Oct. 5 | Pentecost 17, Year C
Lam. 1:1-6 or Hab. 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Lam. 3:19-26 or Ps. 137Â or Ps. 37:1-10
2 Tim. 1:1-14
Luke 17:5-10
There is only room for one at the top. What does that imply about our lives? The trajectory of our natural lives is upward until we reach the top. We strive to be number one—to be alone at the top. We spend our lives lusting for the peak where we can be our own master. Then Jesus enters the scene—and he comes proclaiming himself as the King of creation and of our life. The problem is that the peak of my life has standing room for only one.
The other problem I face at the top is that everyone appears to be against me and, as a result, I feel I must fight off all challengers who want to control my life and make me do things I do not want to do. When I occupy the top, I am totally responsible for whatever happens—there is no one else to blame. It is debatable which burden is greater—fighting off the attacks or bearing the weight of responsibility. There is nowhere lonelier than being isolated at the top.
We were created to be in community and called to God, not as individuals but as the members of a people—a body of believers. That body is the community of the faithful. It is faith that places us where we are supposed to be relative to God and our neighbors.
The apostles asked our Lord to increase their faith. When they articulated that request, they were asking on behalf of all believers. In the narrative flow of St. Luke’s Gospel, the disciples had just been treated to a series of countercultural lessons and stories. From the instruction to take the lowest seat at the banquet to the salvation of the poor beggar Lazarus and damnation of the rich man, the message is that humility is the proper currency of the kingdom of God. It logically follows, then, that our faith is increased through our attitude of humility.
The statement “we are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done” is not a declaration made at the top of the hill, but rather from the valley at the foot of the mountain. It acknowledges the authority of the one above us, as well as our proper place in the community of faith. That also means humility is not a matter of demeaning ourselves, but rather one of knowing our proper place relative to God and our neighbor. Our confidence is in God and not ourselves—and we wish to promote that confidence in our brothers and sisters. God is at the top of the mountain, and rather than shove and push our neighbors down, we are to lift them up to the Lord. But we can only do so by giving up control—by decreasing.
Giving over control of our lives is an act of faith. The first step is to voluntarily surrender the top of our mountain—the throne of our life—to the One we trust. If God is to increase in importance in our lives, we must make room for him by decreasing in self-importance. This stepping down is necessary in every aspect of our lives.
The disciples asked about faith. Jesus taught them that faith is a precious relationship with our loving Creator. Our faith in God is a gift from him. We cannot earn it, and like the air we breathe, we cannot truly live without it. We were created to be in relationship with God, and it takes faith to be in such a relationship.
Look It Up: 2 Timothy 1:8-12
Think About It: The sovereign Author of the eternal story can be trusted, both with how he has written us into the script and with the storyline.
The Rev. Dr. Chuck Alley, former rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, teaches anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School.
