"Lord, increase our faith"
Luke 17: 5-10
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100222.cfm
Some people love details. They focus on what may seem the smallest minutia in order to accomplish a task. Thank God for architects and engineers whose drawings and design must be exact down to the finest lines and measurements in order to be sure the building will stand and be balanced well. I think of the amazing Gothic Cathedrals in Europe. Flying buttresses, high vertical gothic arches, enormous stained-glass windows, or walls that appear to be paper thin all standing together in one solid beautiful form for hundreds of years due to medieval engineers and architects who understood the balance and counterweight of structures.
Sometimes we may even do that with our faith for we often
speak of our faith in denominational terms:
the Catholic faith, the Protestant faith, the Jewish faith, Moslem
religion, etc. here we refer to the lists of beliefs, creeds, traditions that
are passed on from generation to generation.
Or maybe someone might ask you, “What faith are you?” or “What Church do you go to?” or “What
religion do you practice?” Such details while important for a religious
identity do not have the power by themselves to bring us a more meaningful
life. We must build our lives on the deeper question we hear in the word of God
this Sunday.
In this Sunday’s Gospel the Apostles ask Jesus a question
that seems to have come right out of the blue:
“Increase our faith.” So, what
are these men asking of Jesus? “Lord,
make us more Jewish?” It’s clear from
Jesus' response that they were not asking about their heritage but about
something more life changing. Help us trust you more, put our faith in you
more, help us to hold on to your teaching and example more than we recognize
right now and to form a deeper more personal relationship with you. Make us
more courageous and loyal to you. This
sort of thing is the kind of faith that Luke implies.
Likewise, in our second reading from Paul to Timothy, we
hear of details, growth and reverence. Paul writes to Timothy, “I remind you,
to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give you a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and
self-control.” (2 Tim. 1: 6-7). The young Bishop, ordained by Paul, is
encouraged to recognizes the seed of the gift given to him and is reminded to
care for it; to allow its growth and to use it for the good of the Church. Paul
implies the power of transformation that comes to one as they place their trust
more deeply in Christ; this is faith given as gift and grace.
Jesus’ response to the Apostles question was, ‘If you have
faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be
uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.’” (Lk 17: 5-6). Who
wouldn’t want a stronger faith? Is the tiny size of a mustard seed all we need
or is God asking for more? Certainly, the Apostles better than anyone knew that
following Jesus was becoming increasingly more of a challenge. They witnessed
his miracles, they heard his teaching about “love your enemies and do good to
those who hate you,” and they knew that despite the overwhelming admiring
crowds, there were those in power who threatened Jesus and were determined to
stop him. Only with stronger faith, stronger conviction, in the truth of what
he preached and a closer trust that he is indeed the one they had been waiting
for could they maintain their loyalty to Jesus. He is the risen Lord of our
life. Isn’t the same true for us?
We find ourselves planted firmly in a society that is
enamored by everything new. Technology, for all of its benefits, is
exponential. There is no end to the possibilities, and it has created a society
of artificial communication. We treasure (worship?) what we want, we will stand
in line for hours to get it, and we will obsess over the latest gadget, the
latest I-phone despite its outrageous price and its strong similarity to the
model right before it – is it really that different?
But it has never been easy or necessarily convenient to
be a Christian. From the time of the
Apostles to our day the Christian story is one of threats and
persecutions. Of course, there were “glory days” but for those who lived the fullness of the Christian
message they found push back in all corners.
So, like the Apostles we pray that we will not be discouraged, loose
heart, give up, or compromise. Sadly, we
are always tempted to take the less controversial and more popular stand to avoid
confrontation or rejection or to think that we have a right to design the Church
in my image.
I remember being told once very clearly by someone who
proudly claimed to be a “cafeteria Catholic” one who picks and chooses from the
“menu” of Catholic teachings what they will believe in and reject. Lukewarm Catholics or as Bishop Robert Barron
has stated: “beige Catholicism.” In order to truly follow the Lord, we need to be profitable servants and to "invest" our faith for it to grow beyond the mustard seed.
The call of our Scriptures this Sunday is to remind us
that we too must ask the Lord for the same as the Apostles desired. To have the courage of our convictions and to
not hide our faith but to live it in a way that we may become loving witnesses
to the Gospel even if we pay a price for it.
Jesus calls us to do more than is expected of us – to take the next step
and to consider what it means to give our lives over more seriously to the Lord.
There are no end of moral issues around the dignity of life and the treasure of
marriage and the family that have been politicized and polarized. Where do I stand?
Faith like that of a mustard seed is not where we stop.
Faith that grows, is watered, nurtured, and tended carefully is the only way
that we will come to see the treasure that is in each of us, made in the image
and likeness of God. It is all gift if we truly recognize that even a little
trust in the Lord’s words and our consistent loyalty to him and his Church will
bear much fruit and will grow. May
Christ answer the prayer we all make.
Almighty ever-living God,
who in the abundance of your kindness
surpass the merits and the desires of those who entreat
you,
pour out your mercy upon us
to pardon what conscience dreads
and to give what prayer does not dare to ask.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, you Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy
Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
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