Proper 22C

Everyone here has some faith.

We know this because we have all showed up here this morning.

No matter in what kind of mood or season of our lives we are in,

if we had no faith whatsoever, we wouldn't show up.

So, we are working with something.

Naturally there are many reasons people come to church on Sunday morning.

Some come because they feel it is their duty,

even if they don't always agree or they don't always feel like they believe in what we are doing.

Some come because they are in the habit of doing so

and they aren't really interested in thinking more about it than that.

Some come because they truly want to go deeper in their faith

they want to learn more, they want to experience Jesus more

they have a deep longing for connection with God.

Or perhaps you're here for some other reason,

known to you alone.

I hope that we are all here because we want a deeper experience

we want to grow our faith and become more the people God wants us to be.

If you aren't here for this reason,

your homework is to think about that

and what it would take to connect with the longing for God within you.

The rest of us are going to talk about

the teaching from Luke today

and what it means to increase our faith.

The context of the passage from Luke this morning

is the beginning of chapter 17.

Jesus is teaching his disciples

and he starts talking about sinning and forgiving.

Jesus acknowledges that we are all going to sin,

we are all going to mess up, make mistakes, cause harm,

and make bad decisions some of the time.

So he tells the disciples that they have to be able to talk to each other about their mistakes and then when someone repents,

seeks forgiveness, they must forgive.

In Luke, Jesus says,

"And if the same person sins against you seven times a day,

and turns back to you seven times a day and says, 'I repent,'

you must forgive."

Thus, the disciples exclaim,

"Increase our faith!"

Its hard to forgive the same person once a day, 

let alone seven times a day.

It would feel like a constant cycle of problems and forgiveness

and it would be emotionally hard to work through all that forgiveness.

I pray about forgiveness every day and I still need help.

Only God can really do that work in me

and that is where faith enters the picture.

Faith.

Faith can be a hard concept to pin down.

Some of us probably think we have a good grasp 

of what faith is, and we might be right, but we might not be.

Dictionary definitions of faith don't always cover the whole idea.

Faith is a gift of God.

Faith is a leap of risk.

Faith is an act of love.

Faith is reaching out to others.

Faith is praise.

Faith is trust.

Faith is the movement of the Holy Spirit in us.

Faith is a gift of God.

We have to be able to receive and accept the faith which God gives us.

When we think of ourselves as fully capable,

when we think of ourselves as complete in ourselves,

then we are not open to receiving the gift of faith which God has for us.

Many of you know the scene in the classic Star Wars movie when

Luke Skywalker on Dagobah 

and his space ship is stick in the mud.

He wants to leave to go help his friends who are facing evil Darth Vader,

but he can't get his ship out of the mud.

He tries to use the Force, but he just can't do it.

His teacher, Yoda sees him failing

and does it for him.

Luke immediately says, I don't believe it. 

and Yoda responds, that is why you failed. 

Luke wasn't open to receiving the gift.

He wasn't able to believe,

he didn't have enough faith.

The power belongs to God and we believe in it. 

Faith is a gift 

and even if we have some,

thankfully if we ask for more of it, 

God will give us more.

Faith is a leap of risk.

Faith can feel very risky.

This is one of the reasons we all like the idea of faith, 

but not always the actual practice of it.

We want to be seen as people who are brave and risk takers

but we are afraid of actually stepping out beyond our comfort zones.

There is no absolute proof for God or the Trinity or Jesus as the Son of God.

Believing in these things is a risk.

Faith is an act of love.

Despite the risk of faith,

when we accept the gift of faith from God 

and we jump into the risk of believing in Jesus,

we enter into the greatest love in the universe.

We are entering into God's abounding never failing love

which can be seen in Jesus' life, teachings, and death for us.

Faith is a double act of love, 

God giving us love

and us returning love.

Faith is reaching out to others.

Accepting faith in Jesus means having to accept his teachings as well.

Jesus was all about relationship and community,

reaching out to others and having compassion for them.

He taught his disciples to care for others,

especially the outcasts, the sick, the poor.

Jesus 

Faith is praise.

Believing in God and the work of God in Jesus Christ

can only lead to joy.

God created us of out love

and we are wonderfully made.

We are given amazing gifts,

we are given relationships and communities

better than we could ever imagine,

and that means we should praise God.

Praise God with our voices

Praise God with our bodies

Praise God with our hearts and minds and souls 

Praising God with everything we have!

Yay! Praise God!

Faith is trust.

We are talking about believing in a God who 

created mosquitoes, volcanoes, hurricanes.

I'm not sure any of those things are good ideas,

but I trust God and God's purposes.

I mean, we are talking about believing in a God who

decided to create a yellow horse

with a long neck

and brown spots

and ANTENNAS.

Giraffes are cool, but I'm not sure I understand that decision.

That is why faith is trust.

We have to trust in a God who lovingly made us,

who has good things for us. 

We trust God, not only during the good times,

but also during the bad times in our lives.

Faith is the movement of the Holy Spirit in us. 

Sometimes we feel despair at the lack of faith in us,

yet, it only needs to be small to be able to create action within us. 

We are only one piece in a very large whole, 

which is humbling, 

but we also get to be a part of the greatest creation in the universe.

When faith is put into action,

it becomes more real

Faith in our heads is one thing

faith lived out has substance.

So in the spirit of acting out our faith and the movement of the Holy Spirit,

I have a little activity we are going to do. 

Everyone who is able to stand, stand up.

Pick up one of the gifts at the middle of your pew,

and move into the main aisle.

Faith is a gift of God, give and receive a gift.

Faith is a leap of risk, everyone jump up and down

faith is an act of love, give someone a hug

faith is reaching out to others, give someone a high five or hand squeeze or fist bump

faith is praise, shout Hallelujah! (Hallelujah!)

faith is trust, close your eyes and find your seat.

Amen.