By Grace I Have Been Saved

A Reflection on the Gospel for October 2nd, 2022:
​Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Luke
17.5-10

The Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’”

This summer has been a mustard seed season for me. The Lord gifted me with a situation that was not of my asking and totally beyond my human control. As a person who likes a good plan, this was the ultimate conundrum! I had no choice but to hand myself over to the ultimate physician and trust in Him.  I could do nothing but lean into the profound gift of faith the Lord has given this unworthy servant.

After receiving the news that I had breast cancer, my husband encouraged me to pray for peace and acceptance.  What I realize now is that he didn’t have to tell me to have faith, or to pray for greater faith. We both knew that there was nothing God wouldn’t provide for either of us on this journey.  His grace was enough. In His wisdom, He had already placed other women who also had faith on my path.  Women I could pray with and for, who could share their experiences, and, as I journeyed further, with whom I could share my experience. God is in all the details of this cancer diagnosis and journey. At first, my doctor indicated that what was showing up in the tests and biopsy was not good news – in fact the words she used were “troubling and very concerning”. The biopsy showed that the cells had travelled, and because it had been several years since my last mammogram, we had no idea how long the cancer had been present.  Within four weeks I found myself registering at the hospital for surgery as the first step in treatment.

As I was sitting alone, waiting to go into the operating room, a dear sister in Christ appeared at my side.  She is a nurse and works on the floor where the surgery was taking place.  She told me she had thought her duties were going to prevent her from getting out to see me before I went in, however when she went in that morning, her co-worker had carried out her duties, leaving her free to come see me.  That hug and the prayer I know she prayed over me watered my mustard seed, and once again the Lord showed this unworthy servant that He was in control.

Laying on the operating table, the anaesthesiologist told me to think happy thoughts. My mustard seed led me to simply think “Jesus, I trust in You”, which was also the first thought I had when I woke up in recovery in what seemed like just seconds later. The surgery was over.  Within days I would learn that the tumour was smaller than had originally been anticipated; the margins around it were cancer-free; and while cells have travelled around, they had not entered the lymph nodes. All glory to God! 

I didn’t need great faith. I just needed faith. I didn’t need a plan. I just needed to trust and obey. He didn’t do it because I am owed anything from Him for serving Him. Those are the actions I am expected to take as a servant of God.  The Lord has done great things for me, and I am totally unworthy. His Word says that faith the size of a mustard seed can do what no human faith can. 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – not because of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2.8-9




Sandy Graves

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