Little Faith
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV, Cycle A
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (v. 31)
Once there were two young brothers who had spent all their lives in the city and had never been to the country. Curious, they decided to take a trip into the countryside to see what it was like. As they were walking along, they spied a farmer plowing. They knew nothing of agriculture and were puzzled by what he was doing.
One said to the other, "What is this man doing? He marches back and forth all day. He is destroying a beautiful meadow with long useless ditches."
Of course the one brother had no answer for the other. So, they moved on. Later in the afternoon, they passed by the same field again. Now, the farmer was sowing grains of wheat in the furrows. The inquisitive brother asked, "Now what's he doing? He must be crazy! He's taking perfectly good wheat and throwing it away into those ditches!" He continued, "The country is not for me. These people are senseless. I'm going home."
And with that, he began the journey back to the city. However, the second brother was a bit more curious and not as impulsive. He stayed in the country and continued to keep his eye on the farmer and his field of long ditches.
A few weeks later he saw a wonderful transformation. Fresh green shoots were emerging from the ground and soon they covered the field with an incredible, unimaginable lushness. He quickly wrote to his brother and told him to return to the country. He needed to see the miracle for himself.
Soon his brother returned from the city. He, too, was amazed at the change - astonished at the growth. As the days passed, they saw the green field change once again. Now, all the green was turning into a golden field of tall wheat. At last they understood the reason for the farmer's work.
After the wheat ripened, the farmer came with his scythe and began to cut it down. The brother who had returned from the city couldn't believe it. He exclaimed, "What is this fool doing now? All summer long he worked so hard to grow this beautiful wheat, and now he's destroying it with his own hands! He is a lunatic after all! I've had enough. I'm going back to the city."
But once again his brother had more patience. He stayed in the country and watched the farmer collect the wheat and take it to his granary. He saw how cleverly he separated the chaff and how carefully he stored the rest. He was filled with awe when he realized that by sowing one bag of seed, the farmer had harvested a whole field of grain. Only then did he truly understand that the farmer had a reason for everything he did.
So often we trust what we can see and rely on ourselves when we don't know what we are doing. One brother had little faith in the farmer, and Peter had little faith in Jesus. Both missed opportunities to experience miracles because of their little faith.
Once there were two young brothers who had spent all their lives in the city and had never been to the country. Curious, they decided to take a trip into the countryside to see what it was like. As they were walking along, they spied a farmer plowing. They knew nothing of agriculture and were puzzled by what he was doing.
One said to the other, "What is this man doing? He marches back and forth all day. He is destroying a beautiful meadow with long useless ditches."
Of course the one brother had no answer for the other. So, they moved on. Later in the afternoon, they passed by the same field again. Now, the farmer was sowing grains of wheat in the furrows. The inquisitive brother asked, "Now what's he doing? He must be crazy! He's taking perfectly good wheat and throwing it away into those ditches!" He continued, "The country is not for me. These people are senseless. I'm going home."
And with that, he began the journey back to the city. However, the second brother was a bit more curious and not as impulsive. He stayed in the country and continued to keep his eye on the farmer and his field of long ditches.
A few weeks later he saw a wonderful transformation. Fresh green shoots were emerging from the ground and soon they covered the field with an incredible, unimaginable lushness. He quickly wrote to his brother and told him to return to the country. He needed to see the miracle for himself.
Soon his brother returned from the city. He, too, was amazed at the change - astonished at the growth. As the days passed, they saw the green field change once again. Now, all the green was turning into a golden field of tall wheat. At last they understood the reason for the farmer's work.
After the wheat ripened, the farmer came with his scythe and began to cut it down. The brother who had returned from the city couldn't believe it. He exclaimed, "What is this fool doing now? All summer long he worked so hard to grow this beautiful wheat, and now he's destroying it with his own hands! He is a lunatic after all! I've had enough. I'm going back to the city."
But once again his brother had more patience. He stayed in the country and watched the farmer collect the wheat and take it to his granary. He saw how cleverly he separated the chaff and how carefully he stored the rest. He was filled with awe when he realized that by sowing one bag of seed, the farmer had harvested a whole field of grain. Only then did he truly understand that the farmer had a reason for everything he did.
So often we trust what we can see and rely on ourselves when we don't know what we are doing. One brother had little faith in the farmer, and Peter had little faith in Jesus. Both missed opportunities to experience miracles because of their little faith.
