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Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost

June 5, 2023

Invitatory

Lord, open our lips.

And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

Reading: Luke 17:3b-6

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Meditation – Peter Vanderveen

Is it possible to imagine that Jesus had a wicked sense of humor? It’s rarely considered. Instead, almost every story involving him is read with a heavy dose of stultifying earnestness. Dead weight. And as a result, all of his interactions seem woefully… well… preachy. It’s as if, if we bang our heads against the wall enough, we might finally learn something that was obvious from the beginning.

But the Biblical text doesn’t prescribe this seriousness. Jesus was actually, at times, caustic, witty, and cutting; and he often made his point by stating things that are preposterous, expecting us to misinterpret him with our literalness. His humor, in contrast to our earnestness, shows just how radical his message actually is.

For what possible sense can be made of commanding a tree to be planted in the sea? Even more, how could this be the work of faith? Really. It’s a ludicrous statement. And yet, over and over, people have twisted themselves in knots trying to make this an example of the magical miraculousness that faith supposedly promises. It can do anything! All you have to do is truly believe! If a tree can be transplanted in the sea, then whatever we think we need or desperately want will be provided no less. All that’s required is the merest trust in God. And if what we’ve requested doesn’t come, then we don’t have even that tiny speck of faith. And we have to redouble our efforts.

Preachy, isn’t it?

But what if Jesus meant his statement to be obviously hilarious?

The disciples had asked for the increase of their faith. This was in response to Jesus’ declaration that, in essence, there is no limit to the forgiveness that we should afford others. A daunting command. Or, perhaps more to the point, a task that is simply impossible for us. Let’s be honest. Even the pettiest of offenses can remain in our memory as wounds that we can’t move beyond. They can stick in our craw. If this is so, Jesus’ reply should be heard more as an outright guffaw than as instruction. The disciples’ seriousness was comical. They had no idea how immeasurably they had misunderstood what Jesus had said about forgiveness. Jesus’ only recourse, then, was to say something equally ridiculous.

For only the nonsensical humor of his reply could frame up what Jesus meant by his remarks on forgiving others. God alone is capable of forgiving in this way. And God alone is committed to forgiving in this way. It’s an absolute qualitative difference between God and us. And if we understand this, then our response won’t be a request for strength enough to somehow do better. It will be the vast joy of seeing how God is God in his determination to hold us in an infinite love – in spite of all our inabilities and chronic misunderstanding.

And I can’t imagine how this message could ever become preachy.

Prayer

You come to us, O Christ.

You are the Alpha and the Omega

The beginning and the end. All times

And seasons are yours, and in you

All things hold together and are brought to completion.

Draw us by your Spirit into communion

With you and one another and make us and all things

Whole and free in the full force

Of your deathless love.

The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold