The Churches of

Hipswell Parish

Sunday Sermon 3rd Oct 2010

Reader - Peter KaneA sermon given by Reader - Mr Peter Kane

"Increase our faith!" 

In our Gospel lesson, the disciples came to Jesus saying, "Increase our faith." 

Increase our faith!  That's a prayer all of us could pray.  Faith is easy when things are going well, but it's hard to have faith when things are going poorly.  

The problem is how to get faith when things are going badly.  I thought about that and came up with two ideas that seem the opposite of each other: 

My first idea was that we shouldn't wait until we're in trouble to nurture our faith.  We should cultivate our faith during good times to gain strength to survive bad times.  In fact, if we cultivate faith during good times that will often help us to avoid bad times.

 

But how many ignore God when times are good –– and come to faith only when adversity drives them to it? The Scottish historian, Thomas Carlyle said: "For every one hundred who can stand adversity, there is only one who can withstand prosperity." 

What is he talking about?  How can prosperity be dangerous?  Simple!  Prosperity becomes dangerous when it goes to people's heads.  Prosperity becomes dangerous when it encourages people to spend too much and borrow too much.  It becomes dangerous when it causes us to think too much of ourselves and to care too little about others. 

 Seldom does anyone stay on top forever –– and when trouble strikes we often begin to remember the one who created us –– the one who has power to sustain us.  It's then that we ask, "Increase our faith."  It's then that we cry out, "Save us!"

As was said by a Sgt in the series ‘Band of Brothers’ - “There are no atheists in foxholes” 

So whether things are going well or badly, we need to do what those first disciples did.  We need to ask Jesus to increase our faith.  They were thinking of faith as a gift from God –– and I believe that's true.  But God dispenses many gifts to us, and a great deal depends on how we manage those gifts.  God gives some people the gift of athleticism –– but to take advantage of that gift, they have to train hard and work hard.  Nobody becomes a great athlete without hard work.  

The same is true for other gifts.  When I was a child, everyone took  music  lessons –– but when I was given the choice, especially after the awful sounds emitting from our front room courtesy of my elder brother piano playing  I declined and chose to head off hiking into the Trough of Bowland. My Dad, who could play anything, told me that I would regret it when I grew up –– and he was right.  For the sixties were full of groups having a great time - young women screaming at them - that’s when I regretted not listening to my father.   

The question, of course, is whether I had any musical gifts to start with.  My dad reckoned everyone in his family did, consequently I might have had the gift –– I'll never know –– but if I had the gift, I wasted it.  

Faith is a gift.  Some of us find it easy to believe in God, and others find it more difficult.  But I believe that seed of faith that that God has planted in all our hearts needs nurturing. The American author, Flannery O'Connor, puts it this way.  She says: If you want your faith, you have to work for it. It's a gift, but for very few is it a gift given without any demand for equal time devoted to its cultivation.” 

So the next question is - how can we cultivate our faith?  What can we do to make the best use of the faith that God has given us?  How can we nurture our faith so that it will be there when we need it –– when we have to make an important decision –– when we suffer an illness or a serious setback?  How can we grow the seed of faith that God has planted in our hearts? 

One way to strengthen faith is to pray.  Do you pray?  How often?  In his book, Gracias, the late Henri Nouwen told of meeting Mother Teresa.  In his great regard for her spiritual depth, he began to bare his heart to her, telling her all his problems and struggles.  She listened for a while, and then gave this prescription.  She said: "If you spend one hour a day in prayer and never do anything which you know is wrong, you will be all right." 

Nouwen thought about Mother Teresa's answer, and realized that she had tossed the ball back into his court.  She had not solved any of his problems, but she had given him the keys to the kingdom.  It was now up to him to do what she had suggested.  It was up to him to pray and to practice ethical behavior.  

There are other spiritual disciplines too –– disciplines that can help us to grow the seed of faith that God has planted in our hearts:  

    • We could read the Bible.     

    • We could join a small group here at the church - whether it is Bible Study, Pastoral Team or the PCC.

    • We could continue or start a cycle of daily prayer. 

    • We could be sure to attend worship every Sunday, be in fellowship with other Christians and partake of the Holy Sacraments.  

Those are all good spiritual disciplines, but one of the best ways is to reach out, as Jesus did to people in need. He always had time for people that nobody else even noticed –– the beggar, the leper, the blind man.  He reached out to them.  He listened to them.  He loved them.  And, often, he healed them. 

We might or might not have the gift of healing, but we can certainly reach out to needy people.  We can listen to them.  We can love them.  We can use the gifts God has given us to help them. 

In Matthew 25, Jesus gave the Parable of the Talents.  You probably remember that parable.  Just as a reminder, a talent in those days was what they called a large amount of money.  The Master gave one person five talents, and blessed him when he used them well.  Then the Master gave another person two talents, and blessed him when he used them well.  Then the Master gave another person one talent, and cursed him when he buried his talent in the ground –– not using it in any way.  The lesson from that parable was that God will hold us accountable for using the gifts that he has given us. 

It is no coincidence that, in the very next paragraph, Jesus talked about helping people in need.  He talked about giving hungry people food –– and thirsty people drink. He talked about welcoming strangers.  He talked about giving clothing to needy people.  He talked about visiting the sick and people in prison.  And then he said, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."  In other words, helping someone in need is the equivalent of helping Jesus.  Jesus closed by offering blessings to those who took care of the needy. 

The disciples came to Jesus saying, "Lord, increase our faith." That's a good prayer, and we should pray it.  But we must also take responsibility for increasing our own faith.  Pray.  Read the Bible.  Get more involved, reach out to needy people.  All those things are faith-builders.  When we do them, we not only grow the seed of faith that God has planted in our hearts.  We will also make our corner of the world a little better place to live. 

Amen

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