Foretaste Of The Sermon To Come

A little nibble of the Revised Common Lectionary

Sunday’s scriptures are 2 Timothy 1:1-14 and Luke 17:1-10

“Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” These are some of Jesus’ more frightening words. We know Jesus will be our judge when it’s our time for judgement, and warnings such as this one can make us fearful. They made the disciples so fearful that they were concerned it was a matter of having too little faith – “Increase our faith,” they said.

But because we know the whole story, we know that our judge is so merciful that he took our sin away by dying on the cross. When we look at difficult scriptures through this lens, we do not need to be afraid and we can focus on what the scriptures are actually saying. In Luke’s case, I think it’s helpful to read through the lens of being clothed in Christ’s righteousness and relying on his faithfulness rather than our own. So, clothed in Christ, these words simply become the natural way Christians treat one another.

Causing a little one to stumble took me to the Eighth Commandment in Luther’s Small Catechism: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. This is my favorite commandment, and not because it seems easy to just not lie. I love Luther’s “What does this mean?” “We are to fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations. Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light.” Hello, News Media? Reality TV? Facebook? Instagram? Politicians?

Jesus gives us a formula for living this way in these few verses. Don’t cause your brothers and sisters in Christ or even yourself to stumble by getting so wrapped around the axle about who’s right or wrong. The faith you have, however large or small, is sufficient to grasp all that Christ has or gives. Forgive and ask for forgiveness. Don’t expect kudos for doing your job or for what you perceive to be the right thing. Rely on Christ for the freedom he gives us to live our lives, loving God and neighbor as best we can, covered in his righteousness. Thanks be to God!