The theme of the twenty-seventh Sunday with the following readings: Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4; Psalm 95; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10; is on faith in God. In the first reading, the prophet Habakkuk cries out to the Lord in his distress, seeing only injustice and violence around him; as he fails to see God’s presence in the affairs of his people. Worse still, he gets a feeling that his outcry to God remains unheeded. But God in an unhurried way told the prophet that he will intervene at his own chosen time. That is how the prophet was reminded that God’s plan is worthy of faith. The Psalmist too sounds a reminder that it takes a heart of flesh, not a heart of stone, to have faith in God. Despite of the many problems we may be facing, when dealing with God, we need patience and humility in order to accept God’s way of doing things. As far as God is concerned, he acts in his own time and for the people, it cannot be too late because faith cannot fail us. Then we understand that faith isn’t faith until it is all you are holding on to. In the Gospel Jesus teaches his disciples the importance of faith and what it is capable to achieve. This happened when they found Jesus’ teaching a bit demanding as he instructed them to forgive always. : “If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” The apostles felt that in order to succeed in this, they needed a special help: “Increase our faith.” They demanded Jesus. Then Jesus explained to them the power of faith; with it all is possible: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. The illustration of a faith the size of a mustard seed that could uproot a tree and send it seeking for water in the sea amused the disciples and to the present day, it is an image that still captures our imagination with wonder. And today many individuals with strong faith say that it keeps their dreams, their vision and determination. In the Second Reading, St. Paul also recommends a way of relating to God in a personal way through faith. He reminds Timothy that he received the Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of courage and not of fear, and Paul encourages him to tap on that hidden power within him as he continues to place all his faith and trust in God. Today in our post modern culture, we all need to learn the same lesson as Habakkuk, the Apostles and Timothy. We often pray to God in our needs, with the promptitude characteristic of our time, forgetting that true faith is patient. Yes, it does move the mountains, but at times God might give you the shovel so that you may share the cost of the work. From the lesson of the disciples we too learn that he who has faith has an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well, even when our world is proving the contrary. Jesus teaches us here that it is faith and enthusiasm that makes a life worthy living. With the eyes of faith, we see the choice where every tomorrow has two handles; we may open it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith and that will make a great difference. Our readings bring to our awareness two lessons: faith makes a great difference in our life. Living without it is like driving with risks and on such a long journey of human life we all need to minimize the risks. For that purpose, faith is the best of companion; the best refreshment on the journey as well as the greatest property that we may be proud of. The second lesson is that we need to re-activate our faith. We must acquire that consciousness of God being so far above us at a more strategic point where he sees all. Such an understanding should help us to grasp him as so different from our often selfish, narrow and limited way of thinking. His ways, in fact, are not our ways. We need to realize that he is the infinitely wise and providential God. And since our lives are part of his eternal plan, he is always concerned and he cannot turn a deaf ear to our prayers. This however does not mean that we must just sit back and passively enjoy the ride. We must cooperate. As the saying goes, ‘Faith can move the mountains, but don’t be surprised if God hands you a shovel’. Ends
