Around 30 years ago, archaeologists in Cairo, Egypt, were excavating the tomb of an
ancient Egyptian royal family member who had lived about 3,000 years ago. They
discovered that her body was fitted with a tiny, prosthetic toe made of wood with a leather
strap that connected it to her foot. Historians refer to it as the Cairo Toe.
Isn’t it amazing that humans were already using artificial body parts—prosthetics—as far
back as 30 centuries ago? Today, we have sophisticated, 3D-printed robotic limbs that can
fully function by connecting directly to a person’s nervous system.
So, why are we talking about prosthetic limbs this morning? More specifically, what does this
have to do with today’s Luke’s gospel reading, which begins with these words: The apostles
said to the Lord, “Make our faith greater. Increase our faith, Lord.” Then, what do those
verses have to do with a prosthetic body part?
You have prayed this prayer before, at least more than once. “Lord, increase my faith. Make
my faith stronger.
The old Greek word the apostles use for “increase” in today’s reading is ‘prostithemi”, which
appears 18 times across the New Testament. It is a verb that literally means in English “to
add or increase.” The word “prosthetic” comes directly from the old Greek word ‘prostithemi’.
The thing is, the Greek word the disciples used in today’s reading is precisely the same root
word from which we get the English word prosthetic, as in prosthetic leg or arm. In this
context, someone even interpreted the disciples’ request like this: “When the disciples
asked, ‘Lord, increase our faith’, they were asking for a spiritual crutch.”
In essence, they are saying, “Lord, we can’t do this on our own. Our faith is not strong
enough. We need you to give us something more, something more powerful; something only
you have, that we don’t have.”
For many of us as well, faith is a struggle. Authentic faith journey is supposed to be a
lifelong struggle. We have struggled because of the lack of faith. We might need something
that only God has, that we don’t have.
This prayer request to increase faith also appears in chapter 9 of Mark’s Gospel, where a
desperate father comes to Jesus, asking him to heal his son who suffers from severe
seizures. “Teacher, I have asked your disciples to heal my son, but they could not. So, I
brought my son to you. Lord, please heal him, Lord.”
Jesus told him that ‘all things are possible to everyone who believes’. Then, the father cries
out at the top of his voice. “I do believe, Lord, but please increase my faith.”
Again, the word ‘increase’ that the desperate father in Mark and the disciples in Luke used
comes from the old Greek word, ‘prostithemi’, literally meaning ‘prosthetic’ in English.
Simply put, faith isn’t something we can build or create all by ourselves. Instead, faith is
something added to us and increased by someone other than ourselves. Maybe faith isn’t
meant to be developed through our own effort but is given to us and grown by God.
Upon the disciples’ request to increase their faith, Jesus could have easily filled them up with
stronger faith, instantly turning them into miracle makers. However, he didn’t do that. In fact,
he didn’t need to.
In the next few verses in the Luke’s reading, Jesus tells them an opposite image, which is
the image of a servant serving his master all the time, all day long. Some of you might
wonder how this image of a full-time servant fits in with the struggle of the disciples’ lack of
faith in today’s passage.
It tells us what our faith is all about. Jesus says, “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing
or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come
along now and sit down to eat’?” And Jesus continues, “Of course not! Instead, you say to
him, ‘Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat; after that you
may have your meal.”
The master in this story might sound a little harsh, but his message is clear: God doesn’t ask
you to be a superhero. He isn’t calling you to save the world or move a giant mountain. You
do not need a loud, miraculous display of power to prove your faith. God calls you to serve
Him by looking after his sheep. All you need to increase your faith is to serve God and serve
his people like you’re born to serve.
Faith is not something you force or create on your own. Faith is a natural result of your
service to God and your fellow human beings. Your faith grows when you focus on serving
God and others. When you consistently live by His words and act to serve God and others
like a dedicated full-time servant, your life gets filled with the presence of God. Through this
constant service and obedience, your faith in Him will automatically increase.
Faith that constantly grows is purely a gift from God. Maybe we should stop praying, “Lord,
increase our faith.” Instead, let us pray, “Lord, increase our serving.” The more we serve
God and those around us, the stronger our faith grows.