Brief synopsis of the readings: In the Old Testament the prophet Habakkuk complains bitterly that his cries for help are being ignored by God. “Why do you set injustice before me, why do you look on where there is tyranny?” God answered him by saying that deliverance will come in due time. “[T]he upright man will live by his faithfulness.” In Luke’s Gospel the apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus responded by telling them that if they had the faith of a mustard seed they could uproot and replant a mulberry tree in the sea and it would. He went on to say that if they had a servant working in the fields they wouldn’t invite the servant to dine with them. Instead they would insist that the servant serve them first and then he could eat. “So with you when you have done all you have been told to do say “We are merely servants: We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.” ”

So exactly how do we quantify faith? We appear to want to quantify everything. This hot new drug will decrease eczema by 40% in three months. On this weight loss plan this woman lost 40 pounds in 6 months. Our new software increased production by 35% over last quarter.

And this mustard seed, only an eight of an inch in diameter, will grow to a 10 foot high shrub. When the apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith we may not know how they quantify it but we do know they don’t have the faith of a mustard seed because it appears none of them can move a mulberry tree. While we’re here let’s say a word about mustard seeds. I think too often we think of this as some sort of equation. But what if this was nothing more than Jesus’ approving of their request?

We see examples in Scripture where people ask for the wrong things. The prophets give us countless examples of their listeners wanting prosperity while ignoring what the prophets are telling them. In Matthew’s Gospel the mother of James and John asked that her sons be given high places in the Kingdom. But we also see times when we ask for the right things. King Solomon asked God for the gift of Wisdom.

And here the apostles asked for an increase of faith and Jesus approved, and frankly I hope we would all ask for more faith if given the opportunity. But it’s worth asking what an increase of faith will do for us. I say this because Jesus appeared to go in an odd direction. He spoke about the relationship between a master and his servant and how the servant does not deserve praise for only doing what he was supposed to do.

Was Jesus warning them? Perhaps so. Perhaps this gives us some insight into what was behind the request. If you asked most people of that time who had the strongest faith they would likely reply that the Pharisees did. After all they were the most intelligent and most well versed in Scripture. Did the disciples want the faith of the Pharisees? I hope not.

The Pharisees certainly had great knowledge and were given great respect but it appeared that their faith served only themselves and not the poor. They may have held their own on debates about how to honor their parents but from their description they didn’t have the faith that called them to care for the poor or the orphan. They may have known exactly how to wear their phylacteries but not given much thought to Jesus command to clothe the naked. In other words don’t ask for an increase of faith to make yourself look better in the eyes of others.

An increase in faith also will not prevent suffering. In our first reading from Habakkuk we find a man in crisis because of oppression and seeks in vain deliverance from God. And instead of ending Habakkuk’s suffering, God responds by telling him “the upright man will live by his faithfulness.” Habakkuk wrote during a difficult time. The leadership in Jerusalem had become increasingly corrupt and those who spoke out against this were ignored or punished. Jerusalem would soon be conquered by the Babylonians who would send them into exile.

So if an increase in faith won’t give us status or prevent what will it do? Well, I suspect faith does a few things for us. In Habakkuk’s case It tells him that right will win in the end (and it did: their exile ended a generation later). Faith gives us the ability to draw back and gain a wider perspective. It gives us the chance to see long term effects and not be obsessed with immediate returns.

This may be even more topical today. Large companies place pressure on managers for immediate results at the expense of long term growth and then wonder why the company is failing. Pain medication offers “instant relief” for our every ache. And when things aren’t going our way we assume they will continue to get worse. Remember the last time you watched election results with a sense of dread for the future?

Finally, if we expect faith to give us glory and status we are using it wrong. Faith gives us the ability to ourselves and each other in a different light. Rabbi Harold Kushner famously said that living a life of faith is like putting on a pair of eyeglasses. It doesn’t change anything about the world but allows us to see the world with more clarity. It allows us to see the poor with the same eyes Jesus did. It allows us to look deep into the future and not be overly discouraged by today’s headline or breaking news.

When we ask for an increase of faith I hope it will be given but I also hope it will bring some added sanity to our lives. For the past two thousand years our Church has been populated by faithful men and women who have persevered in the face of oppression, natural disasters, and poor choices made by others.

Faith has also given us the strength to repair the damage we have caused to others, to reform what needed to be reformed, and to move on. Let’s be part of that.