St Luke 17: 1 – 9
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, “I repent”, you must forgive.’
The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ 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.
‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? 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”? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 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!”’
Reflection
In this passage we get an example of Jesus’ typical teaching style where he moves from one thing to another quite rapidly. Jesus is warning about stumbling, but being more aware of causing others to stumble. You will all be able to recall an occasion when you were younger, or when your children or grandchildren were younger when there was an incident and someone will say “but they made me!” This is where someone has caused someone else to stumble. But as Jesus continues, if forgiveness is sought, then it should be given. This can be easier said than done as we all know, but we are all aware that when we do not forgive, this affects us more than the other because we hold the hurt within ourselves, and when we do finally forgive, we release the pain that we have been holding for so long and feel lighter and freer.
The disciples then ask Jesus to increase their faith having heard this, which moves us into the main point that he has been making which is that to be true followers we must obey. We know that obeying is not always easy, but Jesus isn’t expecting us to be perfect and get it all right, but to strive to always obey Him without questioning. Now I am not going to sit here and pretend I have this sorted, because I don’t, but the ideal is that we obey God unquestioningly so that our relationship and discipleship with God becomes deeper, stronger and obeying becomes easier, but we should not expect praise or plaudits for simply for doing what God has called us to do in the first place. Let us strive together to try and obey God, by respecting and honouring ourselves, our neighbours and our world, always working to create the now and not yet of God’s Kin-dom.
Prayer
Loving and Merciful God
we often do not obey but try to do things our own way,
causing us and others to stumble and fall.
Help us to listen more closely to you and obey your Word
So that we can become who you have called us to truly be.
Amen.