Just A Few Small Steps
Luke 17:5-6
I read something this past week[1] about how much energy we generate when we walk. Apparently, each time we take a step, we generate between 6-8 watts of energy. The problem is we can’t capture it. When we walk, the energy is created, but then it’s quickly lost. Now, 6-8 watts per step is not very much, but when you multiply that times the number of steps we take in a day, it really adds up!
There is an architectural firm in London that is working on ways to capture this energy and turn it into electricity. In London’s Victoria Station for example, 34,000 people rush through this station to their trains every hour during peak times. If you do a little math, that’s a lot of steps these folks are taking, and a lot of energy that could be utilized if you can figure out a way to harness it.
This architectural firm is developing vibration-harvesting sensors[2] that would be implanted into the concrete or flooring that would capture the energy from all this foot traffic, turn it into electricity, and then store it in batteries. If this works, it could be revolutionary! Who would have thought something as small as a single step could produce all kinds of energy? The bottom line: There is power in small steps.
In our text today, the inner circle of Christ, the twelve, come to him with a request…or maybe it’s a demand…I’m not sure. They say to Jesus, “Increase our faith!” Now, in this section Jesus has been talking about sin, repentance, and leadership. Jesus says early on in chapter 17, “It 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.” These words were too much for the disciples. How could they continually forgive a habitual sinner? How could they maintain the high standards for leadership and forgiveness Jesus teaches here? Their conclusion is that they need more faith because the standards Jesus lays out seem like sheer impossibilities. The disciples think their faith is too miniscule to make a difference, so they ask that Jesus enlarge it. It doesn’t sound so unreasonable does it.
I think most of us would agree with the disciples when we consider how hard it is to forgive, and how tough it is sometimes is to set a good example. Most of us are also likely to be a little embarrassed when we think about the size of our faith. Who among us has not prayed or demanded, “Increase our faith!”?
It’s interesting to me the response that Jesus gives. He doesn’t seem to buy the argument that the disciples need more faith. His response is more that the disciples simply need faith…any small portion will do. Can you hear the power-in-small-steps theme coming around again?
Most of us, when we hear this mustard seed and mulberry tree story brush it aside and look for something that might fit our world. I don’t know what a mustard seed is. I’ve never seen a mulberry tree…that I know of. If you’re looking for a contemporary hook to hang this teaching of Jesus onto, then think about this. Jesus was talking about living things here. Mustard seeds are small. Mulberry trees are big. Jesus says that something as small as a mustard seed can move something huge like a mulberry tree. But for that to happen, the mustard seed has to be alive.
We know this truth very well from the drought we’re currently in: dead things don’t grow. If you want growth, you must start with something alive. And for something to be alive, it needs some attention. So Jesus seems to be suggesting the size of one’s faith is not the real issue. The real issue is whether one’s faith is alive. So the first question this text raises for me is, “Is your faith alive?”
Too many of us pray that God will give us the faith of a Billy Graham or Mother Teresa. We say to ourselves or others, “When I get stronger in my faith, then I’ll ___________.” Perhaps what Jesus is teaching us here is simply to pray, “God, use the faith I have right now to further your kingdom’s work.” Don’t make my faith like someone else’s, just use the faith that I have right now in this moment. What do you think would happen in this world if people in all churches would pray this prayer and truly mean it? I believe when we pray like this, and are available to God in this way, that’s when the big things…the mulberry trees is in this life…are moved for the Kingdom.
You and I are entering into a period of time when our faith is going to be tested. I think over the years I’ve figured out pretty well how to be the pastor at Cane Creek Baptist. God has blessed me here and I feel comfortable and confident. But I feel less confident when I think about Rapid City. I feel like joining the disciples in saying, “Increase my faith!” Many of you are probably wondering about the future leadership here at Cane Creek. Uncertainty brings fear to us. You might also be saying, “Increase our faith!”
It seems that you and I would all do well to heed Jesus’ teaching today. We don’t need more faith. We just need to exercise the faith we have. When we do that, then we’ll be a lot like those engineers in London who have realized there’s amazing power in small steps. As we close today, I want to ask you to join me in a moment of prayer. Let’s pray that God will reveal to us right now what those small steps are that we are to take. Simply pray, “God, show me the step of faith you want me to take, right now!” Then take it! God has given you everything you need…everything I need…for this moment in time. Let’s take a step together. Amen.