Faithful Service
Proper 22, Year C; Luke 17:1-10
As Jesus continues His journey to Jerusalem, Luke records Him teaching His disciples three crucial lessons. First, He warns of the source of stumbling—sin and temptation will surely come, but woe to the one through whom it comes. Followers of Jesus are not to be stumbling blocks but rather those who stir one another toward love and good works. Second, Jesus commands the rebuking of sin. Life together in the Church means we submit ourselves to accountability; saying yes to Jesus means saying no to sin, and giving others permission to confront us when we stray. Third, He grounds all of this in the freedom of forgiveness. The purpose of rebuke is not condemnation but restoration. A community that both gives and receives forgiveness lives free from sin’s bondage, and therefore rebukes with charity, empathy, and love.
It is at this point that Luke makes a deliberate shift—from the wider group of disciples to the apostles. The apostles step forward with a demand: “Increase our faith!” They want Jesus to give them something above the rest, as though obedience to His commands required some special endowment. This is consistent with the apostles’ ongoing tendency to seek privilege and honor (Luke 9:46–50; 22:24–27). But Jesus curbs their ambition with a twofold lesson.
First, He teaches them about a drop of faith. They do not need a great quantity of faith, but simply faith itself—even the size of a mustard seed can uproot a mulberry tree. In other words, it is not the size of faith that matters, but the presence of faith. Time and again, Jesus has rebuked His disciples for having little or no faith, not for lacking an extra measure. What they need is not an increase but an exercise.
Second, Jesus gives the analogy of the master and servant. A servant does not come in from the field and expect the master to reward him with a meal; the servant continues his duty until the master is satisfied. Likewise, Christians are not to serve God in order to receive reward, honor, or privilege. Doing what is right is not exceptional but expected. Obedience is simply the standard of life in God’s household.
We know this in our own families. A child who cleans his room, brushes his teeth, and listens to his parents has not gone above and beyond—he has done what is right and expected. Yet often the child expects a prize for simply doing what is required. So too the apostles: they assumed that their position and obedience would earn them special standing before God. But Jesus reminds them that faith and obedience are not bargaining chips for blessing. Rather, God equips us with gifts and grace so that we may live rightly before Him.
In the end, Jesus teaches that the life of faith is not about demanding more from God but about walking in obedience with the faith He has already given.
Peace be with you,
Pastor Bruce
