Faith Like A Mustard Seed

One evening … the large crowd of black and 
white activists standing outside the Ebenezer Baptist Church was electrified by the sudden 
arrival of a black funeral home operator from Montgomery. He reported that a group of 
black students demonstrating near the capitol just that afternoon had been surrounded by 
police on horseback, all escape barred and cynically commanded to disperse or take the 
consequences. Then the mounted police waded into the students and beat them at will. 
Police prevented ambulances from reaching the injured for two hours….
The crowd outside the church seethed with rage. Cries went up, “Let’s march!” Behind 
us, across the street, stood, rank on rank, the Alabama State Troopers and the local police 
forces of Sheriff Jim Clark. The situation was explosive. A young black minister stepped 
to the microphone and said, “It’s time we sang a song.” He opened with the line, “Do you 
love Martin King?” to which those who knew the song responded, “Certainly, Lord!” …
Right through the chain of command of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference he 
went, the crowd each time echoing, warming to the song, “Certainly, certainly, certainly 
Lord!” Without warning he sang out, “Do you love Jim Clark?”—the Sheriff?! “Cer … 
certainly, Lord” came the stunned, halting reply. “Do you love Jim Clark?” “Certainly, 
Lord”—it was stronger this time. “Do you love Jim Clark?” Now the point had sunk in, 
as surely as Amos’ in chapters 1 and 2: “Certainly, certainly, certainly Lord!” 
Rev. James Bevel then took the mike. We are not just fighting for our rights, he said, 
but for the good of the whole society. “It’s not enough to defeat Jim Clark—do you hear 
me, Jim? – we want you converted. We cannot win by hating our oppressors. We have to 
love them into changing.” 
In this week’s story that Luke recalls (Luke 17:1-10), there is the warning that the 
‘little ones’ have a special place in God’s heart – not because they are better but because 
they need more care. Don’t cause these ‘little ones’ to stumble and fall. Don’t keep pushing 
them away or ignoring them. Don’t you see they are humans who need more love and care 
– and sometimes forgiveness. If you push them away, cause them to stumble, you may as 
well hang a huge rock around your neck and jump into the creek because you have lost 
your way and contributing to the injustice and hatred in the world. 
Don’t judge people on what they look like, think or do. Don’t be blinded by the 
superiority that the arrogant flaunt and learn to look down on others. Can’t you see that 
there will come the time when you stumble, fall, fail or decline and you will long for love, 
care and a place to belong. We are offered the way of forgiveness, of letting go of the 
wrongs that we experience from or perceive in, others. If someone does the wrong thing 
all day, endlessly, disturbing, annoying, or hurting you but asks forgiveness – forgive, let 
go and live in peace together! Commentator, John Petty, says: “In other words, "moral 
rightness" is hereby rejected as a measure for one's place in the community. You can be 
"right" all day long, and the other fellow can be "wrong" all day long, but that is no longer 
a standard by which a person's place in the community is measured. "Good" and "bad," 
"right" and "wrong" are not defining categories in the reign of God.”
The disciples are challenged by this turning around of values, that reconciliation and 
forgiveness are the order of the day and moralising, and moral categories are cast aside. 
They ask Jesus to increase their faith! ‘Give us more! Make us better, bigger, greater…’ 
But Jesus turns it all upside down again – they don’t need more; they need less! In fact,
they have enough faith because the smallest little amount is more than enough to act in 
great ways of love, grace, forgiveness and peace! The way of a world is competitive
striving, struggling to be the best, wealthiest, most powerful or successful. We tread on 
head and compete with each other to get more and race to the top – it’s a recipe for failure 
and injustice. Someone must always lose – generally the many, lose whilst the very few,
gain more and more but have less and less of what is really true and rich and deep. The 
more they accumulate, the more they have to protect, look over their shoulder, fight off 
other competitors… and the more they become isolated from true relationships that are 
grounded in the equality and reciprocal love that Jesus inspires and exists in God.
This story is filled with scandal as we gradually recognise that the categories around 
which so much of our society evaluates and judges people are false and will ultimately be 
used against each one of us. When we ignore the weak or struggling, when we avoid the 
poor and hungry, or the grieving, guilt-ridden or shamed; when we look upon another with 
disdain and judgement, these things will come back at us when we find ourselves falling 
or failing, hungry in body, mind or spirit, making mistakes, succumbing to illness or age 
or decline, or experience the deep pain and rejection in life. We all fail, and we live and 
fall by the values and judgements we inflict upon others. Jesus warns us that the moral 
categories that are so often held up to distinguish us from others, giving a sense of moral 
superiority, are irrelevant. God loves and forgives us all – and we all need it!!
There is no moral meter on our chests to measure how good, rich, powerful, successful, 
spiritual or anything else we may consider important and deserving of reward. In fact,
there is no reward system in God’s Reign. Those who do good today will fail tomorrow 
but will be loved no less by God. It is impossible to receive more love than the infinite 
love that holds each one of us! We can ignore, reject and throw it back but grace continues 
to surround us daily. The spring flowers in their beauty; the sunshine and warmth that fills 
our days; the staggering beauty of the world around or the lick of the dog; the food we 
share with families of friends and the wondrous moments of life are all gifts of grace – and 
they keep coming. Jesus is at pains to say that there is more and more grace, everywhere 
around us, through us, for us, if we will let go and receive it, share it and celebrate it in a 
community of life-giving hope!
This life is pure gift and in our own pain and struggle, perhaps our eyes may open to 
see, hear and respond to those who cry out in their own desperation and loneliness. These 
acts of love, large and small, that include, care and give a hand up is the essential nature 
of God’s Reign. They create relationship and relationship is the foundational shape of 
reality, mirroring God, who is relational community and love. We reflect this love when 
we love enough to reach out and forgive, and to be agents of reconciling love and grace.