“LORD, GIVE MY FAITH A MUCH-NEEDED BOOST!

”
a 20th Sunday after Pentecost a
Luke 17:1-10

Energy drinks, like Monster, have become increasingly popular over the last decade. Back in the ‘80s, there
was really only one truly extreme energy drink. Do you remember what it was? It was called JOLT, which boasted
double the caffeine and double the sugar of a regular soft drink. And if you could actually find a store that carried
it, really only the “crazy” kids would even dare to buy one and drink one. Things have certainly changed, haven’t
they? Now, Meijer has an entire section of an aisle dedicated to energy drinks. If you go into the gas station, what
are you going to see? In the cooler, there’s an entire rack of all kinds of different energy drinks, each with their own
extreme name and extreme claim. What do you see at the front counter? You see boxes and boxes of “5 Hour
Energy” drinks, which are supposed to be an instant boost of energy to eliminate that “2:30” feeling.
What is it about energy drinks that have made them so popular these last 10 years and why do people feel
the need to drink them? Maybe it’s the perception that more work is being placed upon the shoulders of fewer
people, something that is a natural side-effect of a struggling economy. Perhaps, people are busying themselves in
every aspect of their lives, burning the candle at both ends. For whatever reason, energy drinks have become
increasingly popular and for some people, a regular part of their daily food intake, so that they can have the much-
needed energy boost to complete the various demands that come with each new day.
When confronted with the demands of discipleship, and the cost of following Jesus as the Savior, Jesus’
disciples did not think that they were up to the task. They felt as if they didn’t have the necessary faith to do all that
the Savior had instructed them to do, and to live up to the difficult tasks to which the Lord Jesus had called them,
especially considering how regularly they were going to be under attack for their allegiance to Jesus and his message
of salvation by grace.
And since that is a common conclusion for Christians, that we daily consider how unfit we are to follow
Jesus and to serve souls with his gospel of truth, it is proper for us to join in the prayer of the disciples who ask Jesus
for the thing that we need the most in ministering to souls and in carrying out the difficult demands of gospel
ministry. “Lord, give my faith a much-needed boost!” Give us the faith to forgive the repentant soul, to release
them from the bondage of their guilt so that they may live in the freedom that only Christ our Savior can give,
putting aside our prejudice, our pre=conceived notions, our stubbornness and simply offering that which Jesus
commands us to offer to the repentant – a release from their sins. Give us faith to forgive and give us faith to serve,
willing to embrace whatever challenges our God brings into our lives and our ministry, because he who gives us
opportunities for service will indeed give us the necessary faith to accomplish his purposes for the sake of the gospel
and for the sake of souls.

I. Faith to forgive

The NIV version of the Bible has a very interesting heading at the beginning of chapter 17, “Sin, Faith,
Duty,” as if these 10 verses are three very loosely connected thoughts that have no common thread. In reality, there
is a common thread that runs throughout these verses which are all held together by the glue that is the apostles’
prayer for a boost of faith.
But why do they need a boost of faith? What is so demanding? What is so challenging about being a
disciple of Jesus? Verses 1 and 2 reveal that to us: “Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound
to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2 It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a
millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.”
In this, the first of Jesus’ “Woes” in Luke, it is revealed to us what is so demanding about being a
disciple...that if we do not have the necessary faith which is rightly placed in the proper object, Jesus and his cross,
then we will become a stumbling block for others, and prevent them from receiving Christ’s forgiveness and love.
That’s heavy! That’s burdensome, but not something the disciples didn’t understand, because they saw how the
Pharisees acted, how they treated other people. They saw how the Pharisees abused the Holy Scriptures and
imported into them the natural religion of man so that they become just another system of work-righteousness.
They saw how the Pharisees loved their money, loved their earthly treasures and despised their fellow man in the
process, even questioning why Jesus would share his table with sinners. And what a “Woe” it would be if the
disciples handed themselves over to the same scandalizing behavior that leads souls away from the truth!
That’s what was so burdensome and distressing for the apostles, and that’s why, in their own estimation,
they needed a boost of faith, because of the tremendous responsibility of ensuring that they don’t scandalize, but
serve, that they don’t forget about the lowly, but forgive them: “3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke
him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and
says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
What a scandal it truly is when what Jesus came to give to the world is withheld from needy and repentant
soul simply because WE determine that they are not worthy of our Savior’s forgiveness. How scandalous when we,
like the Pharisees, make something that Jesus offers as a free gift dependent upon some proof of outward worthiness,
or when we determine by grudge or prejudice that someone deserves to continue to be bound in the guilt of their
sin, because they sinned against US, rather than offering the release from sin which Christ achieved through the
cross and by leaving the grave empty and powerless.
Because we are prone to such scandal in our sinful condition, it is imperative that we pray today with the
apostles, “Lord give us an increase of faith, give our faith a much needed boost,” because forgiveness is a difficult
thing, especially when someone sins against us repeatedly, but it is also a necessary element of the Christian life and
Christian community. It is a part of the high demand of being a disciple, whereby the bondage of sin and guilt is
removed, and the repentant soul is released from obligation to serve the sentence for sin...because Jesus already
served it, in full, when he offered himself to death and to the grave for us, for all, for our eternal salvation! What a
shame if we ever participate in the scandal that keeps Christ’s forgiveness from one who is truly seeking it in
repentance, leaving them in the utter despair and hopelessness of sin, simply because WE think they should suffer
for sinning against US! What a shame if we ever scandalize our neighbor or the gospel in such a way. And yet, what
a privilege we have been given and what power we have been given, that when we offer to a repentant soul, “Your
sins are forgiven,” the miraculous happens – they are released from bondage and have the freedom from sin that
only Christ can achieve and that only he can give, which we also enjoy by his grace!
Thus, “Lord, give our faith a much-needed boost,” so that we may have the faith to forgive, and so that we
may have faith to serve in whatever difficult ways that the Lord Jesus asks us to.
 II. Faith to Serve

One of the reasons that people buy energy drinks is that they think that they cannot get through the day
without them. Maybe they have a long day in front of them, or maybe they just haven’t had enough sleep or have
burned the candle at both ends, and that Monster drink (which is so bad for you, by the way) or that 5 Hour
Energy bottle is going to give the necessary boost to finish the difficult tasks that the day brings.
Jesus offers to the disciples and apostles one more piece of encouragement when it comes to discipleship.
Remember that this whole section is not just a bunch of random thoughts jumbled together. The glue that holds
these together is that Jesus gives necessary faith-boosts, even when we conclude that we are unfit due to a lack of
faith, so that we may forgive and so that we may serve however he calls us to: “7 “Suppose one of you had a servant
plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit
down to eat’? 8 Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after
that you may eat and drink’? 9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you
have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”
The Christian faith not only lays hold of Jesus and his cross for the surety of forgiveness and eternal life, it
glorifies the Master who has deigned to be our brother in the flesh so that souls hopelessly lost in sin and unbelief
may be rescued for eternity. One of the challenges that the apostles were going to face is that, with all the power
that the Lord Jesus gave them to preach, teach and perform miracles (something that was specific to the apostles),
they may begin to glorify themselves, and trust in themselves as they go about gospel ministry in bringing souls to
Christ.
But Jesus directs their attention elsewhere. “10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do,
should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ” Not, “Look at how great I am,” or “Look at all
the wonderful things I’ve been able to accomplish.” Simply, “I did what I was told, because I’m a servant who is
unworthy to be serving.”
It takes a special measure of faith to embrace that mindset for gospel ministry, to be sure! But the same
Lord, who grants a faith-boost by his Word to forgive our neighbor is the same Lord who grants his Spirit through
the gospel so that we have a faith-boost that enables us to continue participating in the work of shepherding the
little lambs of God, of feeding the flock with the spiritual sustenance that satisfies to eternal life. Yes, that work is
daunting at times! And yes, it can become tiring, exhausting, and rather burdensome with the unique challenges
that we face in the 21st century, and often we feel as if are are unworthy to the task of gospel proclamation – yet
what we pray for, extraordinary faith, is exactly what we have been given – a faith that does something more
extraordinary than transplanting trees or moving mountains – a faith that trusts in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and
that trusts that whenever the gospel is preached, the Holy Spirit is at work to resurrect a soul from death in sin to
life in Christ.
Sometimes, being a disciples can be a daunting task, filled with all kinds of ministry demands that we
consistently consider ourselves unworthy to participate in, due to our lack of faith. With the disciples today, pray,
“Lord, give my faith a much-needed boost!” And be sure that through the same means by which the Lord delivers
his salvation, his gospel in Word and sacrament, he will give you that much-needed boost of faith both to forgive
and to serve. Amen.