Tiny Acts for Someone – Luke 17:5-10

A text – Luke 17:5-10

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

⁷ “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? ⁸ Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me; put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’ ”

A reflection:

Jesus is now en route to his death in Jerusalem; maybe that is why he seems so harsh in this section of Luke’s gospel. And also his ever-trying but slow-to-learn disciples are asking him questions which make him doubt whether they have learned anything at all in their journey with him. He has just warned them about not causing the innocents to stumble, so they ask him for more faith to help them avoid that terrible fate. Then he says their faith is very small – yet even faith the size of a mustard seed will move mountains.

Along with many commentators on Luke, I wonder if perhaps Jesus is trying to tell them that often it is the tiniest deeds inspired by the tiniest bit of faith that actually move mountains for others. After all, for example, what do people who have gone through a rough illness remember once they have recovered? Small acts of kindness by caregivers, the little note they got from someone dear, the signs that people were remembering them as they went through their troubles. Small acts of faith done to lift or serve others – these are what do the opposite of being a stumbling block. Small acts of faith perk up our faith; they show us how to keep going. Small acts of faith tell the sufferer that someone believes she will recover and go out for coffee yet again after this illness.

That is our job. We are to be slaves of one another, always using our faith which gets replenished by the Holy Spirit, almost like recharging your cell phone while you sleep. The Trinity never lets us down – we have exactly the amount we need. God is faithful. God is good. Our job is to use what God gives us to uplift and restore our fellow creatures who are suffering. Who will you uplift today, using your mustard seed of faith, and what mighty result will that person experience from your small uplifting?

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for showing us Jesus in all his temperaments. Help us to remember that he loved his disciples and loves us. Help us to remember that he wants us not to feel we don’t have enough to accomplish anything but instead to know that using the grain of faith we have can do mighty things for those around us who need it. Help us to find someone who needs a tiny act of faith today and use our faith on their behalf. Amen.