This week we have been shaken by the news of the attack on a synagogue in Manchester. On Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days of the Jewish year, people gathered to pray. A man drove a car into worshippers and then attacked with a knife. Lives were lost, people were injured, and an entire community has been left grieving and fearful.
When we hear of such violence, it is natural to ask: how do we respond as Christians? What kind of faith do we hold up when the world feels so broken?
In today’s gospel, the disciples ask Jesus: “Increase our faith.” They had just heard him teach about forgiveness, about forgiving again and again. And their honest reaction was: “Lord, we don’t think we’ve got it in us.”
Perhaps we know that feeling. When we face tragedy or hatred, when life demands more than we feel we can give, we find ourselves saying the same thing: “Lord, I don’t have enough. Help me. Increase my faith.”
But Jesus’ reply is surprising. He doesn’t give them a plan to make their faith bigger. He says: “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.”
What he means is this: it’s not about how much faith you can muster. It’s about who you place your faith in. Even the smallest seed of faith, if placed in God’s hands, is enough.
That’s good news when we feel weak. It means our short prayers matter. Our faltering trust matters. Even when we feel powerless, God is not.
And then Jesus tells a parable about a servant coming in from the field. The servant doesn’t expect thanks for simply doing his job. At first it sounds harsh, but Jesus is saying something very straightforward: faith is lived out in steady, ordinary obedience. We don’t follow him for applause or reward. We follow him because this is who we are – people who belong to God.
So how does this connect with what happened in Manchester? It means two things.
First: don’t despise your small faith. You may feel helpless in the face of such hatred, but your prayers and your acts of compassion matter. Even mustard-seed faith can be used by God.
Second: keep on with everyday faithfulness. Stand with those who are afraid. Speak out against antisemitism. Offer kindness where there is suspicion. These things may feel small, but they are the work of God’s people.
So today we hold on to this truth: we don’t need huge faith. We need faith the size of a mustard seed, placed in a great God. And we need the willingness to keep on walking in obedience, even when it isn’t noticed.
And the promise is this: in God’s hands, even mustard-seed faith can move mountains – and heal hearts.
Further Study
Reading
Luke 17:5–10
Micah 6:6–8
2 Corinthians 12:7–10
Ponder
When the disciples ask, “Increase our faith,” what situations in your life echo that same cry?
Think of a time when your trust in God felt small or fragile. How did you see God at work in that season?
How does the idea of “mustard-seed faith” encourage you when world events, like the attack in Manchester, feel overwhelming?
Scripture Exploration
In Luke 17, why does Jesus shift the focus from the amount of faith to the object of our faith?
What does the image of the mustard seed teach us about God’s power to use what feels insignificant?
How does Paul’s experience of weakness in 2 Corinthians 12 echo Jesus’ teaching here?
What does Micah 6:8 add to the conversation about daily faithfulness—acting justly, loving mercy, walking humbly with God?
Personal Reflection
What truths about God’s strength in our weakness come through these passages?
How might steady, quiet obedience be just as important as dramatic acts of faith?
When you think of serving God “without expecting thanks,” how does that challenge or encourage you in your discipleship?
Personal Application
What practical step could you take this week to live out mustard-seed faith—a small act of trust in God’s hands?
Who in your community needs a simple act of kindness or solidarity in light of recent events?
Where might you be tempted to wait for “big faith” before acting—and how could you step forward, even with the little faith you have?
Choose one ordinary act of obedience—prayer, forgiveness, service—that you can offer to God this week, trusting that he can use it.
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