The Simple (?) Way of Faith (Luke 17:5-11)

Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Simple:  it is a word that we sometimes embrace, sometimes yearn to understand, and sometimes try to avoid altogether.  Simple can be a “bad” word, as in a label we hope people don’t use about us.  Simple can be that idyllic way of life that we want to have in our lives, yet things just keep too busy to be ever simple or easygoing.  Simple can be a word that we make our own, living by the grace of being low-key, low-fuss.

The prevailing culture, however, places little value on the simple path.  We Americans tend to value a bright and noisy way of life.  There are those who endeavor to make a simple path, working out ways to live their daily life with less.  Here in Vermont, you very likely know someone who has chosen to live a different rhythm to their life, taking considered effort to live in a “green” friendly house or keeps a disciplined way of living, eating, or spending.  It goes against the grain of American habits, given that we consume a disproportionate level of the world’s resources, all the while living it up in our bright and noisy way. 

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the Catholic priest and writer Henri Nouwen wrote extensively on Christian spirituality.  His books sold well, and he was never without speaking engagements.  One time, Nouwen was speaking about the ways of faith to a large crowd.  The event planners had so many people attending that they had to place some of the crowd in another room.  They could sit in the room and listen to Nouwen over a PA system speaker. 

As the crowd listened, they heard Nouwen speak about temptation, that which distracts a person from the spiritual pathway.  Nouwen was Dutch, so English was a second language.  To me, he sounded a lot like Henry Kissinger, that deep voice with a heavy accent.  Nouwen spoke about “the temptation to be relevant” (in other words, when we feel as if we must “be” important or powerful if we are to be of any worth or use).  For the people who listened in the next room, the crowd misunderstood his English.  People claimed that he was calling Christians to avoid “the temptation to be an elephant”.  Avoiding the temptation to be relevant, to want power or authority, pride of place or high praise takes a great deal of commitment, learning how to say “no” when those around us more readily say “why not?”   Such a way makes us much smaller than perhaps our egos or drive would care, much less relevant or even “elephant” in our way of living.

It is no easy matter, ironically, to be a simple person.  To live a simple life, you have to work hard to make do with less.  You have to stretch resources rather than “just buy more”.  When true simplicity is gained, you have “bowed and ben[t]” your way through a lot of difficult choices, taking leave of habits, saying no to what others might claim as an easier path if you would just use something that your values say you should not.  Simple takes work!

Following Jesus is a lot like simplicity.  When we commit to being followers of Jesus, it will not be “easy”.  The longer I follow Christ, the more challenging the path becomes, not because it is steep, but rather just taking the basics seriously is hard work. 

Have you spent a long time in prayer?  Christians are called to pray, yet if you were to pray any length of time, you realize that prayer takes practice and discipline.  Getting your body and mind quieted down is task enough.  Now imagine how tough it is to pray in a way that lets your “inner voice” quiet down long enough to listen and just “be” in the moment of prayer.  The basics of faith are really not “basics”.  Prayer, forgiveness, giving praise to God, serving others—Christianity is not built upon “easy”.  The faith should keep you on your toes, no matter how long you have been following the pilgrim way of Jesus.

In the reading from Luke’s gospel, Jesus does not let the faithful off the hook.  This brief parable he tells about a master calling out to his servants is a bit unsettling.  The master does not tell the slaves to come in and take it easy.  The parable might leave us with an uncomfortable image of God:  God as the taskmaster who does not reward his servant much at all.

I imagine this image rings a familiar (and likely fearful) resonating note with some of us.  The authoritarian or stern image of God (big dude, flowing robes, flowing beard, and a bit of an eternal grimace) is how some imagine God, the authoritarian with a great deal of disappointment with the world.   Such an image is not merited here in this text.  Jesus images God as a master who gives no praise for servants simply being who they are expected to be. 

The lectionary omits the “lead in” to this parable, as Jesus offers these words of instruction to his disciples:

“Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! ²It 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. ³Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. ⁴And 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.” 

This passage balances a word of accountability alongside a word of grace.  God expects the faithful to keep the faith, to live as part of this Kingdom/Reign that Jesus is heralding through his teachings and ministry as surely coming and already at hand.  At the same time, Jesus recognizes that following these teachings and living them out well is challenging. 

For example, to seek repentance for mistakes is hard enough.  To be the one who forgives is remarkably more difficult.  In the Reformation era, a Christian was brought before the city authorities in Geneva, accused of being silent when the congregation was to pray the Lord’s Prayer.  (Calvin’s Geneva was a bit too theocratic for its own good….).  The citizen admitted he did not pray the Lord’s Prayer, as he did not wish to pray the part about “forgiving those who trespass against us”. If he did so pray, he knew he must forgive a person who “trespassed against” him, and he was not ready to forgive another.          

This Reformation era story offers a helpful insight into Christian discipleship. We are called to live out some basic beliefs and practices that may appear to be “easy”, but they are best understood as beliefs and practices that take a great deal of dedication to live out.  The person who balked at praying was at least honest about praying.  He knew that if he prayed and believed these words, he would have to live them out.  Just as someone who is a servant of another, so the Christian believer receives no extra reward for following the Master’s teaching.

In this teaching of Jesus, the challenge is not to “please” God in some ingratiating manner, or to fear that God only accepts “A+” disciples and we know that God knows we’ll never measure up.  Grace abounds in this parable inasmuch we are called to be faithful and earnest followers, willing to put in a day’s earnest work, and not seeking effusive praise. 

So it is, when Jesus’ followers cry, “Increase our faith”, Jesus wryly smiles at how we still need more schooling in the gospel.  Faith is not about our ability to keep ahead of the competition, appear relevant, or even to excel for the sake of excelling.  Faith is about the long haul:  consistent, sometimes tangled up in the messiness of life, and committed to day to day consistency, not racing ahead, not about puffing oneself up for the cameras or the headlines.  Faith is being content that God asks difficult things, but does not expect greatness.  God expects each of us to be faithful keepers and doers of the Word.  AMEN.