OCTOBER 5, 2025
MESSAGE & READINGS
LAMENTATIONS 1: 1-6
We begin our readings this morning with a passage from the Book of Lamentations…this book, by-the-way, is a series of poetic laments or possibly funeral dirges which were written at the time of the Babylonian invasion in the 6th century before the common era…each of these ‘poems’ is an acrostic with 22 verses each and each one starting with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet…so this passage portrays Jerusalem as a widow…alone and abandoned…the Hebrew folks had been convinced up until this moment that God would never let them be driven from the promised land…well…it happened…it would almost be like our First Nations people and dealing with the insurgence of ‘others’ coming to take over their land and their culture and their way of life…
PSALM 137
Our Psalm today, Psalm 137, has been put to song many, many times… it’s a song or Psalm of lamentation and the folks have lost their song… they’ve lost their tune…they’ve lost their spirit…they’ve put their harps up in a tree to probably never use again and now they are being urged to play a happy song for the Babylonians – how can they when their heart is empty?...how can they when the words to happy songs just aren’t there?...but they were as loyal as ever – if not more so – to their God, to the holy city and to their old home…their very loyalty to Jehovah makes them break forth in bitter denunciation of the nations responsible for their present plight, especially Edom and Babylon
LUKE 17: 5-10
This Gospel passage this morning doesn’t really translate well from the Greek…Jesus says, “…if you had enough faith” which might be better translated to say, “If you only realized how much faith you have, you’d be all set…you don’t need tons of it, you know – something as small as a mustard seed is more than enough.”…and the tiniest amount of faith empowers us to move mountains and we know this…in this passage it talks about trees…this little mustard seed could uproot huge trees…and then a small parable is added to this reading in which Jesus states that there will not be a moment of retirement from a life of faith…reminds me of this little story of a retired nun who was asked, “What does it mean for a nun to be retired?”. “Not much,” Sister Claudette answered. “After all, you don’t ‘retire’ from being a Christian…from being a caring person…but it does mean I get to eat devil’s food cake.”…
“You Already Have the Faith You Need…
Now Fulfill Its Purpose…Live It!!”
We begin our little message or communication today with a simple question for each of you…who among us does not want more faith?...
And in listening to the Gospel passage, it seems like we are once again being chastised for the little faith that we do have…and somewhere along the way we have grown to expect a steady dose of what I call condemnation from the Scriptures…more often than not, we hear Jesus’ words to the disciples – and therefore to us – as shaming and possibly angry words…it’s surprising, by-the-way, how often congregations and the folks who lead them in worship, assume this disciplinary tone when reading and hearing biblical texts…I hope, personally, that I don’t do this on a regular basis because I want folks to know that these perceptions can stand as barriers between themselves and the God who loves us…and I know that some folks bring the scars of a Bible that has been misused on them and others who assume that Christianity is all about guilt…these are travesties in our spiritual journey…travesties which cloud the real message of what Jesus was trying so hard to portray to the folks around him – and to us 2000 plus years later…we would do well to really explore a whole range of tones when reading the words of scripture…
What if Jesus is not scolding the apostles at all? ...what if he’s not clucking his tongue and shaking his head over their lack of faith but speaking these words in a true voice of encouragement and of love?...
So, if we listen to this passage once more with these new ears, we hear Jesus answering his followers with a bit of a smile and definitely, with kindness… “Why…you don’t need more faith…even this much faith (hold fingers together)…is enough…and if we hear this in this way, we know that our faith can always grow but the faith that we already have is working…and we can really understand why the disciples were asking for more faith because Jesus had told them that discipleship is more demanding than they have imagined…they are accountable to one another…you would never attempt to climb Mount Everest with a team and not be part of that team – not be accountable to each other…and Jesus says that they are to draw from a bottomless well of forgiveness… it’s no wonder they cried out, “Increase our faith!”…but he changes the question of ‘How much faith is enough?’ to “What is faith for?”…
He tells them through image and through story, “You already have the faith you need…now fulfill its purpose and live it!!...
And I’m going to share something with you which I believe may help you fulfill your purpose of faith and living into it…we have been given the 10 commandments of living together and we can call these the ‘golden rules’ and I believe there’s a few more which will help us grow deeper in our faith and in our relationships to each other and to our God…and there’s 10 of these also…and maybe visualize this as being a memo coming from God to you to help you with your faith:
1. QUIT WORRYING …Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your worries away and carry them for you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little things that comes your way?
2. PUT IT ON THE LIST …Something needs to be done or taken care of. Put it on the list. No, not YOUR list. Put it on MY to-do-list. Let ME be the one to take care of the problem. I can't help you until you turn it over to me. And, although my to-do-list is long, I am, after all, God. I can take care of anything you put into my hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.
3. TRUST ME…Once you've given your troubles to me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials. Problems with the kids? Put them on my list. Problem with finances? Put it on my list. Problems with your emotional roller coaster? For my sake, put it on my list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.
4. LEAVE IT ALONE…Don't wake up one morning and say, "Well, I'm feeling much stronger now, I think I can handle it from here." Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It's simple. You gave me your troubles and I'm taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in my peace. Don't you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started? Leave them with me and forget about them. Just let me do my job.
5. TALK TO ME…I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy. Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I'm in control. But there's one thing I pray you never forget. Please don't forget to talk to me - OFTEN! I love you. I want to hear your voice. I want you to include me in the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with me. I want to be your dearest friend.
6. HAVE FAITH…I see a lot of things from up here that you can't see from where you are. Have faith in me that I know what I'm doing. Trust me; you wouldn't want the view from my eyes. I will continue to care for you, watch over you, and meet your needs. You only have to trust me. Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple part. How hard can trust be?
7. SHARE…You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget? That rule still applies. Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your joy with those who need encouragement. Share your laughter with those who haven't heard any in such a long time. Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith with those who have none.
8. BE PATIENT…I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime you could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult, have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people, and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then, when it takes me a little longer than you expect, to handle something on my to-do list? Trust in my timing, for my timing is perfect. Just because I created the entire universe in only six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush.
9. BE KIND…Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for my sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical. Please know I love each of your differences.
10. LOVE YOURSELF…As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by me for one reason only - to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of Love. Love me. Love your neighbors. But, also, love yourself. It makes my heart ache when I see you so angry with yourself when things go wrong. You are very precious to me. Don't ever forget that!
Many purposes given to us to be fulfilled in our faith journey and if we take one at a time and work with them, we will surely be whole people that will change the world…Amen.