Occasions for Stumbling

Jesus said to his disciples, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.”
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 plowing 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!'” Luke 17:1-10 

Occasions for Stumbling

Someday there will be a story to tell
we will all laugh and say how ridiculous
once we were worried and afraid
sure that we were drowning in it.

Someday we will find a way to learn
from what we had to suffer today
these huge mistake drawn out
in front of all the world to see.

Someday we will forgive and go on
today we weep a good deal and pray
hoping that the slate might be cleaned
and sorrow washed fully away.

We hope for broken hearts mended
and take one step forward on that road
knowing we are broken and human
and bound for better holy things.