Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 27], rcl yr c, 2025
LAMENTATIONS 1:1-6; PSALM 137; 2 TIMOTHY 1:1-14; LUKE 17:5-10
Increase our faith!
The lectionary makes an interesting choice this morning. And it has to do with my title: “Increase our faith!” Because a good number of interpreters would put this evocative call to faith, a call to a faith as small as a mustard seed, a call to a faith, that even in its tiniest form, could uproot whole trees and have those trees planted in the ocean—a good number of interpreters would connect the saying about the little bitty faith that could do mega things not with what follows in Luke’s Gospel, but with what precedes it.
And what precedes this exclamation to increase our faith is a passage about repentance and forgiveness, and how it would be better for the one who causes “these little ones to stumble,” that is, it would be better, for the one whose sin causes another to stumble in faith, it would be better for that person to be “thrown into the sea.”
These are hard and difficult words.
But I think they speak, not so much to judgment of sin, but to the reality of what happens when sin comes to light in a community of faith. Ben Witherington and Amy-Jill Levine put it this way: “Once the sin is made known, especially if it has been hidden, knowledge of it does uproot more than trees: it uproots clergy and their churches, television stars and their programs, politicians and their parties.”
That’s to say, when hidden sin comes to light, many of us are uprooted with it. When sin in a family, or a church, or a group of people is exposed, it is deeply unsettling, and can pull up the roots that keep us good and grounded. Sin can uproot not just a person, but others in a community too, and prompt in us a cry that can feel unheard: “Lord, increase our faith.”
The lectionary though makes a different choice, and that’s where I will go from here. Today, the cry of the disciples, “increase our faith!”, is connected to a parable about slavery, and in Second Timothy, to the question of where, and in whom, we are to put our faith.
Passages from Scripture that invoke slavery can be a bit problematic, to say the least. And passages like we have today—where Jesus is telling his listeners to be like obedient slaves, obedient slaves who ought to overwork without complaint, obedient slaves who ought not expect even thankfulness for their work—passages like we have today have been used by slavemasters in recent centuries to control slave behaviour,
to keep plantation slaves obedient to their masters, and to justify punishment for disobedience. Feminist writers, like Elizabeth Johnson, would point out that the Christian use of the metaphor of slavery is repugnant to domestic servants, and is impossible to reconcile with the Spirit’s groan for justice.
I’m not sure, though, that all is lost in the metaphor of slavery; though it depends on who it is addressing. I would hope that we are well past teaching this sort of text as a way to keep people compliant to an unjust power; that’s to say, if you are a person who already, in some way, has a boot on your neck, this is not a teaching for you, at least in the sense that this is not a text that ought to be used to quell an already persecuted class of people.
What is interesting, though, is who Jesus appears to be addressing here. Jesus is not addressing the slave; Jesus is addressing the slave owner. “Who among you would say to your slave …” seems a dead giveaway as to whom Jesus is addressing. And Jesus is not addressing the slave owner in order to give advice about how to keep slaves; instead, Jesus is addressing the slave owner in how the slave owner ought to behave.
And so wealth and privilege, once again, creeps into our reading of the Gospel; and it seems to me that it is addressing those of us of privilege. And if so, that changes things considerably. I wonder if those of us of privilege and wealth might understand it like the former CEO of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Alec Hill, understands this parable: this is a parable for those of us who have and crave control, and those of us who are accustomed to power and influence, telling us that ultimately we are not the centre of the universe, and that we ought to let go of our desire to control others, and to offer obedience rather to God, and God’s ways.
‘Lord, increase our faith! Remind us that we are not the centre of the universe, and that your ways are not our ways.’
Second Timothy helps us in another way to hear a response to our plea that our faith might be increased, and it comes back to another theme we’ve been exploring in the past weeks about where we place our trust. In ministry, Timothy is reminded that we rely on the power of God. God calls us into ministry not according to what we do, but according to God’s purpose and God’s grace. This grace is given in Christ Jesus, “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” “I am not ashamed,” says the author of this letter, “for I know the one in whom I have put my trust.”
This serves as a good reminder of where it is our faith and our trust most fully belong. Our wealth will not save us. Our influence will not save us. And while we we should approach our building with prudence and wisdom, buildings do not save us. Each of these things are given for the sake of ministry, and we entrust them to God in Christ, and God’s healing work in the world.
‘Oh Lord, increase our faith. Give us strength in times of turmoil and disappointment. Keep us mindful of your sovereignty when we rely too much on ourselves. Above all, increase our faith Christ Jesus, the one “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,” the gospel of grace; increase our faith in this Christ Jesus, the one in whom we trust above all other things.’
Angus Sinclair was appointed Director of Music of St. John the Evangelist on February 1, 2023. Having graduated in 1981 (Honours B.Mus.) in organ performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, he went on to distinguish himself as a church musician, recitalist and accompanist touring in both Canada and the UK. For over 40 years Angus has served parishes and congregations throughout Southwestern Ontario as director of music. He experiences his present appointment to St. John’s as a welcome homecoming, both spiritually and musically.
As our parish musician, he provides both support and leadership so that a variety of parish programs can find musical expression and attract participation. When our handbell choir is in season, he is one of our ringers. At parish dinners, he provides popular piano music for the guests to dine by. For both worship services and concerts, he will rehearse and accompany vocal and instrumental soloists from our congregation on piano, organ, or even accordion.
Angus Sinclair was appointed Director of Music of St. John the Evangelist on February 1, 2023. Having graduated in 1981 (Honours B.Mus.) in organ performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, he went on to distinguish himself as a church musician, recitalist and accompanist touring in both Canada and the UK. For over 40 years Angus has served parishes and congregations throughout Southwestern Ontario as director of music. He experiences his present appointment to St. John’s as a welcome homecoming, both spiritually and musically.