by Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Seattle, Washington

Gospel: Luke 17:5-10, Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Back in Jackson, Minnesota, when I was a boy growing up, I had a wonderful time. Jackson, Minnesota was known as the corn capital of the world. I know that Mitchell, South Dakota, has the only corn palace in the world, but as a boy growing up in Jackson, Minnesota, I always thought of my hometown as the corn capital of the world. The farmers would take a small grain of that corn and plant in into the rich hill of Minnesota soil, and those seeds would really grow.

Some of those farmers would have corn-growing contents. They had these highbred corns which would grow really tall. For the contests, these farmers would then take a bullhead or a carp fish from the Des Moines River and they would place it into the soil of that hill in which the corn seed was planted. That was good fishy fertilizer, the real stuff. And those corn stalks would grow and grow and grow, up and up and up. They would grow taller and taller and taller until late August. In late August, the corn queen from the country fair would go out into the cornfields where the tallest ears of corn were located. This corn queen would get on a ladder and she would have a tape measure (such as I had for the children's sermon) and that tape measure would show that the corn stalk was something like twelve or thirteen feet tall. Every late summer, in the Jackson County Pilot, the county newspaper would publish a picture of the corn queen standing along side the tallest corn stalk in Jackson, Minnesota.

Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear let him understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God."

One time, I was down there in southwestern Oregon, between Grants Pass and Crescent City in northern California. I was a Minnesota boy from a farming town and so I had never seen the ocean and I had never seen big, big trees. Down there in southwestern Oregon, my wife and I drove into Stout Grove. Stout Grove had the biggest, most giant redwood trees that I had ever seen. There was a giant redwood there that had an arch cut right in the middle of it. The road drove right through the middle of that redwood tree. I was driving my 1963 Volkswagen Bug and I drove right through the middle of that tree. Then I pulled the car off to the side of the road, and I looked at the sign near the tree. The sign said, "More than 2000 years ago, a seed was planted by nature and it grew up into that massive redwood before you." That little acorn grew three hundred feet up into this gigantic tree. If I would have taken an acorn and said to the kids during the children's sermon, "How tall will this acorn seed grow?" "Can this acorn seed grow up two or three hundred feet, shooting right through the roof of our church, they would have said, "Nooooo." Who would have guessed that two thousand years ago, when a little acorn was planted in the ground, that it would grow so tall?"

And Jesus said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him understand the mysteries and the riddles of the kingdom of God."

It's springtime again and that means its garden time at our house. We have a garden at our house. Do you have a garden at your house? Most of us have different roles at our homes, and I have the role of being a grunt laborer when it comes to gardening. We have a lot of red clay at our house where our garden is, and so we had five yards of good top soil delivered to our home. It was a lot of work to wheelbarrow all that top soil down to our garden. So I hired some kid to do it. My job is to work on the soil. My wife's job is to do the planting. We each have our roles. My wife gets down on her knees and she plants those seeds so particularly in that soft soil. A role of mine is to watch her work and the garden grow. I stand up on the deck above the garden and look down on her back as she plants the garden. I come out and look at the garden the first morning and there is nothing up. Then the second morning and there is nothing up. Then the third morning and there is nothing. And on the fourth morning, you can see all those seeds starting to sprout and those plants growing. It is like a miracle. The seeds lie dormant for a few days and then, WOW, up come the little seedling plants.

And Jesus said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear the miracles about the riddles of the kingdom of God."

It is with these stories that we approach the parables of Jesus for today. Whenever Jesus preached a sermon, he always told a parable. I mean, the Bible tells us that Jesus never preached a sermon without telling a parable. Jesus was the master storyteller. He wasn't like those Pharisees in the New Testament. The Pharisees quoted from the Old Testament all the time. The Pharisees were super religious people who quoted from the Bible continually so they could sound religious. People were bored to death when the Pharisees quoted the Bible like that. But Jesus almost never quoted from his Bible which was the Old Testament. Nor did Jesus ever quote from Greek philosophy, from Socrates, Plato, or Demosthenes. No. What Jesus quoted from were common and ordinary stories of life. These were the kinds of stories from everyday life. These stories from everyday life were naturally told and easily understood. Jesus forever told a story.

He said, "The kingdom of God is like this. The way of God is like this. It is like this farmer and this farmer went out and planted a seed in the ground. The farmer came back night and day and night and day and night and day, and WOW. Look at that little plant that is showing through the dirt. The seed grew up automatically. The earth produced of itself automatically.

"Whoever has ears to hear let him understand the riddles of the kingdom of God."

Jesus said, "In case you didn't get it, I will tell you another story, another riddle, which is similar to the first one. The way of God is like this. This is the way that God works. It is like a person who takes a mustard seed. It is the smallest of seeds and you plant it in the ground and it grows up to fourteen feet tall. It is the tallest bush in all of Israel."

And Jesus said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear the riddles about the kingdom of God."

Now, at that point, Jesus would finish his sermon. He would just tell the story and you would go home and figure it out. So technically, I should just quit my sermon right now and that probably would please many of you. But pastors are paid to preach, and so unlike Jesus, I am going to explain what Jesus was saying. But Jesus himself would not have explained the parables.

In the first story for today, we may recall that the seed stands for the Word of God. It stands for the Bible. It stands for the words and stories of Jesus. It stands for Jesus Christ himself. The Bible passage for today is saying that the Scriptures, the Bible, the Word, the parables of Jesus have a hidden mysterious power inside of them to grow. Just as the body heals itself such as when we break an arm, we know that the broken bones of the arm heal. Why? Why do the bones heal? Because there is some mysterious power within the bone. So the bone heals itself. Or just like you plant a seed into the ground, it grows. Why? Why does it grow? I don't know. It is because of some power within the seed that miraculously grows. So also we say that the Bible, the Word of God, Jesus is planted in our hearts and it grows. You plant the Word in our hearts and there is something about that Bible, Jesus, the living Word that grows within us.

Let's take a minute and look at this large Bible on the altar. This Bible is the center of our worship service. When you come into the sanctuary and look up the central aisle to the altar/communion table, you could see this large Bible placed at the center of the altar. I remember when this sanctuary was being remodeled, there was discussion about whether or not this congregation should get rid of this big, symbolic Bible that was placed in the middle of the altar. Instead of the Bible symbolically located on the center of the altar, many Lutheran churches have a book of liturgies in the center of the table. But when this sanctuary was remodeled, the people said that they did not want a book of liturgies at the center of the focus of our worship but the Bible. The people on the planning committee said we want the old big Bible to be on the table. The sanctuary is designed in such a way that when you enter the worship space, the first and most prominent item that you see here is the Bible. It is our belief that there is something inside this Bible which has the mysterious power to grow. What is inside this Bible is the very presence of Christ himself. It is the love of God. There is something inside this Bible when it is planted into a person's heart that the love of Christ begins to grow.

Just as there is power in the bones to heal and power in a seed to grow, so there is also a mysterious power inside this book to grow as well. And so at our church, we try to do everything humanly possible to have people daily meditate on the Word of God and weekly come and hear a meditation based on the Word of God. That is at the very heart of who we are.

Throughout our whole parish and throughout our whole worship service, we know that there is a power inside of that book. And that power inside that book is Jesus Christ. The power inside that book is the very presence of God. That is what this story for today is all about.

Now, some Christians just can't figure out why their faith is not so strong. They cannot figure out why their Christian faith is so weak, so anemic and so colorless. They cannot figure out why nothing is happening in their Christian life. So often this is because they are no longer meditating on the Word of God.

Perhaps you are a person who knows only a few Bible verses by memory. Perhaps you know the famous Bible verse of John 3:16 or the shortest Bible verse of "Jesus wept." Perhaps you don't know your Bible too well and instead you know only a broad generalized Christian philosophy of life.

But to be honest, to be really honest, you don't daily meditate on the Word of God. You don't consistently and weekly nourish your life in worship that is based on the Word of God. Then you ask, "Why is my faith so shallow? Why am I not close to God? Why am I falling away from God? Why am I spiritually depressed? God, what is wrong with my spiritual life?" Chances are, in all probability, you are no longer nourishing yourself on that Word of God. For when you nourish yourself on that Word of God, you take Jesus into your soul and Jesus grows through the Word.

For me, one of the classic interpretations of this Biblical passage about the seed growing automatically (Mark 4:26) was written by Martin Luther when he said about this text: "After I preach my sermon on Sunday, when I return home, I drink my little glass of Wittenberg beer and I just let the gospel run its course." I like that. Luther said that after he pounded on the pulpit and expounded the gospel, he would go home and pull out the Sunday newspaper, and pull out his glass of warm Wittenberg beer and start to drink it and enjoy the afternoon. Luther knew that the power of his sermon was not based on the power of his theological acuity. He knew that the power of his sermon was not based on his eloquence or his abilities. He knew that the power of the sermon would have no effect whatsoever unless the very Word of God got into a person's heart. Luther knew that he couldn't do that. It was the Holy Spirit who did that. Luther keenly understood the power of the Word.

Would you all take your bulletin insert out from the bulletin? Let's do a little Bible study. Would you turn to Mark 4:26? The kingdom of God, the way of God, the way that God works is this: "If someone would scatter seed on the ground and sleep and rise night and day and night and day. And then the seed would sprout and grow, but he doesn't know how it happens. The earth produces of itself. The seed produces of itself." Let's pause here. Do you see the two words, "of itself." That is the Greek word "automatos," from which we get our English word, "automatically." But do you realize where that Greek word, "automatos" is placed in the sentence? At the very beginning of the sentence. For emphasis, the author puts it at the beginning of the sentence. Automatically the seed grows. Automatically, the earth produces. Automatically, the Bible produces. Automatically, the Word gets inside of us. There is something inside the word that changes us. It is Jesus inside the Word that gets through to us. Jesus grows in you, just as seeds grow mysteriously and miraculously.

Now, that does not mean that automatically you are going to be a Christian. That does not mean that automatically you are going to grow to be a large church. That does not mean that automatically you give your life to Christ. But what it does mean is that there is power in this word. As you pick up the Bible and hold it in your hands, you realize that this Word is not passive. I keenly understand it. There is something in here. If you daily meditate on this word, it grows in you. That is what Jesus was talking about in this first story.

But Jesus also told a second story that is part of today's gospel lesson. Didn't Jesus tell a parable about a mustard seed which started small but then grew absolutely large and tall? Let's talk about that mustard seed. It is one thing to say that the kingdom of God is like this: you plant it like a seed into the ground and it grows automatically. But it another thing to say that you plant a seed into the ground and it grows really large. So the point of the first parable is that you plant the seed of God into the ground and it grows. The point of the second parable is that the seed grows really large. I mean it grows fourteen feet tall. So let's talk about this second parable.

How many people are Christians this year around the earth? 1.6 billion. We are by far the world's largest religion. Who would have guessed that two thousand years ago, when Jesus' body was planted into the ground, his body would rise up out of the ground and his resurrected body would grow taller and taller to 1.6 billion people tall? Who would have guessed that two thousand years ago when nature planted that little acorn in the ground that it would grow to be a giant sequoia? And who would have guessed that when the body of Jesus was planted into the ground and after three days he would rise from the dead and he would grow so large? 1.6 billion people large. Who would have guessed? You see, there is something about this kingdom; there is something about Jesus which not only grows but grows enormously large.

Let me give you another illustration where this seed has grown so large. I would like to suggest to you that many of the values of Western civilization are rooted in Jesus and the Scriptures. I want to ask you a question. Where did our concept of democracy come from? Most people say off the top of their heads, that it came from Greece and the Greek senate. Yes, but not totally. Where did our concept of democracy originate? From the Magna Carta. It came from the Magna Carta and England in the year 1215. Who was one of the primary authors of the original Magna Carta? Stephen Langdon. Who was Stephen Langdon? The Archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop Stephen Langdon was one of the principal authors of the Magna Carta and he had his roots in the Bible, his roots in the Word, his roots in the Book of Galatians and his roots in the freedom described in the Book of Galatians. The book of Galatians is about freedom, Christian freedom which has implications for political freedom. "For freedom Christ has set us free."

Another question: Where did our Constitution come from? We all know: Thomas Jefferson. Where did he get his ideas? The French Enlightenment. Where did the French Enlightenment get its ideas? The Renaissance. Where did the Renaissance get its ideas? The Reformation. Where did the Reformation get its ideas? From the Bible.

I would like to suggest to you that for many people including myself, that the ideals of democracy can be traced back through history to the Scriptures themselves.

Originally, all the hospitals in America were Christian hospitals. All the colleges in America were originally Christian colleges. The freedom movement in America for blacks had its origin in the Scriptures.

I am suggesting to you this morning that the very values of our democracy are rooted in the Scriptures. Who would have guessed that these American ideas and ideals would have started as a small seed so many centuries ago?

I would like to give one more set of illustrations. This small seed not only grew to 1.6 billion people. This small seed not only inspired many of the values of Western civilization. But this small seed also grows in people, in individuals, so that people like you and me have a faith that is fourteen feet tall. There are people who have become giants of faith. I would like to tell you three stories that are fresh in my heart.

The nature of my sermons are such that they are like a diary. When I prepare a sermon, I read the Biblical commentaries about a text, but I also read my old sermons. The following is a story from twelve years ago. Twelve years ago this week, I made a visit to an old man to prepare his funeral. His name of Alfred Lunde, the ninety-two year old Norwegian patriarch of our parish. Alfred Lunde was one of those giants of faith. He was one of those people who had migrated from the dust bowls in North Dakota and come out West to Washington. I've never known a man as smart and wise as old Alfred Lunde. What a faith that man had. One afternoon, twelve years ago, as we prepared his funeral, Old Man Lunde said to me. "Tell them this at my funeral. Tell the folks that everything I have is garbage. Tell the folks that everything I have is garbage compared to having Jesus Christ. Markquart, write that down and tell it at my funeral." And he went on to say, "And tell them that this world does not belong to us, that this world belongs to God. We are to improve the earth and not to destroy it. You are to leave nothing behind. It is tragic not to leave the world a better place. So many people celebrate life and they leave nothing behind to improve this world. I have lived and I have improved the world. Tell them that, at my funeral, Markquart." He had a faith fourteen feet tall. This old Norwegian farmer turned janitor had a faith that was fourteen feet tall, and anybody who knew Alfred Lunde knew that.

So it was six years ago that I was preparing a sermon on this text. It was Friday. Friday, six years ago, was one of the most difficult days of my life. It was the funeral for Patti Arnold. Patti Arnold, thirty-nine years old. Patti Arnold, cancer. Patti Arnold, bone transplant. Patti Arnold, the Italian. Here maiden name was Colello and she was Italian, pure Italian. Her family owned an Italian grocery story. Her family was Italian Catholic. She was the most fireball woman I had ever met in my life. Never in the history of this congregation have we ever had a funeral like this. The people who came to that funeral were sitting in the parking lot, way out to the road. Why? Why were there so many people? Why? There was no one who had loved the way Patti had. Patti had loved the world so vigorously. In that sermon for her funeral, I told about how Patti had loved people, not only when she lived but when she was dying. I told stories about when Patti was up at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Treatment center and the way that she cared for people around her at Fred Hutch. While she was dying. It was absolutely incredible. Her faith was fourteen feet tall. To this day, her life still inspires me.

The years passed. And I look at the most recent funeral here at Grace Lutheran Church. It was for Ellen Heffner. Ellen Heffner, of all people. This giant of a woman who at the age of seventy-seven lead our homeless ministry. She said of herself in her poetic musings, "God, why is it that you have created me in such a way that my heart always goes for the underdog? Why is it when the little boy in my first grade class at school wet his pants and everybody else made fun of him, why is it that I could not? Why did I have to go and protect him? God, why have you made my heart this way that I always go for the underdog? God, is that a curse or a blessing on my life?" The answer? It was both. It was a curse because it took so much out of Ellen, but it was a blessing because she helped so many people. A week ago, when the homeless men and women had a memorial service for her in downtown Seattle and all the homeless men were gathered in a park, their lives had been deeply and physically blessed by the generosity of Ellen Heffner. Why. Because Ellen's faith was fourteen feet tall. Ellen's life? She still inspires many of us.

Now, the purpose of this last point of the sermon is not to talk about the virtues of Old Man Lunde, the Norwegian farmer. Nor about the blessings of Patti Arnold, the Italian hairdresser. Nor about the social compassion of Ellen Heffner, the German school teacher. No. This sermon is about the Word. It is about the seed. You see, the key to these peoples' lives was that a seed had been planted inside of them and it grew and it grew and it grew to enormous proportions. That is what this sermon is about. It is about the power of the seed. When Jesus Christ is planted in your life, when his word is planted in your heart, a miracle may occur. Because the power is within the seed. And over time, the seed grows and grows and grows and you finally exclaim, "It is over fourteen feet tall." That is what you want to have happen in your life. That is what I want to happen in my life.

by Prof. David Lose

There will probably be a lot of people sitting in your pews this Sunday who feel just like the disciples -- which is good for us to remember, as it's easy to dismiss the disciples' request for more faith as shallow or self-serving.

At first glance, it seems like the disciples just don't get it -- they think faith is something they can quantify and they just want more of it. But keep in mind that just earlier Jesus had not only warned them about making others stumble but also instructed them that they must forgive those who wrong them … again and again and again. No wonder they ask for more faith -- they wonder who in the world can live up to Jesus' expectations.

It's in this sense, then, that many of our people may feel a lot like these disciples: Overwhelmed by the demands they feel placed on them to be “good Christians,” not sure they are up to the task, and wondering what they signed on for. No wonder, then, that some of our folks feel like being a disciple is beyond them.

And so it's our job to remind them that faith doesn't have to be heroic.

Faith, as Jesus describes it, is just doing your job, just doing your duty, not because of any sense of reward but simply because it needs doing. Faith, in other words, is doing what needs to be done right in front of you and this, Jesus says, the disciples can already do. Folks who feel daunted by discipleship need to hear that sometimes faith can be pretty ordinary. That's what Jesus means, I think, by saying that if they had the faith even of a mustard seed, they could uproot and move a mulberry tree -- that it really doesn't take all that much faith to be, well, faithful.

At the same time, there are a whole lot of people in our congregation who may feel absolutely nothing like the disciples. It's not that they're overwhelmed by the tasks of Christian discipleship, it's more that they don't even think about it. For them, going to church and perhaps generally being a good person is pretty much what it means to be a Christian. It would never occur to them that being a good friend, or working at jobs to keep food on the table or keep the world running, or paying your taxes and voting for people who spend those taxes well, or any of the other ordinary stuff we do every day has anything to do with the Christian faith. It just doesn't occur to them.

And so it's our job to remind them that even the simplest things done in faith can have a huge impact:

Imagine, for a moment, if you were to take stock of all the good your people did in the past week in their roles as employers and employees, students, parents, citizens, volunteers and more. It would add up very quickly into a mountain of good works.

Imagine what the previous week would have been like if all those things hadn't gotten done. If we subtracted them from the planet over the last week the world would be a grimmer place today.

Then imagine what the world would look like next week if our people, granted a sense that even their ordinary acts are being used by God to care for God's world, felt empowered and commissioned to do even more. Folks who don't think what they do matters much to God need to hear that sometimes even ordinary faith can be pretty extraordinary.

Faith, Working Preacher, isn't an idea, it's a muscle. And the more we use that muscle, the stronger it gets.

And so Jesus tells his disciples -- both then and now -- that we've got all that we need to be faithful, and that being faithful, finally, is about recognizing all the God-given opportunities just to show up and do what needs to be done:

• doing our work
• caring for those in need
• protecting the vulnerable
• reaching out to the lonely
• befriending the friendless
• keeping the world going
• contributing to the common good.

It's all the ordinary stuff we do all the time and, taken together and blessed by God, it's pretty darn extraordinary.

But faith is not only a muscle, it's also an adventure. Faith is putting one foot in front of the other and walking toward a future we do see yet but trust God is fashioning. Faith is heading out the door each day looking for opportunities to be God's partner and co-worker in the world. Faith is imagining that the various challenges put in front of us -- whether solving a problem at work or forgiving someone who wronged us -- are actually opportunities that invite us to grow as disciples and witness to God's presence and goodness in the world.

This is everyday faith, Working Preacher -- the ordinary, extraordinary faith that we're invited to practice day in and day out. It's not heroic, but it is essential. And so maybe, after hearing all these things about faith, what our people really need is to reminded, à la Nike, to Just Do It!

Speaking of which, thanks for all that you do, Working Preacher, week in and week out. It takes courage to share your faith through your preaching and I'm grateful for your labor.

by The Rev. Dr. Janet H. Hunt

Gospel: Luke 17:5-10

It's no small thing, it seems to me, to be able to uproot a mulberry tree and plant it in the sea: particularly in the way that Jesus describes today --- with no effort at all. I know this for while there is no mulberry tree in my back yard there are these things which try to pass as trees lining my fence line which probably started out looking like weeds but whose roots have gone deep by now. There is no way I can uproot them so season after season I find myself cutting them off close to the ground. And yet, Jesus seems to be saying that it wouldn't take much for me to be able to set aside my trusty lobbers. Only a little faith is required.

And yet I found myself wondering this week about why anyone would want to waste that gift of faith on uprooting a tree. It seems that if I were given the power to do that, such unexpected power might be put to better use. (To be sure, I do feel differently after a morning of pulling overgrown weeds and cutting back brush...) And so I got curious as to why the disciples were so vehemently begging Jesus to increase their faith. And I went back a verse or two and discovered that just prior to the disciples' outburst Jesus had been teaching about forgiveness. What Jesus says there is this:

"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.’"

Seriously. Now that is something I do need help doing. That may, in fact, be something worth using up that "faith the size of a mustard seed" on. And yes, forgiving can seem a whole lot like pulling up a stubborn tree, roots and all, and tossing it into the sea. It can be that hard. Which is why, I expect, when the disciples hear Jesus' command to forgive the same person seven times over in a given day, they find themselves begging for help.

Because as you well know, forgiveness can be difficult. For all the gifts it promises, it is no small thing to let go, to move on, to work at restoration, to begin again. Forgiving can feel like giving in, like giving up, like forfeiting principle or pride. Forgiving can mean admitting I, too, was wrong. And if I'm honest? I haven't done nearly enough of it. No, my usual means of living and being is to step away from the one who I perceived wronged me. All too often I find that if I do not distance myself altogether, I at least build up my defenses enough so as to ensure I won't be hurt again. Maybe that's why the story I offer now stands out so clearly in my memory.

It was sixteen years ago this past summer. I had traveled to Philadelphia as a voting member to our Churchwide Assembly. It was my first such experience where I would not be seated in the visitor section and I was excited to go. I can remember rising early in the morning all summer long, reading the reams of paper which outlined the business which was before us. I can remember also looking forward to the fact that I would be rooming with a wonderful friend from seminary --- one whom I had known since day one of Summer Greek. She and I had been assigned to different regions of the country so we had not seen each other much since graduation and ordination nine years before, but we had kept in touch and hers was a friendship I valued.

On the agenda for that particular assembly was a major ecumenical agreement. Sitting in the assembly hall on that first night I can remember sensing that something major was afoot when right at the beginning there was debate on the rules of the assembly. Indeed, if we didn't know it it already, (and apparently even with all my careful preparation, I was one of those caught by surprise), it soon became evident that this assembly was going to hold some drama. And my old friend and I found ourselves on opposite sides of the question.

Most of that week we didn't see much of each other as we when we weren't in session I expect we were connecting with those who agreed with our differing perspectives. I know I was. When the agreement failed to garner its needed 2/3 vote, I was surprised to find myself heartbroken. My friend and found ourselves together again for a few moments back in our hotel room hurriedly packing up before our trips to the airport. I am not proud to say that in those moments, exhausted and grieving, I said some things I shouldn't have. I remember the look of shock and surprise and pain on my friend's face like it was yesterday.

It seems silly now --- to have a friendship put in jeopardy by such as that was -- but at the time? It didn't seem silly at all. And it was easy to ignore the rift between us in the months and years to come as, unlike the example Jesus offers now, we were not working and living in the same place. Still, my heart hurt over it, until finally, one or the other of us sent an email, cracking the door open just a little bit.

It was sometime after that when we were together again that we were both able to admit the other was more right than we could or would before. Indeed, I expect our mutual forgiving found its beginning in our belief that our friendship mattered more.

It didn't take much. Not much more than a mustard seed size step in fact and in the end it was easier than uprooting a mulberry tree and tossing it into the sea. And of so much more value. We were able to do so because our care for each other was somehow larger and more important than what had severed our friendship for a time. Sometimes forgiveness happens because of that. And sometimes forgiveness is offered and shared because that is what we are simply made to do, as Jesus tells his disciples and all of us today. We do it because we are supposed to do it. We forgive because we have been forgiven and we who are made to be in relationship with each other --- if we have any hope of staying in relationship with each other --- we must do the same. Like the slaves who are just doing what they are supposed to do when they serve their master supper, you and I are only doing what "we ought to have done" when we crack the door open and begin to make amends with one another. And just like with my old friend? What is behind Jesus' promise today is the certain truth that the relationships we share with one another matter more than whatever would keep us apart.

And it only takes a little faith to get us there. Sometimes all we have to do is crack open the door.

As I think about the disciple's plea today for help with forgiving I find myself thinking of those with whom I have experienced brokenness and have opted for distance instead of healing. How about you? What does it mean for us to 'do what we ought to have done' as Jesus says today?

Why do you think Jesus says it only takes 'faith the size of a mustard seed' for this to be so? What does that mean in practical terms?

One of the most important things we learn at university is how to think for ourselves. A good teacher helps his or her students to understand & apply what is being taught. And a very important way to learn is to ask questions. Jesus was a brilliant teacher. He used many striking illustrations that people would never forget but which made them ask themselves questions like: "I wonder what Jesus means?" or "I wonder what I must do?"

This is how we too should respond to God's Word – when we read it ourselves or when we study it with others or when we listen to a sermon in church. We need to put into practice what we learn. A Swiss preacher in the sixteenth century, Francis de Sales (1567-1622) put it like this. He said: "The test of a preacher is that his congregation goes away saying, not 'what a lovely sermon', but, 'I will do something [about what I just heard]!'" Today, as we continue our studies in Luke's Gospel & learn more about the message & the ministry of Jesus we will ask ourselves five questions. The first is:

1. "Am I causing others to sin?" (17:1 & 2)

At the start of chapter 17 Jesus is teaching His disciples. He says to them: "'Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.'" Jesus knows that we all face temptations. He also knows that it is easy for us to be stumbled by what others say or do. Have you heard people say things like: "So-and-so goes to church, but the other day I saw her lose her temper!" Or: "So-and-so claims to be a Christian but he cheated me!" Yes, when non-believers see us acting in a way that is not consistent with our faith, they are stumbled. When we behave in an ungodly way, we are being a very poor testimony.

Jesus warns us about causing others to stumble, about causing them to go the wrong way, or to fall into sin. He says in v.2, "It would be better for them [or us] to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.'" What a graphic picture! A millstone was a big round stone used in grinding grain. If such a big heavy stone was tied around someone's neck & they were thrown into the sea, for sure, they would sink & drown. To cause a "little one" to stumble is, says Jesus, a very serious matter. The term "little ones" obviously includes little children, but also refers to those who are young in faith.

The obvious question we need to ask ourselves is: "Am I causing anyone to sin?" Is there anything in my life, in my words or actions that could cause "little ones" to stumble or fall? Am I being a good example to others? We might think it doesn't matter how we live, but Jesus says it certainly does matter. There is freedom in Christ but this does not mean we are free to do whatever we like. For example, if someone who claims to be a Christian drinks too much, if they get even a little drunk, they are clearly being a bad example. If a sister is immodest in dress she can cause us men to stumble. If we are not careful what we watch on TV or on the Internet we are being a bad example to our children. We need to ask, "How might my actions or my choices affect my children?" "How might they affect others – believers or seekers?" "Am I digging a hole into which others could fall?" Yes, we need to ask ourselves: "Am I causing others to sin?" Secondly we also need to ask:

2. "Am I learning to forgive?" (vrs 3 & 4)

Jesus goes on say, "So watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; & if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day & seven times come back to you saying 'I repent,' you must forgive them." (vrs 3 & 4) The Jewish Rabbis used to teach that a person who forgave 3 times was perfect. Jesus takes this standard, doubles it & adds one. Of course forgiving others has nothing to do with mathematics or keeping count. "I've forgiven you six times! Only one more time & you're done!" No, Jesus is simply telling us that we are not to operate by the standards or measures of the world.

Being willing to forgive is not weakness. Nor is it turning a blind eye or ignoring a problem. Jesus says "If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them." There is a place for rebuke, but let us notice what Jesus says as to how this is to be done. In Matthew 18:15 for example He says, "If your brother sins against you, go & show him his fault, just between the two of you." What so often happens however is that instead of A going to B & lovingly & respectfully discussing the problem, A goes not to B but to C & B goes to D not to A. The next thing you have is misunderstanding & even more upset. This sort of thing leads to division in a church. Jesus says we are to go to the person & settle the problem with them. Very often that is all it needs for a conflict to be settled, a misunderstanding to be cleared up or for a wounded relationship to be healed. So let us humble ourselves & be honest & open with one another. The purpose of a rebuke is to see repentance & restoration. We must not bear grudges but learn to forgive. And as Jesus implies, forgiveness is to be on-going. It must be our habit to forgive. Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is an act of the will. When people say they can't forgive, they actually mean they don't want to forgive.

After forgiving others we must be willing to move on. Sadly, some people don't move on. They keep harbouring things: "Why is he/she talking to so & so? I bet you they are talking about me?" When we do truly forgive & move on it is liberating. Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was reminded one day of something terrible someone had done to her many years earlier. But she acted as if she had never even heard of the incident. "Don't you remember it?" her friend asked. "No," said Barton, "But I do distinctly remember forgetting it." By forgiving & moving on Clara Barton had not allowed herself to be imprisoned by the chains of an unforgiving spirit. Our third question today is:

3. "Am I living by faith?" (vrs 5 & 6)

I guess as they listened to what Jesus said about not causing others to stumble & about learning to forgive, His disciples were pretty shaken. They realised they needed help. We read, "The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!'" (v.5) However, what they needed was not great faith but rather faith in a great God, not more faith but rather putting their faith in the right place – or the right Person!

Jesus gives them 2 pictures – one is of a tiny seed & the other is of a big tree. "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted & planted in the sea,' & it will obey you.'" (v.6) The mustard seed was tiny & the mulberry tree was a tree with very deep & strong roots. Jesus is not giving His disciples a lecture about seeds & plants. Nor is He telling His disciples they should be able literally to uproot trees & plant them in the sea. He is simply saying, "If you have child-like trust in the promises & the power of God then you can begin to experience the impossible." After Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them the disciples saw God do miracles in & through them. Dear friend, do you have a huge problem in front of you, a problem with deep & strong roots? Well, Jesus says, with just a tiny bit of faith in Him you can see that problem uprooted & thrown in the sea.

The question to ask is: "Are we living by faith?" Are we learning to put our trust in the promises & the power of our great God? Even if our problems are not solved immediately, we need not despair but should wait on God in faith.

4. "Am I doing my duty?" (vrs 7-10)

Jesus continues teaching His disciples. He now uses another illustration. To understand this parable we need to understand the context of that day. . In Jesus' day people working for a wealthy landowner or farmer would have been slaves or servants with no rights. Of course today, in NZ at least, things are very different. Workers today are not slaves or even servants but are referred to as employees. And all employees today have their rights. They work according to an agreed contract for an agreed salary

Jesus says, "Suppose one of you has a servant ploughing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now & sit down to eat'? Won't he rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready & wait on me while I eat & drink; after that you may eat & drink'? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?" (vrs 7-9) The answer is "Of course not! A servant has to do what he is told!"

Jesus goes on to explain what He is getting at. "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" (v.10) A servant is not owed special privileges when they fulfil their daily responsibilities. They are simply doing their duty. Just because we serve the Lord does not mean we deserve special benefits & blessings either. No, we are to serve in humility. We are to remember it is a huge privilege to serve Him. We can only serve Him because of His grace. As Isaac Watts wrote in the final verse of his famous hymn "When I survey the wondrous cross":

Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an offering far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.

And of course we do not only serve the Lord out of a sense of duty but because His love has won our hearts. Anyone who has fallen in love knows that doing things for the one we love is never a burden. It is never simply a matter of fulfilling a duty. And so we come to our final question:

5. "Am I thankful?" (vrs 11-19)

Jesus was slowly travelling from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem. Along the border between Galilee & Samaria we read, "As He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance & called out in a loud voice, 'Jesus, Master, have pity on us!'" (vrs 12 & 13)

Lepers were outcasts. They had to warn people they were near. When they saw Jesus & the crowds travelling with Him they came as close as they dared & called out as loudly as they could. They shouted at the top of their voices. Lepers were physically & psychologically scarred. Their disease cut them off from society but drew them together as fellow-sufferers. Normally Jews & Samaritans had nothing to do with each other but here they were, both Jews & at least one Samaritan, drawn together in their suffering.

I guess Jesus heard them first & then He saw them. Even more wonderful - He responded to their cry for help. Jesus sees our need. He hears our cries for help. Jesus tells them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." According to Jewish law, priests were responsible for judging whether or not people with diseases like leprosy had recovered. If the priest declared them healthy they would be allowed back into society. An amazing thing happened to those ten lepers. We read, "As they went they were cleansed." They had to step out in faith before seeing the miracle. They had to head off to find the priests. It was only as they went that the healing came. I imagine they were totally blown away with excitement. They must have started running & jumping up & down with joy. "We are healed!"

We now read something very interesting, "One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet & thanked Him - & he was a Samaritan." (vrs 15 & 16) One of those lepers, when he saw he had been healed was not just happy. He turned back to give thanks. He praises God, throws himself at Jesus' feet, thanking Him. He recognized that not only is God worthy of praise but the most fitting, the best place to offer such praise is at the feet of Jesus.

Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?" (vrs 17 & 18) I am sure all ten lepers were very happy to have been healed – but only one, the Samaritan, actually came back to give thanks.

Isn't it sad that only one out of the ten came back to give thanks. And sadly so often after we get what we want we too forget to say thank you. Parents teach their children to say thank you. I remember my own parents saying to me when some kind uncle or aunty gave me something special, "What do you say, Peter?" And of course the answer was: "Thank you, uncle!" An ungrateful child, on the other hand, brings sadness & disappointment to his or her parents. In Shakespeare's play King Lear, the king says, "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!" Put into modern English we might say: "An ungrateful child hurts more than a snake bite."

Not only is it important for children to show gratitude to their parents, it is important for us to show gratitude to our fellow human beings, & to show gratitude by actions as well as by words. And we also need to say thank you to God. He has done so much for us & He continues to do so much for us. How easy it is to take His many blessings for granted.

How do we show our gratitude? Well, first of all, like the healed leper, we need to come & fall at Jesus feet in worship. We need to humble ourselves & confess that He is worthy of our worship & praise. We do not deserve His kindness & mercy. And we need to be ready to gladly follow Jesus & serve Him. As we heard last weekend at the church camp, following Jesus is a life-long exciting journey, full of unexpected adventures. There may be all kinds of hardships & challenges along the way but nothing can compare with the joy & blessing of journeying through life with Jesus.

Are you a good student? Are you putting into practice what you learn from God's Word? Do you remember some of the questions we have asked today? "Am I causing others to sin?" "Am I learning to forgive?" "Am I living by faith?" "Am I doing my duty?" and finally, "Am I thankful?" I trust that thinking about these questions will help us as we journey with Jesus & live out the truths of His Word in our everyday lives.