HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Twenty Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Oct 2, 2016

1564

Listen Read

First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Habakkuk (1:2-3, 2:2-4)

How long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not intervene. Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord. Then the Lord answered me and said: Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. The rash one has no integrity; but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9)

(R) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to him. (R)

Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. (R)

Oh, that today you would hear his voice: "Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works." (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy (1:6-8, 13-14)

Beloved: 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 us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.

Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to 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.""

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Today's gospel story begins with the disciples asking Jesus to increase their faith. It was a reasonable request given the sort of demands that Jesus had made on them. He had commanded them to "love one another, bless those who cursed them, pray for those who mistreated them, do good to those who hated them, love Him more than their families, sell all their possessions and give to the poor, deny themselves, take up their own cross and follow Him", and just before today's story Jesus had instructed them to forgive without attaching conditions. The disciples instantly realized that these were tough demands. They felt that if only they had more faith, they would be able to follow Jesus' instructions. So they asked Jesus for a greater faith.

But Jesus' answer indicates that more faith is not really the issue. He did not talk about the quantity of their faith but the quality. He talked to them about the importance of having faith and what faith could do. He said that if they had faith as small as a mustard seed, they could command a tree to uproot and replant itself in the sea. Matthew in his gospel uses a slightly different analogy. He writes that with faith as little as a mustard seed, they could move a mountain.

Uprooting an entire tree and planting it in another place is not a small feat by any means even in today's technological and scientific world. So, many might wonder how it is possible for a tree to pull itself up by the roots, and plant itself in the sea. Jesus, of course, did not mean it literally. What Jesus meant was all things are possible to those who believe in Him. The disciples had faith but perhaps they did not have real faith that could bring some effect. Yes. Jesus wanted them to have true faith that could even accomplish the seemingly impossible.

Jesus then told a story to illustrate his point. The story was about a servant who came home after working all day in the fields, but still served his master before he ate and did not take credit for simply fulfilling his duty. It was his duty to honor and obey his master, and serve him with fidelity. Similarly Jesus pointed out to his disciples that when they would have done everything they were told to do, they should still consider themselves as unworthy servants, and say they had done only their duty.

What is the message for us?

Like the disciples and every other generation of followers, we too often grumble about Jesus' teaching. We tend to close our ears when we hear Jesus' instructions, for we know they are hard to take and hard to obey. We commonly ask - How can I love my neighbor as myself? How can I love someone who acts hatefully toward me? How can I offer total forgiveness to others who do not deserve it? Why should I share my possessions with others? How is it possible to render good for evil? How can I carry my own cross and follow Jesus? If I could not expect any special reward or even recognition from God why should I obey Him?

Today we are reminded of two things:

Faith in God is the key to removing obstacles and difficulties which keep us from carrying out God's commandments. The Scriptures tell us that without faith it is impossible to please God, Hebrews (11:6). Faith comes from God in the form of a gift through His Word, Ephesians (2:8). It comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Jesus Christ, Romans (10:17). However, it does not take much faith to do great things. Even a little bit of genuine faith can help remove obstacles that might be in our way, to accomplish amazing things which seem humanly impossible and even enable us to have mystical experiences.

For our faith to be effective, it must come with trust and obedience - an active submission to God and a willingness to do whatever He commands. When and if we surrender ourselves to Him, our Lord Jesus is ever ready to work in and through us for His glory. Let us pray, therefore, to our "Father in heaven who has promised to give us good gifts, including the gift of true faith, and especially to those who ask Him", Matthew (7:11).
God has already chosen us to be His servants, and given us all the faith we need to live our lives as we should. We shall, therefore, strive to be faithful and worthy servants of our Lord Jesus. We shall do our duty without expecting any reward or recognition for our service. It does not mean that God does not reward obedience, but that our obedience should never make God our debtor. We shall just trust in His promise that if and when we do our duty to God and others on earth, He will certainly and generously reward each one of us for the work we do.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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