Pentecost 17, 2025
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
Psalm 37:1-10
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Luke 17:5-10
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
“The apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith!’”
That’s the start of this very strange and disjointed gospel text we just heard. But I have preached on that gospel text here at St. Tim’s in 2016, and in 2019, and in 2022. I’ve pretty much said what I have to say about it so far. Three times in fact. (And if you really want to hear my thoughts on that text, I can send one of those sermons to you.) So today, I mostly want to talk about the other three texts we heard. And specifically I want to talk about faith and trusting in God, since those come up in all four readings today. Faith, and trust in God. And hopefully, with the apostles, we will all say, “Increase our faith!”
So first, how about that reading from Habakkuk? Did it make you feel a little on edge? Uncomfortable? Maybe even angry? The writer asks God: Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous--therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
We could call the writer’s language righteous anger, couldn’t we? Justice never prevails, and judgement becomes perverted. And I’m angry about it! But notice what we heard right before that section. “How long shall I cry for help and you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?” Cry “violence,” to the God who in love created everything that exists? Do you hear yourself talking? When faced with injustice and strife and contention, Habakkuk calls for violence, and God does not comply. Habakkuk wants bloody revenge in the midst of strife, and God holds back. His complaint is that God refuses to spill blood just because Habakkuk is angry.
And Psalm 37 seems almost like a response to this:
Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; do not be jealous of those who do wrong. For they shall soon wither like the grass, and like the green grass fade away. Put your trust in the Lord and do good.
Put your trust in the Lord and do good.
But God, I want you to smite my enemies. And the answer is, do not fret yourself because of evildoers. That’s hard to hear, isn't it? In our deeply divided times, when we all claim that we are correct, and we alone are in the right. We are certain that we know what is best. And if God would just wipe out those who are wrong, everything would be right. Trust me. Yet we hear, “Put your trust in the Lord and do good.”
We want God on our side because we’re sure we are right. God is righteous, like us. God is bloodthirsty, like us. God knows who is good and who is bad, like us . . . and Santa Claus.
I don’t have to tell you that temperatures are running high across our nation and the world right now. As the bishop said at our Clergy Day last week, “Y’all, it is hard to human right now.” And in the midst of all of this, we tend to see two understandable reactions: cowardice, and rage. Some people cower and give up, hoping the worst happens to anyone but them. And some people never stop screaming about the injustice they see, and call for violent rage in response. But helpfully, two of our readings today address these understandable responses of cowardice and rage.
In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he writes, “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” And in Psalm 37 we heard, “Leave rage alone; do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.” We are not called to violence and rage, but neither are we called to cowardice and fear. Cowardice and fear and violence and rage may be our way, but they are not God’s ways. So, if our response to the injustice happening all around us is not cowardice and fear, or violence and rage, what is the proper response? What does God call us to do?
We find our answer sprinkled throughout today’s readings. We could call it the middle ground between cowardice and rage: and it is steadfastness. From Habakkuk, “I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart.” From the psalm, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” And from Paul, “Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.”
In essence, remain steadfast. We remain steadfast in faith and trust in God. Standing steadfast is strength. Standing steadfast is honorable. Trusting and waiting for God is faith. We were not given a spirit of cowardice, AND leave rage alone. Have faith and trust in God.
We see this throughout these four readings today. Have faith, and trust in God. In Habakkuk, “Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.” The righteous live by faith. From the psalm, “Put your trust in the Lord and do good.” And also, “Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him.” And we heard Paul write to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.” And here we see how faith is passed down and passed on. Timothy’s grandmother, Timothy’s mother, and now Timothy himself. Timothy receives faith, through these faithful women.
Faith and trust in God are not just things to get us through the times we are living in. They are also gifts we pass on to others and pass down to those who will come after us. Cowardice and rage, violence and fear, none of these are from God. They might be our natural reactions when we see the world spinning out of control. But in all of today’s readings we can see God calling us to a different way. Calling us to have faith, and to trust in God. Faith and trust. That is the only way forward, and it is the only way through.
We think cowardice is safety. We think rage is strength. But we are wrong. Because we were not given a spirit of cowardice, and we are told to leave rage alone. And faith is middle way. Faith shows us a path between cowardice and rage. The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!” May we boldly join with the apostles in their insistent plea.
Lord, increase our faith!
Amen
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