Luke 17:5-10 (NRSV)
Read Luke 17:5-10 on biblegateway.com
Verse 5The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" Verse 6The 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. Verse 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'? Verse 8Would 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'? Verse 9Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? Verse 10So 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!'"
Devotion
In a culture that measures success and worth by large numbers and huge quantities (note how we often measure the success of congregations), Jesus’ words about faith being like a grain of mustard seed are indeed refreshing news. It doesn’t take much to do the impossible. We think of Mother Teresa or Martin Luther King Jr., those who have seemingly moved mountains. Was their faith any larger than a mustard seed? Probably not. But it was enough to make a difference.
The lesson of the mustard seed is that what may seem to us as small, insignificant, and even powerless paradoxically has a power that can change the world. As we stand among the powerful and arrogant of our own age, amid those who seem to move the world according to their desires and whims, let us not forget the power of faith – even faith the size of a mustard seed.
Prayer
Holy God, in a world that cries for change, we are not convinced that we have the power to make a difference. Instill in us the confidence that the power to change does not come from within ourselves, but from you alone. Increase in us the confidence that whatever faith we have, small though it may be, is enough. In the Name of the One who was faithful even to death, Jesus our Lord, Amen!