Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10, Psalm 95
October 6, 2019
Larry Campbell
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be pleasing to You, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.
- How many of us have made our petitions to God only to be frustrated by the ensuing silence?
- How often have we been confused when faced with, what feels like, divine apathy?
- What are we to do when we see a world that seems to be going to hell in a hand basket?
- How many times are we haunted by the idea that the word of God is powerless, and what is right and just is not possible?
- Any attempt on our part to make things right seems to be foiled by, what can only be described as, “evil” in the world.
- What can we do?
And how can we continue to trust in, or have any kind of faith in, a God who does not respond to such cries of injustice?
The prophet, Habakkuk, asked questions that are not unlike our own. In the section that follows the verses we read this morning, God offers answers, and promises to deal with the trouble by raising up a mighty nation to come and punish the evil Habakkuk sees.
However, the prophet is not impressed, and finds God’s response less than satisfactory. The problems that arise from this solution are no better than the problems the solution is meant to solve.
Habakkuk says, in the first verse of the second chapter, that he’s going to be watching closely to see what, if anything, God is going to do. And he says he will persist in his complaint until God replies appropriately.
It’s interesting to notice; the prophet cannot, and will not seek to understand the world apart from God. Just because God is not responding in a suitable way, he doesn’t run away, or even, just stop believing in God altogether. In our present time, whether because of our modern materialistic world-view, or because of, so called, enlightenment, we have significant questions about whether or not God is involved in our lives or even whether God exists at all. Habakkuk’s objections are reflected in this quote from the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Elie Wiesel (eh-lee vee-ZEL);
"The Jew may love God, or may fight with God, but may not ignore God.”
To argue with God the way Habakkuk does, takes a certain kind of faith in God, and in their relationship.
***
In the Gospel reading for today, Jesus seems to tie faith together with duty. “Duty” is something we don’t like to talk about in our post-modern world. We don’t like being told what to do, we don’t like when we’re expected to act in a certain way. But maybe this perspective needs to be revisited.
Among the first words in the Gospel reading are, “Increase our faith.” Why is that? In the verses leading up to that frustrated plea, Jesus says,
“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
Right on the heals of that statement we read,
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
Who wouldn’t ask for more faith when told to keep forgiving someone who persistently sins against us? Basically, in asking for more faith, they’re saying,
“Are you kidding me?! I can’t do that! Please, give me strength!”
Jesus replies,
“You know, with just the tiniest, itsy-bitsiest bit of faith, you could command a tree to uproot itself and plant itself in the sea, and it would obey you.”
And by implication He seems to be saying,
“...and you can’t forgive someone?”
Jesus is suggesting here that this is not about how much, or how little, faith we have, but that the faith we do have is sufficient. Whatever faith we have is enough. It’s enough for God to work through, to empower us to do what needs to be done…
in this case, to forgive, even the most annoying repeat sinner.
Then Jesus shifts to the image of the servant who does what has been commanded without expectation of reward. At first blush, this may not seem to be connected. But let’s see if we can understand the point of this metaphor in its context. Jesus says,
“If you have an employee who works for you in the field, then comes home to cook and serve the meal, they’re doing what they’re supposed to do. You wouldn’t reward them with an invite to join the family for supper.”
(you might, of course, if you were particularly egalitarian, but for the sake of this story, you wouldn’t do that. your servant would eat when their work is done).
And then Jesus says,
“So, when you have done everything you were told to do, you should say, ‘I am a servant; I have only done my duty.’”
Jesus is telling his disciples, and in this reading he’s telling us, this is not about the one who needs forgiveness, or how often that person needs forgiveness. This is about us.
By forgiving that persistently annoying person, we’re only doing what we’re supposed to do.
***
Now, how does this impact the passage from Habakkuk?
The prophet has said to God,
“I’m keeping my eye on You. I’m waiting to see what You’re going to do.”
God replies to him,
“Write this down. This revelation is urgent and should be announced by the town crier...
‘Everything awaits for the appointed time. It will come to pass and will not prove false. Though My response to oppression and injustice may seem to linger, wait for it. It will certainly come.
‘Those who perpetrate evil, (those who oppress the poor and disenfranchised, those who deal in violence) are puffed up; (they’re windbags, they’re full of hot air and otherwise empty).
‘But the ones who are righteous; (those who work to set right their relationships with creation, with one another, and with their God...) Those who work for justice, do so by their faithfulness.’
- The faithful cry out to God.
- The faithful trust that God will act.
- The faithful wait, actively and expectantly for God to act.
While we wait we work to restore justice in our world, in our lives, and in our relationships.
Whatever faith we have is enough. The grace of God will work in us, and through us to do what is right; as the liturgy says,
“to do more that we can ask or imagine.”
We are given the heart and the strength to do what is commanded of us. To forgive, or to work for right relationships leading towards justice… It’s not a suggestion…
it is our duty.
Amen.