Sermon: Uprooting mulberry trees

Short sermon preached at St. Paul's Church, Rusland, October 2019

Scripture passages: Luke 17:5-10 and 2 Timothy 1:1-14

The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!'

He replied, 'If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea," and it will obey you.

'Suppose one of you had a servant ploughing 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?" 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"? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 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."' (Luke 17:5-10)

Our Gospel passage comes in the context of Jesus speaking to his disciples about sin and the importance of forgiveness.

Perhaps because they realise how much help they need in living up to Jesus' teachings, the apostles interrupt: 'Increase our faith!'

Jesus says that if they have faith the size of a mustard seed, they can tell a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it will do so.

We can interpret this at least two ways. The first way is literal: the apostles, through faith, can perform supernatural acts. We see them, and especially Jesus, doing this. Jesus calms storms, for example, and in one instance when the apostles are praying, the earth shakes.

But there is also a spiritual interpretation to what Jesus is saying here, and I want to focus on this, partly because the ability to uproot a mulberry tree and plant it in the sea can only get you so far!

In some ancient cultures, mulberry trees symbolised death. Mulberry trees have white flowers, but the berries become red and then black. For this reason the church fathers saw the mulberry tree as an image of the devil, who had been in the company of God in heaven but fell into darkness.

Also, the leaves of mulberry trees are used to feed silk worms. Some church fathers have made the connection between the mulberry tree and hell because Jesus speaks of hell as the place where their worm never dies.

Thus, we can understand the mulberry tree to symbolise death and the works of the devil. Jesus is not only saying that, through faith, the apostles will be able to move trees (although I believe that is true), but that through faith they will be able to uproot evil and cast it into the sea (which symbolises chaos). Jesus is reminding them of their mission: that this good world has been invaded by weeds sewn by the devil, and their task is to be gardeners uprooting evil.

We see the apostles doing this. A few chapters earlier in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus sends out 72 disciples into surrounding villages to proclaim the good news of the kingdom, to heal the sick and to cast out demons.

And Jesus himself will go on to Jerusalem, where he will offer his life on a cross, and in dying and rising from the dead, he will conquer death. Through the cross, that great tree, Jesus uproots the ultimate mulberry tree and casts it into the sea.

So Jesus tells them that, through faith, they can do amazing things, and he outlines the vision for their work. He follows this with an illustration of a servant at work.

There is not enough time to say everything that needs to be said about this illustration, so I will simply say that Jesus is speaking in the context of instructing his apostles about their work. I don't think Jesus is telling us that we should treat our employees (if we have any) harshly or without encouragement. Jesus himself encouraged his 72 disciples when they returned from their mission trip, saying he saw the devil falling out of heaven like lightning. But Jesus also tells them not to rejoice over their spiritual power, but rather that their names are written in heaven.

Similarly, Jesus is giving his apostles this illustration to keep them humble. He has just told them that their faith empowers them to do amazing things. But they are not to think they are doing God any favours by their uprooting mulberry trees. No, that is simply a part of their job description.

There are some jobs in which workers do not expect thanks. For example, when we are riding a train and we arrive at our destination, we do not usually go out of our way to thank the security guard for his work as we step off the train. In the same way, the apostles need to work not to earn praise but because this is what God expects of them. They are not going above and beyond their duty. It is their privilege to serve God.

Notice too that in the illustration there seems to be two phases. In the first phase, the servant is in the field ploughing or tending the sheep. Then the servant enters a second shift: coming into the house. The servant is tempted to rest, but there is more work to be done. Only when the servant has prepared the meal can he rest.

I wonder if any of us can relate to this. Are any of us in second phases of life - or third or fourth? Maybe some of us have retired from our life's work and are in a new season. Maybe we're in a time of transition, wondering what's coming next.

I think the message to us is that, as disciples of Christ, there is more work to be done. As long as we are alive on this earth, we are expected to work for God's kingdom. We can't put up our feet yet.

Yes, it's important to take care of ourselves, to honor the Sabbath and rest. But we must have the attitude of the servant on duty.

And it's not just any work for the sake of work. Jesus says that the servant 'did what he was told to do.'

What has God told us to do?

There are some things he tells all of us to do. We are to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and love our neighbour as ourselves. We are to witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. We are to continue the work of Christ and the apostles of uprooting mulberry trees, the works of the devil.

I believe God has also given each of us unique assignments. It takes listening to God to know what he has for us to do each day, and in each season of our life. We can also encourage each other to be doing God's work.

So, I encourage and challenge us to do what God has told us to do. Before we close, I'd like to look at our passage from 2 Timothy because I think it can inspire us to do that work.

Paul writes to Timothy,

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (2 Tim. 1:6-7)

God has given us the gift of faith and the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower us to do God's work. But we cannot simply passively receive it. We must actively fan the gift into flame.

Now that it's properly autumn, we have been putting on fires in our wood burning stove nearly every day. If you have one, you will know that sometimes after the log has been lit, the flames will nearly die out, lying low. In such cases you need to open the vents to let the air flow in and set the log blazing again.

In the same way, we must open up the vents in our lives and hearts to let the Holy Spirit flow through us and set us ablaze. We can do this through prayer and giving ourselves over to God again and again.

May we have the same courage as the apostles did to ask Jesus: 'Increase our faith!' And may God increase our faith so that we may do his work, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to uproot mulberry trees, to defeat the works of evil in our world and in our time. Amen.