Can you picture this scene? We are sitting on bleachers under the big top having a wonderful time laughing at the clowns, watching lions and tigers jump at the crack of a whip, and gazing in awe as the acrobats perform. We are caught up in the excitement of the circus and join in with the crowd in thunderous applause after each act. The acrobats perform high above us in what seems to us as death-defying feats. Each feat seems greater than the previous one. "Ahhs" can be heard in unison after each act. Excitement is building as we continue to watch in anticipation of the next act.
A skilled high wire artist has accomplished so many marvelous feats that the audience has come to believe that he can do almost anything. The ringmaster addresses the crowd: "Ladies and gentlemen, how many of you believe that this daring man can ride safely over the high wire on his bicycle while carrying someone on his shoulders? If you believe he can do it, please raise your hand!" We raise our hands along with everybody else, a great silent chorus of belief. "Very well, then," says the ringmaster, seeing the almost unanimous vote of confidence, "now, who would like to be the first to volunteer to sit on his shoulders?"
The difference between belief and faith is a difference between staying in our seats and volunteering to climb the shoulders of the high wire artist.
The disciples had been following Jesus for some time. They experienced his teachings firsthand. They were present when he taught the crowds. They saw with their own eyes the people he healed. They also witnessed his confrontations with religious officials. They saw people walk away because they were unwilling to do what he wanted them to do. The disciples were trying their best to understand Jesus and what he expected out of them.
It was not easy being a disciple of Jesus. They had to leave their jobs, their family and friends. At times they were frustrated. They felt they were not up to what he expected of them. At times they were also confused, uncertain, even afraid. They listened to his teachings, they watched him perform miracles, and they thought to themselves, "Wow! I could never do that!" Out of this sense of inadequacy the disciples urged Jesus, "Increase our faith!"
It seemed like a reasonable request. Maybe if they had more faith they would not feel as frustrated and inadequate as they did. If only there was something Jesus could prescribe for them. If only Jesus would give them a home study course--a seminar they could attend. If only he would give them extra assignments or some other means to increase their faith. Then they would feel better about themselves and be able to do what he wanted them to do. Jesus 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."
A LITTLE BIT OF FAITH GOES A LONG WAY.
With even a small amount of faith we can do what others might think is impossible. With even the smallest amount of faith, sentences like "It can't be done!" and "One person won't make any difference" won't remain in our thoughts. Faith cancels out words like impossible, preposterous, ridiculous, and absurd. We can accomplish the impossible with even a small amount of faith.
Mary McLeod Bethune was born in the small town of Mayesville, South Carolina, in 1875. Mary was the youngest of seventeen children born to a family of freed slaves still living on the plantation. When she was 9 years old, she could not read or write. Even after the Civil War there were not many schools for black children to attend. Mary was 11 years old before she went to a mission school. Thus began a journey that led her to the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. After finishing at Moody she returned to the South and opened a school for black girls at Daytona Beach, Florida.
If you were going to start a school, you would certainly want to begin with more than $1.50. And if you were raising money to keep the school going, you would probably not choose to raise funds by baking pies and selling them to tourists. But that is what Mary McLeod Bethune did. In time the school Mary McLeod Bethune founded would become Bethune-Cookman College. She was made president of the college. She was known as a friend to students, alumni, and national leaders, even presidents. She helped President Franklin D. Roosevelt start the National Youth Administration which provided employment for young people.
Even a small amount of faith can accomplish what seems impossible. In examining our passage more closely we discover that Jesus was not reprimanding his disciples for not having enough faith. Instead, Jesus was affirming them for the faith they already had.
IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF HOW MUCH FAITH A PERSON HAS, BUT HOW ONE IS ABLE TO USE THE FAITH ONE ALREADY POSSESSES.
It was not a question of increasing their faith, because the disciples already possessed the faith necessary to accomplish everything that was expected of them. Jesus' response showed his confidence in them. "You already have faith," Jesus was telling them. In fact they possessed enough faith to remove trees and plant them in the sea. The disciples had to learn to use the faith that they already possessed.
And that is Jesus' word to us, as well. In times of confusion, when everything seems to be falling apart, we have the faith deep within us to carry us through. It's not a question of how much faith we have but rather finding ways to use that faith. Even a small amount of faith opens you up to a tremendous amount of power.
Carolyn E. Johnson of Purdue University tells of an experiment she tried with her Spiritual Growth class. "I showed them a stick of chewing gum and said that this gum was special; it was like faith and could help solve our problems. All they had to do was chew it. I asked them to chew the piece of gum I had given each one of them. But they all laughed, reminding me I hadn't given them any gum.
I insisted that I had indeed given them gum, and I asked how many believed me. No one seemed to believe me until one student finally began to look around her seat for any sign of gum. Another student stood up, turned his chair over and to his surprise found a stick of gum taped to the bottom. Others did the same and also found gum. They were so sure they didn't have it because they hadn't actually seen me give it to them."
The disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus replied that they already possessed as much faith as they would need for the tasks at hand. And so do we. Our task is to choose the ways we can use our faith. What task could you handle this week knowing that you possess enough faith to do the seemingly impossible?
Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, in his classic devotional book THE MEANING OF FAITH, wrote: "Religious faith is a positive achievement, and whoever does not deliberately choose it, loses it." He illustrated this truth with the story of a man who rowed down the Niagara River.
As he was rowing, the man debated with himself about whether or not to stop at Buffalo. If he cannot make a decision he has already decided. His indecision has not interfered with the flow of the river, and if he debates long enough concerning his stop at Buffalo he will awake and discover he is already past the stop, thereby rendering his decision irrelevant. "Indecision is a decision of the most final sort." It's not a question of how much faith we have but how we choose to use that faith.
There's one more dimension to consider.
FAITH ENABLES US TO DO THE THINGS THAT JESUS WANTS US TO DO.
Dr. William Willimon, Chaplain of Duke University and professor of Christian ministry at Duke Divinity School, remembers an experience he had when he was serving as a pastor. There was a young woman named Anne who after college enrolled in pharmacy school. From time to time she came home to visit and worshiped with her mother and father.
One Sunday evening after one of her visits, Dr. Willimon received a telephone call from Anne's father.
"Do you know what happened?" he asked. "Anne just called us to say that she has decided to drop out of pharmacy school."
"Really?" Dr. Willimon exclaimed, "What on earth is leading her to do a thing like that?"
"Well, we're not sure, preacher," he said. "You know how much Anne likes you. We thought that maybe you could call her up and talk some sense into her."
Dr. Willimon told the distraught father that he would be glad to do whatever he could. He called Anne, reminding her of all her hard work, her achievements. He urged her to think carefully before throwing all this away. "How in the world did you come to this decision?" he asked.
"Well," she said, "it was your sermon yesterday that started me thinking. You said that God has something important for each of us to do in our own way. I thought to myself, `I'm not here because I want to serve God. I'm here to get a job, to make money, to look out for myself. I'm going to get out of here and get into the same meaningless rat race as everyone else.'
Then I remembered that good summer I spent working with the church literacy program among the migrant workers' kids. I really think I was serving God then. I decided after your sermon to go back there and give my life to helping those kids have a chance at life."
Faith enables us to do the things Jesus wants us to do. It's not a question of increasing our faith but rather realizing that even a small amount of faith can accomplish the seemingly impossible. Jesus wanted the disciples to realize that they did indeed possess the faith necessary to do what was expected of them. However, true faith always leads us to greater service. Faith is for those of us who would make a difference in our world. And we can make a difference with just a little faith in Christ.
Last week, Christians around the world from many different traditions were celebrating World Communion Sunday. Communion nurtures the faith deep within us. Frederick Buechner shares a personal experience of receiving communion in an Episcopal church early one morning. The priest was an acquaintance of his. As he knelt waiting for the bread and cup, he heard the priest moving along the rail from person to person.
"The body of Christ," he said, "the bread of Heaven. The body of Christ, the bread of Heaven." "When he got to me," Buechner writes, "he put in another word. The word was my name. `The body of Christ, Freddy, the bread of Heaven.'"
"There was nothing extraordinary about the priest's knowing my name--I knew he knew it--and there was nothing extraordinary about his using it in the service either. But the effect on me was extraordinary. It caught me off guard. It moved me deeply.
For the first time in my life, perhaps, it struck me that when Jesus picked up the bread at his last meal and said, `This is my body which is broken for you,' he was doing it not just in a ritual way for humankind in general, but in an unthinkably personal way for every particular man, woman, and child who ever existed or someday would exist. Most unthinkable of all, as far as I was concerned, maybe he was doing it for me."
Little Freddy blesses thousands of people thru his writing. Maybe that communion service planted that little bit of faith he needed. May each of us find that little bit of faith we need this day that we might do great things for Christ as well.
