Caitlin Trussell with Augustana Lutheran Church on October 5, 2025

[sermon begins after three Bible readings]

Genesis 2:19-20a So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all cattle and to the birds of the air and to every animal of the field.

Luke 17:5-10  The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ 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.
⁷ “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’? ⁸ 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’? ⁹ Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? ¹⁰ 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!’ ”

2 Timothy 1:1-14 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
² To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
³ I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. ⁴ Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. ⁶ For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands, ⁷ for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
⁸ Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, in the power of God, ⁹ who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace, and this grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, ¹⁰ but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹ For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, ¹² and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day the deposit I have entrusted to him. ¹³ Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the good deposit entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

[sermon begins]

Our dog Sunny has been a part of our family for almost 11 years. She was originally rescued in New Mexico, fostered here on the Front Range, and initially adopted by a different family. Someone died in that family and the foster dog-mom was asked to take Sunny back. That’s where we came into the picture. Sunny was six months old. A very slender caramel and black, medium-sized mutt that we were told was part Lab, part Greyhound, part Rottweiler, and part Other. She had the speed and shivery nerves of a greyhound, the sweetness and snorts of a Rottie, and the smiles of the Lab. We theorize that Sunny’s anxiety was due to uncertainty and trauma as puppy and she has carried it with her for 11 years. While she is sweet and loves us very much, she is not brave. She wishes she could be your friend, but she was formed in uncertainty and finds it hard to trust you. Very few of us are allowed to pet her all over. But she has taught us about grace, about meeting animals and people where they are, not where we think they should be.

Meeting animals and people where they are was a specialty of primatologist Jane Goodall who died on Thursday at the age of 91. I grew up admiring her intelligence, her patience, and the way that chimpanzees responded to her. In a 2021 interview, Dr. Goodall had talked about her grandfather a Congregationalist minister, her new pastor when she was a teenager, and how religion “entered” her and “how science and religion are coming together.”[1]

In a video of her from just a few years ago, this faithful, smart, gentle scientist was part of a group releasing a recently rescued and rehabilitated traumatized chimp named Wounda onto an island of refuge.[2] Jane had not met Wounda before. While the group made their way to the island, she touched the chimp’s hand through the bars of the travel crate. When they opened the crate, Wounda snuggled with her main rescuer and then she climbed onto the crate, sat there for a minute, and turned to Jane who stood still and silent. The traumatized and rehabilitated chimp reached out and gently hugged and held Jane for several seconds and then left the group to check out her new home. Jane Goodall quotes are everywhere at the moment. One of my favorites is, “Let us develop respect for all living things. Let us try to replace violence and intolerance with understanding and compassion. And love.” My response to that is, “Preach it, sister.”

Dr. Goodall died just a few days before the annual celebration of St. Francis of Assisi that we’re ritualizing today with the Blessing of the Animals. St. Francis is honored for his love for creation, for his challenge to faithful Christians to tend and care for creation, and for saying, “Preach the gospel always, and, if you must, use words.” I suppose I must use words as a preacher or this moment in the pulpit would be awkward, but there are so many times when actions speak louder than words especially related to animals’ trauma and tending and to our own uncertain times.

I’m not interested in turning this time into a scientific lecture, nor do I have the expertise to pull it off, so I won’t. Suffice it to say that there are many layers to trauma in both our individual and collective experiences of it and the ways we make our way through it. I AM interested in our congregation’s, experience of faith when suffering and uncertainty seem to be piling on either personally or publicly like it is these days of religious, political, and school violence, as well as government shutdown.

While theologians and philosophers have tried, there remains no satisfactory explanation for the existence of suffering. All we know for sure is that uncertainty, suffering, and trauma are part of the human condition. It’s so much a part of the human condition that God knows suffering personally in Jesus’ death on the cross and, through Jesus’ suffering, God knows our suffering personally too. Such is God’s promise to us to always be present even, and maybe especially when we don’t feel it. When times are dark. When hope feels lost. Those are the times when God is present with us. The churchy words for that is the Theology of the Cross.

Just before the Bible verses in Luke we hear today, Jesus challenges his followers to see and help people who suffer, to not cause other people to stumble in their faith, and to forgive and forgive and forgive again.[3] Then we get to the apostles pleading for more faith, literally in the Greek “add faith to us!”[4] Who can blame them?  Jesus raises the bar high on discipleship telling them to relieve deep suffering—not ignore it, to give away money and possessions, and to forgive each other. A bit more faith to get these things done would be awesome! Most of us would like a heap more faith if it actually worked that way.

The apostles plead for more faith as a group – “Increase our faith!” This is unfamiliar ground for most of us. We tend to think of faith as an individual rather than a group project. In an individual way, I can wonder if I have any faith or enough faith or certain faith. It’s one reason why the apostles’ demand is so interesting. “Increase OUR faith,” they say to Jesus. They say it as a group. Jesus replies to them as a group. In the Greek, Jesus uses the plural “you” that means “all y’all,” and then he uses an awkward 1^st century slavery metaphor to call them to obedience in service to others. I don’t know who would need to move a mulberry tree into an ocean but it’s more possible with a team of folks working together than with one person.

In the Bible book that bears his name, Timothy was encouraged to trust and obedience by faith. But he wasn’t encouraged to trust alone. Paul reminded Timothy of the faith of his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois. Ancestors to whom Timothy could look for inspiration from faith larger than himself. By the larger faith of community, he could trust and endure the uncertainty and trauma of the present.

Trusting in God’s grace doesn’t negate or minimize uncertainty or suffering and the experience of being overwhelmed by them. Trusting in God’s grace means that we’re given a community of Christ to share each other’s burdens as we have the capacity to do so. It also means admitting something is beyond our capacity, and we need help. And, when we’re able, it means stepping in when help is needed.

Stepping in when help is needed is something that we tend to learn a little more easily from our pets. Maybe it’s because we can’t reason with animals. Caring for animals includes the tone of our voice, key words that they may know, and the way we touch them or give them space. Voice, words, touch, and personal space make a difference whether it’s my dog Sunny, Dr. Goodall’s chimpanzees or other people. And we are people formed by God’s grace to be present with each other in whatever we bring to the mix.

We are a church of the cross as much as we are a church of the resurrection. It means we tell the truth in times of uncertainty, name suffering for what it is, and actively work privately and publicaly to alleviate it or, at the very least, be present with those who are suffering. Loving them in obedience to the One who sent us to do so. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can trust God’s good news of grace given in Christ Jesus before the ages began and we can serve creation and one another in love. Amen.

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[1] Religion News Service, ‘Religion entered into me': A talk with Jane Goodall, 2021 Templeton Prize winner. May 22, 2021. ‘Religion entered into me': A talk with Jane Goodall, 2021 Templeton Prize winner | National Catholic Reporter

[2] Dr. Jane Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute. Wounda’s Journey – Jane Goodall Witnesses Release of Chimpanzee Into New Island Sanctuary Site. February 5, 2015.  https://youtu.be/ClOMa_GufsA?si=2D16QmbmrjlPpXIv

[3] In order: Luke 16:19-31 (challenge against indifference), Luke 17:1-2 (challenge to teach well), Luke 17:3-4 (forgive).

[4] Audrey West, Adjunct Professor of New Testament at Lutheran School of Theology Chicago. Commentary on Luke 17:5-10 for WorkingPreacher.org, October 2, 2016. http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3028