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Matthew 17:20\u2026 Jesus says\u2026 For truly I tell you\u2026 if you have faith the size of a mustard seed\u2026 you will say to this mountain\u2026 move from here to there\u2026 and it will move\u2026 and nothing will be impossible for you<\/em>\u2026 and in response to the apostle’s request for more faith\u2026 Jesus says that if they had faith the size of a mustard seed\u2026 they could say to this mulberry tree\u2026 be uprooted and planted in the sea\u2026 and it would obey you<\/em>\u2026 you see\u2026 Jesus is telling us that even just a little bit of faith is enough\u2026 because it’s not all up to us\u2026 because as we know\u2026 a mountain is pretty much intransigent\u2026 it’s not going anywhere\u2026 it’s been rooted in bedrock for millions of years\u2026 and the deciduous mulberry tree grows an extensive root structure that spreads out horizontally from the trunk\u2026 at least as far as the tree’s canopy\u2026 and remains within the first 24″ of soil\u2026 where it searches for air\u2026 nutrients\u2026 and water\u2026 and it too is entrenched where it stands\u2026 and as John Shea writes\u2026 in the image that’s meant to reveal and convey faith to the apostles\u2026 the mulberry tree is uprooted from where it has always been planted\u2026 and replanted in a place where it has never been\u2026 a place where no one would ever suspect it could grow\u2026 the impossible has suddenly become possible\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Rt. Rev. Frank Logue wrote\u2026 there’s no getting around the fact that the Bible knows nothing of professional clergy serving a congregation\u2026 the Bible teaches that all Christians are ministers by virtue of their baptism\u2026 so to help us understand Jesus’ story about the master and slave\u2026 when you come in from doing something for God\u2026 don\u2019t expect a reward\u2026 only more work\u2026 and we know how thankless some of these tasks are\u2026 because we have the same issues at home\u2026 do you get thanked every time you do the dishes\u2026 or cut the grass\u2026 or do the laundry\u2026 probably not\u2026 but allow enough time to pass without doing them\u2026 and you’re sure to hear about it\u2026 these are thankless tasks and you take them on with no thought to getting praise for doing them\u2026 parents do\u2026 what parents do\u2026 for their families\u2026 it’s what’s expected of them\u2026 we do not serve others for the thanks we get\u2026 we don’t get more for doing more\u2026 we’re to serve others as though we were serving Jesus\u2026 because that’s the life God calls us to… knowing that we will benefit more than the people we help\u2026 with increased faith and increased love\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann has said that the prophetic tasks of the church\u2026 are to tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion\u2026 to grieve in a society that practices denial\u2026 and to express hope in a society that lives in despair\u2026 the truth will set us free\u2026 lament will help us perceive God’s ever-present embrace\u2026 and hope will light our way in the darkness\u2026 we are One\u2026 we are united in ways we can only begin to imagine\u2026 Holy God\u2026help us to not only see our interdependence\u2026 but to acknowledge and foster it\u2026 with mustard seed faith\u2026 which is truly enough\u2026 Amen\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year C Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4 Psalm 37:1-10 2 Timothy 1:1-14 Luke 17:5-10 May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026 Every year\u2026 on the first Sunday in October\u2026 Christians around the globe celebrate World Communion Sunday\u2026 which is a day to remember that Jesus is the Head of the Church\u2026 and on this day\u2026 people draw faith and inspiration from seeing that they’re part of a community with millions of believers and worshippers\u2026 and that every Christian Church\u2026 and any denomination which promotes Christian Unity\u2026 are One\u2026 in fact\u2026 my former bishop in southern Ohio used to say that the divisions between us\u2026 are lies\u2026 We are One\u2026 what happened here last Sunday evening\u2026 the break-in\u2026 and the damage\u2026 and the theft\u2026 has affected all of us\u2026 and what just happened in Florida and the southeastern part of our country\u2026 has affected all of us\u2026 each and every one of us\u2026 certainly not in exactly the same ways\u2026 but in some way\u2026 every one of us\u2026 especially those with homes\u2026 or relatives\u2026 in the storm’s path\u2026 a priest in the diocese had family members trapped on Sanibel Island when the eye made landfall\u2026 their home was raised ten feet off the ground\u2026 and still had a foot of mud in it\u2026 and they had to be airlifted off the island Friday morning\u2026 but they’re safe\u2026 and the widespread damage\u2026 which looks like the result of mass bombings\u2026 is lamentable… Lutheran Pastor Diane Roth wrote\u2026 to lament is to name the devastation\u2026 to hear the stories without talking back\u2026 lament lets us name the pain and grief\u2026 it opens up a space for us to hear stories that are true\u2026 even if we don’t want to hear them\u2026 The Book of Lamentations 1:1 says\u2026 How lonely sits the city that once was full of people\u2026 and in our context\u2026 this could apply to Ft. Meyers and many other cities on the west coast of Florida and beyond\u2026 which also used to be full of people\u2026 and the prophet Habakkuk lamented\u2026 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. Why do you make me see wrong-doing\u2026 and look at trouble? Then the Lord answered and said: Write down my vision; make it plain on tablets, so that even a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end of these things, and does not lie\u2026 And we are hearing not only the stories of individuals\u2026 but the experiences of a people\u2026 of a community\u2026 because the hurricane’s devastation and damage happened to a collective us\u2026 and the break-in happened to us too\u2026 [ even those of us here at Holy Trinity\u2026 because I bring some remnant of it here with me\u2026 ] and those in the synod or diocese who hear about it\u2026 may wonder\u2026 will it happen to us too\u2026 but we lay it all before God\u2026 and are silent\u2026 and listen\u2026 and whether we hear something or not\u2026 lament is a faith-filled process\u2026 it is a holy process\u2026 but often\u2026 the lament is\u2026 I don’t know if I’m up for this\u2026 this is not going to be easy… and it’s going to take a long time\u2026 and we may wonder about our faith\u2026 Hebrews 11:1 says that\u2026 faith is the assurance of things hoped for\u2026 the conviction of things not seen\u2026 and the apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith\u2026 this request is a cry for help\u2026 because it comes on the heels of Jesus telling them that the “little ones”\u2026 those who have just begun their spiritual development\u2026 ought not be made to stumble\u2026 and of Jesus telling them that they must be endlessly ready to forgive whoever offends them\u2026 and we can imagine them\u2026 or the people of Two Churches\u2026 and the people of Florida\u2026 saying\u2026 I don’t know if I’m up for this\u2026 this is not going to be easy… and it’s going to take a long time\u2026 maybe if I had more faith\u2026 I could do this\u2026 so it’s easy for us to understand why they thought that more faith is better\u2026 Fr. John Meulendyk writes\u2026 for the disciples\u2026 faith was like money\u2026 if you can increase your position in the world by having more money\u2026 then you can certainly increase your position with God by having more faith\u2026 but having faith doesn’t mean that everything will go the way we want it to\u2026 or that the more faith we have\u2026 the more effective our prayers will be\u2026 and faith is not static\u2026 faith is surrendering and leaning forward\u2026 and acknowledging that God’s plan is bigger than we can see\u2026 that having faith doesn’t mean that we will never have doubt\u2026 and faith is about losing your position in life all together\u2026 and then finding out how to deal with it\u2026 faith results from people opening to\u2026 and responding to God’s initiating action\u2026 faith is contending with God\u2026 and being renamed as Jacob was\u2026 this allows us to bring about the world that God envisions\u2026 so faith is not about unaided human powers\u2026 it’s about human abilities which are in league with divine intentions and activity\u2026 and it is a choice\u2026 In Matthew 17:20\u2026 Jesus says\u2026 For truly I tell you\u2026 if you have faith the size of a mustard seed\u2026 you will say to this mountain\u2026 move from here to there\u2026 and it will move\u2026 and nothing will be impossible for you\u2026 and in response to the apostle’s request for more faith\u2026 Jesus says that if they had faith the size of a mustard seed\u2026 they could say to this mulberry tree\u2026 be uprooted and planted in the sea\u2026 and it would obey you\u2026 you see\u2026 Jesus is telling us that even just a little bit of faith is enough\u2026 because it’s not all up to us\u2026 because as we know\u2026 a mountain is pretty much intransigent\u2026 it’s not going anywhere\u2026 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[15,161],"class_list":["post-1803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons","tag-community","tag-faith"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/mustardseedfaith.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1803"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1804,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1803\/revisions\/1804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}