Poppy Seeds and Drowning Trees

The Rev. Brad Sullivan
Lord of the Streets, Houston
October 5, 2025
Proper 23, C
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
Psalm 37:1-10
Luke 17:5-10

“Increase our faith,” the disciples commanded Jesus, and Jesus said, “No.” Strange, huh? How often was God pleading with the Israelites to have more faith? How often did Jesus say things like, “Do not doubt, but believe”? You’d think of all things that they would ask for, faith is one that Jesus would say, “Sure, man, more faith, deeper faith, all the faith you want, you got it!” That’s not what happened, though. He told them, “no.”

What Jesus was really telling his disciples was, “You don’t need more faith. You just need to do well and trust with the faith you’ve got.” 

That’s how the disciples had chosen to live, trusting Jesus and living as though his teachings really were the best way of life for them…until Jesus said ‘forgive people, like, a lot.’ That’s what Jesus had taught them just before they said, “Give us more faith!”

These are the same folks who had been healing people and casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus told them to go do that, and they were so excited. They didn’t cower down and say they weren’t ready or not strong enough in faith. They went out boldly, healed the sick, and cast out demons like Buffy the Vampire Slayer on speed. They came back and were swapping stories, so excited.

Then, weeks or months later, Jesus taught them to forgive people who wronged them, not just once or twice, but over and over. Forgive people, Jesus taught, a lot, because people are kinda messed up, and they keep messing up, and as often as they do and then turn around and try to make things right, Jesus taught to forgive. Over, and over, and over, forgive people. 

Suddenly the disciples were saying, “Forgiveness, eh, eh, are your sure about that one, Jesus? Yeah, maybe I don’t trust you that much after all, but thanks a ton. It’s been great, loved casting out demons, don’t think I have enough faith in me for forgiveness, though.”

So, Jesus told them, no. You’re not getting more faith. You’re not getting more belief. What you have is enough. He told them that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to a tree, “Hey Tree, go throw yourself into a lake,” and the tree would pull its own roots out of the ground, walk over to the lake, and throw itself in. 

Now, I don’t think Jesus meant that we would or could actually do this. As a kid, I wondered, “Why can’t I make a tree throw itself into a lake? I guess my faith isn’t good enough?” I don’t know, maybe I only had a half a mustard seed or just a poppy seed of faith. 

No, Jesus doesn’t mean that we’re failures in faith if we can’t actually make a tree walk to its death in a lake. Jesus was using this kinda weird image to illustrate the point that his disciples didn’t need more faith to forgive people as he was teaching. Whatever small amount of faith they had was sufficient. What they needed was faithfulness. 

What they needed was to trust Jesus and be faithful to what he taught. Then, their faith would grow. Like not by faith alone, but also by faithfulness. That’s what we heard in Habakkuk. The righteous live by their faith, or really by their faithfulness. 

The disciples thought they didn’t have enough faith. Perhaps they doubted and so thought they couldn’t be faithful because of their doubt.

The opposite of faith, however, is not doubt. Jesus talked about faith the size of a mustard seed. That ain’t a lot of faith, which means you’re going to have doubt. In fact, you can’t have faith without doubt. Doubt goes hand in hand with faith, and we wrestle with it.

Mother Theresa, for example, was hugely faithful to God’s calling on her to care for orphaned children in Calcutta, India. She devoted her whole life to those children, and throughout her life she had faith and struggled with deep doubt. She wrestled with it, and Jesus didn’t grant her more faith. The faith she had was sufficient, and she remained faithful with even that small amount of faith. 

So no, the opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty. I don’t need faith to know that two plus two equals four. I need faith to believe that the people in my life who love me actually love me. I mean, I’m pretty sure they do, but I can’t read their minds. I trust them. Love is based on trust, on faith, and faith requires humility enough to admit that I don’t know everything, and I’m going to trust anyway. 

Through my wrestling with faith and doubt, I too wanted more faith, until I realized that what I really wanted was certainty. I’d so often heard people talk about their faith as certainty. Pastors would say they know their faith is true beyond any doubt, and I could never get there. I finally realized that I could never know with certainty, but I also realized I love God becoming human and joining with us physically in every part of our lives, and I love it so much that I choose to believe it. I still don’t know. I still have doubt, and I choose to believe anyway.

I admitted this to a group of pastors during a Bible study one day, and there was stony silence in the room. Finally, one of them said, “Well yeah, I have doubts just like you’re talking about, but I’d never admit that to my congregation.” There was agreement throughout the room by the rest of the pastors who all wrestled with doubts but who put on a show of having certainty in their faith. 

That means that those pastors were all lying to their congregations. They would never admit having doubts. They were pretending to have certainty that they didn’t have, and they were leading their people to think that they had to have certainty too. That means that these pastors were inadvertently leading their people away from the humility of faith and toward the pride of certainty.

Certainty says, I must be right. I am so certain that I am right, that I won’t even question it. You disagree with me. You, therefore, are not only wrong, but terribly, stupidly, sinfully wrong. 

The pride of certainty is not faith. That sound like how a lot of religious and political discourse goes nowadays? Behind certainty is the sin of pride. I am right. I know better. I am so important. I can put myself in God’s place. God said not to eat this fruit in the Garden of Eden, but I know better. I will do it anyway and place myself above God. 

Jesus said have faith the size of a mustard seed. Well, I’m going to do better than that. I’m going to have huge faith, certainty with no doubts. There’s pride there. Something is hard to believe or do, so I’ll go with certainty, rather than faith, and I’ll make sure that anyone who disagrees gets put in their place because despite what Jesus said, faith isn’t enough for me. I need certainty. 

No you don’t, Jesus said. Just have a little bit of faith, and follow that faith up with faithfulness. Trust in my ways, Jesus taught us, even when you’re not sure. Set yourself aside and trust in Jesus’ ways and teachings as we walk this life together. When I don’t think forgiveness is right, ‘cause it sure doesn’t feel right, I’m going to assume I don’t know everything. I’m going to trust in Jesus instead.

Faith is humble enough to believe in something, knowing that you’re not sure, and even not being sure, choosing to give yourself over to this belief. Faith says, I will give my heart to this belief. I will choose to live as though this faith is true. I will choose to live as though the teachings of Jesus really are the best way of life for me. I will let go of the certainty of self and humbly accept this little amount of faith, and follow where it leads.

Strength and Courage: Mary, the Mother of Us All

Brad Sullivan

4 Advent, Year B

December 24, 2017

Emmanuel, Houston

Luke 1:26-38

Strength and Courage:  Mary, the Mother of Us All

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  Those are some remarkably brave words from a remarkably brave young woman, Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Likely fourteen or fifteen, Mary’s life was going pretty well and pretty much according to plan, prior to the angel Gabriel’s visit.  She was betrothed to a good man with a good trade, a carpenter, so Mary’s future was looking pretty secure.  She was likely expecting to become pregnant shortly after her marriage to Joseph, to start a family, and live a good secure life as wife to her husband and mother to her children.  Life was indeed looking pretty darn good and on course for Mary, all going well according to the ways of life in her time.

Then the Angel Gabriel showed up and pretty well turned things upside down and sideways, and jumped the train of her life completely off the tracks it had been on,  The young woman, Mary, was told that she would be impregnated by the Holy Spirit prior to being married to Joseph, her betrothed.  As change of plans go, that one was pretty drastic, and risky.

What must have been going through Mary’s head when she received this news from Gabriel?  Would Joseph believe Mary when she said, “No, I didn’t cheat on you; it was the Holy Spirit that made me pregnant.”?  Uh-huh.  Joseph was a good guy and all, but he wasn’t an idiot, and such a far-fetched explanation, while true, probably wasn’t going to go over so well with her betrothed.  Was she going to be killed for being found pregnant prior to her marriage?  Very likely.  Even if she was allowed to live, life as she knew it, the security of her husband and future family, was all likely gone with the advent of Gabriel’s message.  Mary was likely facing a life of shame and rejection, living with Mom and Dad, if they would still have her, which was not certain; a life of possible prostitution just to get by; or a life of marriage to a guy who wasn’t as good a man as Joseph but was at least willing to take her on as damaged goods.  Fortunately most of us don’t view women that way anymore, but that was kinda the way things were back in those days.

Then, of course, there was the other question of, “What the heck?”  “What am I going to do with God’s baby?”  “What does that even mean that the Holy Spirit will impregnate me and the child will be holy, the Son of God?”  “Do not be afraid,” Gabriel said.  Yeah, good luck with that.  Mary must have been terrified, and I can imagine Mary being left with an almighty, “Huh?” 

In the midst of all of this questioning, and wonder, this fear and uncertainty of the total derailing of her life, Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  Remarkably brave words from a remarkably brave young woman. 

Mary’s words bear a striking resemblance to Jesus’ words in the garden of Gethsemane.  As Jesus was facing arrest, torture, death, and the total disillusionment of his followers, he prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)  “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” 

Jesus was the Word of God, God’s eternal Son, and as such, obedience to and love of the Father was part of his nature and character.  Jesus was also a human being, however, and as such he was filled with all of the fears, doubts, and uncertainties which we all face.  As a human being, Jesus seems to have learned bravery and submission to God’s will through his mom. 

Mary was Jesus’ mom, and as Paul reminds us, we are all brothers and sisters of Jesus, with God as our Father, which means that we also share Mary as our mother.  The lesson she taught Jesus to be brave in the midst of fear, doubt, and uncertainty, is a lesson she teaches to all of us as well.  “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” 

So, in times of fear, doubt, and uncertainty, what does God’s word tell us? 

When worried about money and possessions, and will we have enough, Jesus says,

Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:32-34)

Part of our mind says, “Are you kidding me?  How can I control what’s coming if I don’t worry and fret about it?”  Then our mother’s words come back to us, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” 

When there is too much going on, too much to do, and not enough time, God’s word says, “In returning and rest you shall be saved;  in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”  (Isaiah 30:15)  Our fears may say we are too busy to pray, but Jesus teaches that we are too busy not to pray.  “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

When enemies rise up against us, and we have contention and strife with those we know, Jesus teaches, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Luke 6:27-28)  As our hearts break, we desire vengeance, and want to defeat those we view as enemy, Paul’s words also guide us, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.  Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:29-32)  “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

When there is darkness in our world, and we begin to lose hope, God has told us,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5) 

We can’t always see the light, but we trust in the light of Jesus, especially in times of darkness, heeding again the words of Mary, our mother, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

God’s way is not always the way we want or the way we think our life should go. There is a giving up of self, a dying to self, in order to say, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  Those words are, however, are strength and courage.  Those words are how we truly become ourselves.  Our mother taught us that.  Mary, the remarkably brave young woman whom God chose to be the mother of Jesus, has shown us the strength of submission to God’s will and the courage to follow where God leads, despite our fears, doubts, and uncertainties.  When life does not go the way we think it should go or the way we want it to go, Mary, has shown us the strength and the courage to say, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”