"Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
~ Matthew 17:18-20
THOUGHTS:
A few years back I was teaching at a local rescue mission on this passage. The women listening were women who knew G-d or at least had an idea of who G-d was. Their understanding of G-d was skewed and marred by their often times horrible experiences with well-meaning Christians. Most had never read the Bible, although it had been used as a weapon against them. Many had never heard this passage and all of them had never seen a mustard seed. They had imagined in their hearts and minds that this seed that Jesus spoke of must have been huge. It must have been some magical, unobtainable seed that only the most religious, the most righteous, or the least broken could achieve. And broken they were, so the ability to overcome seemed so out of touch, completely out of the question to their reality.
The next day, I took a jar of mustard seeds from my pantry and decided I would show them. A moment that highlighted my privilege - I have a pantry. I have seen a mustard seed. These women never had that chance, until this day. So I took the jar and I gave each woman this tiny seed without telling them what they were. I just placed one in each of their hands and asked them to hold it, to be careful to not drop it or lose it. When everyone had theirs in their hand, I said, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move.'"
There were not many words that day, mostly tears and silence as these women for the first time realized that Jesus didn't require all that they had thought or all that they had been told. This idea of faith became in that moment simple to them. It became obtainable to them. There was nothing magical or out of reach anymore, but instead if they could just muster up a sliver of hope for their future, they could say to the mountains of their lives, 'Move.'
Over and over when Jesus tells us to have faith, I often times wonder who He's asking us to have faith in? You see, these ladies had no faith in themselves. Sure, it was easy to know that there is a G-d and we've all heard stories of Jesus. And deep down we all want to believe in a Savior, to believe in something bigger and better than ourselves. They had no problem believing in G-d. Their problem was believing that there is a G-d who believed in them. Their problem was believing in themselves.
The disciples believed in Jesus. I mean, come on, they gave up everything to follow Him. They left their families, their jobs, their homes and they followed this rebel Rabbi. They had faith. I do not believe for a second that Jesus was accusing them of not believing in Him. But instead, Jesus was asking them to believe in themselves, to see what He saw in them, to believe that they were worthy and that they could move mountains.
Can we believe in ourselves? Can we have a sliver of hope, a mustard seed of faith that we can change the world? Or even just that we can change our own destiny? Can we have a mustard seed of faith that allows us to move the mountains of addiction, the mountains of abuse, the mountains of shame and guilt? Can we have a mustard seed of faith to believe that healing and restoration within ourselves and our communities is possible?
That day at the rescue mission these women not only held a mustard seed in their hand, but they opened a piece of their hearts, if only the size of a mustard seed, to believe that they could move mountains.
ACTION:
If we can just believe in ourselves enough to realize that we are worthy of love, that we are worthy of restoration, that we are worthy of the fullness of G-d, we can change the world. May I find the mustard seed within myself and allow it bloom into compassion, mercy and love for our world.
