Sermon: No Problem!
October 3, 2004
Luke 17: 5-10
Kendall Brown Kendall's Notebook Page 32
Reading the Bible never grows old. One of the reasons for that is there is always something new to be learned from the Scriptures. The Bible is about the only text that every time I read it, I look up after a few verses, scratch my head, and wonder, “Now what did he say?” The 10 commandments are quite straightforward. You can’t get much clearer than – thou shalt not steal, lie or murder. But after the commandments, simplicity and clarity become harder and harder to find.
When we get to today’s lesson, we are in the presence of many reasons to scratch our heads and say, “Now what does he mean by that?” We have four adult Sunday School Classes and a couple classes for younger folk on Sunday morning, an adult class on Monday morning, and my own study of the weekly outside of those classes. In those 7 or 8 different places, we have probably come up with 7 or 8 different versions of what mustard seed faith is all about. And we still may be left wondering, “Now what was Jesus saying?” In verses 3 and 4, Jesus told his disciples that they must forgive 70 times 7 the person who repents. In response, the disciples explain, “Lord, increase our faith.” That is where Jesus talks about how the tiniest possible amount of faith would be sufficient.
I think the understanding of what mustard seed faith is all about is to be found in the parable immediately following. In that parable, a servant after working all day in the hot sun is expected to obediently cook and serve his master’s meal when he comes in from the fields. All of this is done without a word of thanks.
I have come to call the servant in this story the “No Problem Servant.” That name comes from the memory of a parishioner who responded to just about everything with the words, “No Problem.” It didn’t matter what you asked him, or how much it would inconvenience him, or how difficult, the response was always, “No Problem.” And he really meant it. And that response was rooted in some inner joy about life that made all the details of life no problem. It is really nice to have some “No Problem” people around.
If he had just gotten all settled in to his seat in the movies when six arrive and crawl over him and spill their popcorn on him while kicking his shins, he would say, “No problem.” If the kids were sick all night and he had to rearrange his schedule to take them to the doctor so his wife could go to work uninterrupted, he would cheerfully say, “No Problem.”
If Jesus had told him to forgive someone 70 times 7, he would have said, “no problem” and Jesus would not have given him that mustard seed lecture.
The servant in the story is a no problem – what’s next kind of person. That is the faith that Jesus was holding up as an example to his disciples. If his disciples had even a tiny smidgeon of that kind of faith, they would not have needed the lesson/lecture about mustard seeds.
The disciples did not respond to Jesus’ command to never stop forgiving with the faithful “No Problem.” Even the hard of hearing can hear their moaning and groaning, mumbling and fumbling. “Lord, help me,” they said. In other words “You’ve gotta be kidding.” Or maybe some of them were saying, “Over my dead body.” Or perhaps it was, “Not again.” They made excuses. They tossed it back to Jesus. “We can do that Lord, but you have to give us more faith, and until you give us more faith, it is your problem.”
The smallest dose of No Problem faith would have quickly brought the matter to an end with the forgiving. The disciples made a mountain out of a molehill – or at least what ought to be a molehill for Christians. Last Saturday, some of us attended a God is till Speaking workshop. There we learned about mountains and molehills and mustard seed differences. Making just little changes in our language can make big differences in our community and the way we experience community together.
An example was set before us. We were challenged to think about what do we call those people who show up for the first time at our churches at a Sunday morning worship service. Do we call them “visitors?” Or do we call them, “Guests?” It is a small difference, just one word. But which word we use makes a big difference in the way hospitality is offered and received in our church. The words reflect our outer experience and our inner stance.
Guests and visitors are not the same thing. Visitors drop in. Guests are expected. When you have guests you are expecting them to be here. It wouldn’t be right if they were not here. They are a part of the party – and isn’t this table the ultimate party – and there would not be any party without them. But that is not true of visitors. Visitors arrive unannounced and uninvited. A guest is someone you take some responsibility for. Visitors can take care of themselves. Put up some signs, “bathrooms to the right,” “exit to the left” and they can find their way to the door all by themselves.
We are called to recognize strangers as guests because at the bottom of it all is the simple fact that we are all guests at this table. Everyone around the world today who comes to this table is a guest. The same host invites all to be at his table. If you were confirmed and have been regularly attending communion for many years, have you ever thought of yourself as a visitor at this table? I doubt it. The love of Christ for you makes you a special guest at his table. As Christ has done that for us, we do it for others.
What a difference a word can make. It is a challenge that is put before us, but basically a small matter that over time can make a huge difference. In today’s lesson, Jesus had to talk to his disciples and give them a little scolding. God is still speaking. And Jesus is still talking. And our Lord still is cajoling.
Those two basic ways to respond are still before us. We can be “Lord, help me!” Christians. “What will they think of next?” These are the lets make mountains out of molehill kind of disciples. Or we can be “No Problem Christians.” And start listening to ourselves and see if we need to be thinking and talking about and with guests - more than visitors.
God is still speaking in our lives and we are still listening and hearing the call. The mustard seed faith response says, “No problem.” Today’s baptism reminds us that God was speaking in Debbie Welz’s heart saying that it is time to go to China. And Debbie said, “No Problem” Now she might have said a few other things like “you gotta be kidding!” But the basic faith stance was still there. Huge hurdles were there to be jumped, but Carisa along with Emily and Allison and Olivia and Kori and Kassiti are now with us as our guests at this wonderous world wide table in our church. They tell us stories of mustard seed faith that turns mountains into molehills. God is still speaking.
End sometime with amen. Today with “No Problem”