I wonder if they were surprised when Jesus said they didn’t need more faith, that even the tiniest seed of faith is enough. What matters is to put faith into practice, to do what is ours to do. Like bookends, at the start is, “Increase our faith,” and at the end, “We have done what was ours to do.”*
Much happens between all our beginnings and endings. Life builds us up and then wears us down. Love happens, loss happens, illusions of happily ever after move out and conflicted feelings move in. Hope for the journey gives way to despair as we stumble and rise up and stumble again. Will we pray once more for an increase of faith and then do what is ours to do?
Jesus reminds us that we are not the masters of God’s purposes, but the servants. We have enough faith to do what is ours to do, to serve what matters. What part of our world’s pain touches the depths of our own brokenness? Where does creation’s struggle for life and meaning touch our own longing? We show our faith in God, in all creation, each time we step toward this place. The journey to the really Real—to our salvation—depends on it.
We seek more faith, yes; this is always the beginning, and the beginning again. Then we get going. Thanks be to God, we do what we can do.
–Kayla McClurg, Passage by Passage, Year C
- Do I believe I have enough faith to do what I need to do?
- In what ways am I serving God’s purposes right now?
- Am I feeling nudged to do something more?
