BIBLE STUDY #14
TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 3, 2010


Gospel Luke 17:5-10


The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
The Lord replied,
"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.


"Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
'Come here immediately and take your place at table'?
Would he not rather say to him,
'Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished'?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded,
say, 'We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.'"

The Gospel of the Lord


Reflection


We need to take today’s gospel in context of what happened in previous passages. Jesus is on his long journey to Jerusalem and is giving his followers some on the job training to prepare them for life after the Ascension. In past weeks, we have heard that we must take up our cross, about the proper use of money, and about the necessity to always forgive, to mention three themes we have heard recently.


If we are to be true disciples, Jesus is telling us that there are demands on our lives. It is more then following rules or being entertained. Our faith needs to affect every aspect of our lives; in other words, we need a catholic philosophy of life.


Over the course of time, the Apostles are becoming more aware of the demands of discipleship, and are finding it more difficult to follow Jesus. That’s why they ask him to increase their faith, because the demands of discipleship are too difficult without the grace of God. Without God’s grace, who can always forgive? Who can use the things of the world wisely? Or who can take up their cross and follow Jesus? The answer is we can’t without God’s help.


Be aware, though, that we never know where God will lead us. As we try to become good and faithful disciples, we may be led to places that we never expected. Jesus said, "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.” Imagine what could happen if we ever gave ourselves totally over to God. God takes our gifts and multiplies them to build up the kingdom. God has a plan for all of us, and we all have our role in salvation history. God could be calling us to do great things. How much poorer would the world be if people like Mother Theresa or Pope John Paul II decided on a different course for their lives?


We may not be called to that kind of greatness, but we are all called to serve the Lord in the building up of the kingdom. The greatness of the kingdom comes not only from the light of the shining stars, but also the light generated by all the little candles of faith. That’s why I always encourage people to come to Mass, especially our children. The more that come to Church, the brighter the light of faith that shines to the world. That’s why I call the children the young church, not the future church. To me, future church sounds like “come back when you have a job and an envelope.” Young church just refers to their young age.


The second paragraph of the gospel refers to our attitude about our faith accomplishments. We should not be looking for fame or credit for anything that we do. When we accomplish God’s will for us in our lives, “we have only done what we were obliged to do”. We shouldn’t expect credit for doing what was expected of us.


It’s easy for us priests to fall into the trap of thinking that we have better parishes (and, therefore, we are better priests) because we have a higher collection, more baptisms, more marriages, more committees, etc., than other parishes. If we are lucky enough to be a part of a good parish, we should realize that it is God who should get the credit because it is by God’s grace that all these things happen. I think that’s good advice for everyone. No matter what we accomplish, give God the credit because we couldn’t do it without Him


The Apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith. What do they mean by that? What do we mean by that? For some people, being a person of faith means following the rules. For some others, it is cultural: they have the statues, pictures, rosaries, and they may even go to Mass every once in a while, at least on major holidays, anyway. For still others, it may mean another event to be scheduled in a busy life, and if they get too busy, church gets dropped. And then, there are some who expect to be entertained when they come to Church. They sit back, don’t actively listen or participate, and complain that Mass is boring. They expect to be entertained, as if I was a performer and we were on Broadway. To me, faith is a relationship with Jesus Christ. That relationship was begun at baptism and continues throughout our lives. How do we increase that faith? How do we increase any relationship? The best example I can come up with is marriage. For a marriage to be successful, the partners need to spend time together, talk with each other, share their lives, forgive each other, sacrifice for each other, and become friends. When both partners are committed in these ways to each other, they develop a bond that no one or no thing can separate. It is more than a surface happiness; you can love the other but not like them. It is a lot of work but the benefits outweigh the cost. It is the same way with our faith. We need to pray, actively participate in mass, share our goods with those in need, and use our time and talent to build up the kingdom. When we do this, we will develop a bond with Jesus that can never be broken. It is a lot of work, there is no easy substitute, but the benefits of peace and happiness in this life and eternal life in the next outweigh the costs.




Fr. Phil