Stop Your Whining

 October 5, 2025  Luke 17:5-10

 

I have to say, this scripture isn’t my favorite.

There’s not a ton to work with here.

 

First there’s this faith the size of a mustard seed metaphor.

There are a few mustard seed stories from Jesus.

There’s the one where the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed

that grows into a tree and birds come and nest in it.

It’s fun and there’s a lot to talk about  in that one.

That’s the one everyone remembers.

Then there’s this one which is different.

Mustard seeds.
There isn't very good art for this parable.

If you had faith the size of a mustard seed,

you could raise up a tree and put in the ocean.

In Matthew it’s a mountain. In Luke it’s a tree. Same point. Meh.

It seems to be insinuating that since

I can’t do those things,

I don’t have even that crumb of faith.

 

And then there’s this confusing thing with slaves.

And not thanking them, and not welcoming them to the table.

Which seems very contrary to other messages

that Jesus has given us about banquets and the last

shall be first and all. Not much there either.

 

The commentaries on it weren’t very interesting.

I think every time this has come up,

I’ve chosen to do something else.

But not this time! Lucky you.

I tell you this to let you know that I worked hard this week,

even though I just came back from vacation.

 

So Jesus teaching has been tough on the disciples.

He’s presented them with a lot of

difficult concepts and thoughts.

He’s heaped a lot of hard parables on them

about the poor and serving either God or wealth.

He’s told them about divorce.

He’s told them that they need to forgive a person

seven times a day if they repent.

And finally, in response to this

the disciples say, in this reading today

“Increase our faith”. In other words,

We can’t do all this hard stuff.

Increase our faith so we can get it done!

Make us more faithful so we

can achieve all this stuff you’re

saying we should do.”

And Jesus tells them about the faith the size

of a mustard seed.

 

A lot of people make this into a lesson

that says, “just make a greater spiritual effort

and you’ll do amazing things” which I saw a lot of

in my research. Which bothers my Lutheran sensibilities.

But you can’t blame anyone

for coming to that conclusion.

 

Really, Jesus seems to be saying that if you honed

your faith enough, then your could develop

telekinetic powers. Like the force in Star Wars

when Yoda was teaching Luke Skywalker

to lift his crashed plane out of the swamp.

 

But I don’t see anywhere else in scripture –

Old Testament or new—

where we’re working towards that objective.

And frankly, Jesus didn’t lift that tree or that mountain,

and put it in the ocean either so that goal

doesn’t make any sense.

I think that most people read this

mustard seed metaphor and think that

Jesus is telling us that we don’t have enough faith.

And if we had just a little more we could do great things.

But what if Jesus is actually thinking

that we have plenty of faith?

Like we already have faith the size of a cocoanut,

or faith the size of a Watermelon?

What if Jesus is saying to those poor disciples,

that they have all the faith they need and more.

That actually sounds more like Jesus to me.

 

In other words, “stop whining about

what you need more of, or what you’re lacking

and just do the work you’re called to do.”

 

Which brings us to the second part of the

lesson for the day, where Jesus talks

about slaves or servants.

Jesus is basically going a long way to tell the disciples this:

“You don’t get congratulated for doing

the work you are required to do.”

 

When I was little, like 6 or something, I guess,

I was eating at my grandparents house and

I said, all jubilant and congratulatory

“I finished my mashed potatoes”

And my grandmother joked with me and

said, “what do you want? A medal? They were delicious”

And that’s what I think Jesus was telling the disciples

with the second part of the gospel.

 

So the bottom line of this gospel for today is:

 “Stop whining. You don’t need more of anything.

Just do the work you were called to do.

What do you want a medal?”

 

Even though I know that Jesus is scolding the disciples,

I find this interpretation refreshing and freeing.

 

At least he’s not telling them to get more faith,

which is kind of nebulous and basically unachievable.

He’s telling them they have enough, and they are enough.

And he’s telling them to get off their hineys and do their work.

I get it.  The people of God always seem to be

whining about something. We always need more:

more faith, more money, more people, more leaders,

more organization, more strategic plans, more talent,

more youth, more vigor  . . .

We can’t do the work unless we have more, Jesus!

 

And Jesus goes, “look if you cut everything

that you already have by 90%, you could do miracles.

So just go and do your miracles.

And don’t expect a medal for it.”

And I find this kick in the pants kind of comforting.

 

Because we’re in pretty difficult times here in the country:

it seems like hate is winning more than ever before,

wars and terror are ruling the day,

the American government doesn’t believe

in the first amendment any more,

It’s turning against its citizens.

It seems like spite and cruelty are what

we’re teaching our children.

Things we’ve valued for so long,

and took for granted are slipping away

every day that passes.

 

Not to mention the normal, regular

issues that we still have of

poverty, racism, and violence

Not to mention everyone’s individual

health problems, financial problems,

personal problems, relationship problems.

 

And sometimes I feel very unprepared,

unqualified, and ill-equipped  to face all the

issues we’re up against.

 

I think a lot of us feel like we don’t have the skills,

or the words, or the patience, or the will or the faith,

to do what needs to be done at this moment.

I want to say, “Jesus, increase everything

in me to face this moment and all these trials”

 

And Jesus says, “Stop your whining.

You have more than enough.

Just do what the lord requires of you,

Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.

– and don’t expect a medal.”

 

So maybe this isn’t such a bad gospel for us.

It reminds us that we are more than enough

for this moment and we have all we need.

 

And it also reminds us that even if our

faith is small, or under strain,

or even non-existent at times, that’s okay.

 

Because God will do the heavy lifting.

God will pick up that metaphorical

mulberry tree and throw it in the ocean.

God will set things right again.

God will restore this earth and our joy

and give us back our hope.

 

As the Psalm today says,

“Commit your way to the Lord;

put your trust in the Lord,

and see what God will do.”