On the Sum of the Parts

 On the Sum of the Parts

The ancient Greek philosopher and influencer Aristotle is credited with a saying that has been transliterated to English as “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”  It is safe to say that whatever the ancient and hard-to-understand thinker was really trying to say, the modern application of his cliche makes some sense. Often the parts of something aren’t as significant as what they can do when they are all put together. A carburetor for my lawn mower was about $20 on Amazon, but I cannot cut grass with it. Or without it. 

In Luke 17, Jesus is talking about discipleship.  He brings up some topics that might seem random, but He seems to be saying to the disciples, “here are some characteristics of a disciple–thoughts, habits, daily choices–whatever you want to call them, make them a part of your life as you follow Me.”  

Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 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. 7 “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’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 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 17:1-9

All of these together contribute to a maturing disciple, but back to the lawnmower. The goal is that everything works together. The blade is sharp. The gas fuels the engine, the oil lubricates, the filters allow clean air to flow, the spark plugs spark.  If something is wrong, I try to identify specifically which part or system is failing so I can address that thing.  All the parts are necessary, but if one needs immediate attention, that is the one I work on. It is even possible that one of the parts is failing, but not to the point of shutting down the mower. I can go ahead and cut the grass (taking more time, breathing more exhaust, and ultimately doing a poor job), but it is not healthy. The goal is not to replace the carburetor. The goal is to mow the lawn so I can go back inside and sit in air conditioning. However the part has to be addressed to contribute to the whole. 

Jesus mentioned several parts. Scholars usually identify the flow of the passage as a four-part sermon: warning (1-3a), instruction (3b-4), exhortation (5-6) and a parable about service (7-10). The illustration about gratitude courtesy of the healed leper is considered a separate, but connected story. It would be fair to continue on with following instruction and incidents as more “parts” (second coming, prayer, rich young ruler), but for now, I will stay here in chapter 17, maybe because these hit close to home. 

Influence: In my youth ministry classes when I was a professor, I would remind those who would bend the minds of the young that “your influence always trumps your liberty.”  Something may be legal, proper, or even biblical for you to do, but if it points a middle schooler in the wrong direction, it is not okay in that instance. We spend so much time trying to figure out what the Bible allows us to do and not enough time on the ongoing result of us exercising that liberty. Here, Jesus said that whatever we do–moral or immoral, right or wrong, permissible or not–we evaluate it on the basis of whether it will point someone to Jesus or away from Him. His language was intentionally very strong, as it specifically indicated apostasy, but the point is well taken. When we are in a place of influence, that influence is a critical component of discipleship.

Accountability/Confrontation: The context is that if a tempter is identified, they should be confronted so that the millstone thing is unnecessary. Here, it links accountability and forgiveness and connects them with influence. When our decisions or actions corrupt our influence, and a friend is courageous enough to confront us, we should receive it. When we need to confront someone else, we should do so with truth and love. 

Forgiveness: Ouch. Forgiveness is easy in concept, very difficult in application. Say something nasty about me as your pastor? I forgive you (mostly).  Hurt my family or my church?  Nope. I have had to confess the lack of forgiveness in my heart. But even my confession is flawed. Truthfully, I just feel bad about it, I don’t really want to do anything about it. Matthew tells us that forgiveness was so important to discipleship that Jesus said we should not even approach the altar to bring an offering if we have not forgiven someone who has wronged us (Mt. 5:23). Later (Mt.18), Jesus reminds Peter that forgiveness is not limited to certain circumstances. Ouch again. The end result is that both accountability and forgiveness (both individual and communal) display a relentless commitment to imitating Jesus.

Faith: My morning devotion made an intriguing observation here. When the disciples cried out for their faith to increase, it really wasn’t about the amount or greatness of their faith–it was about the object of their faith. He wanted them to grasp the infinite nature of God’s grace, that whatever “part” we struggled with, God’s grace was big enough to cover it, heal it, correct it, redeem it. The disciples didn’t need faith that they could learn to forgive, they needed faith that the Holy Spirit would continue to mold them into the image of Jesus because of the radical redemptive plan that would be sealed on the cross. They didn’t need faith that Jesus would help them overcome, something. They needed faith in Jesus as Overcomer. He is the master in the parable. We are the servants. The refining of the “parts” of our character is moving us closer to being like Him – the “whole.” 

I wonder if individual disciples heard these topics differently. Maybe one (Peter?) needed to hear about forgiveness. Maybe one (Thomas?) needed to process his faith. Maybe one (John?) needed to think about the enormous influence he would have one day. Perhaps one or some or all needed a reminder about gratitude which would happen in the next few verses, followed by instruction on the second coming, prayer, position, entitlement, and power–all as Jesus approached Jerusalem for the last time. Perhaps we need a reminder not to ignore it when God is working on some part of our character as a disciple. We are in fact part of a greater whole.