27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10
Faith,
a mustard seed size
a pinhead's worth,
is enough,
you say,
to uproot
a mulberry tree.
Make us your true servants
trusting that whatever
faith you give us
will surely
be enough.
-Anne Osdieck
The beginning of this chapter of Luke’s Gospel contains many loosely connected sayings of Jesus. Some of the sayings don’t even seem to relate to the others, except to address aspects of discipleship. The call to discipleship is as challenging for us today, as it was in the time of Jesus.
Jesus uses an extraordinary example in today’s Gospel to illustrate the importance of faith, a critical component of discipleship. If our faith exists even in mustard-seed proportions, we would be able to command the deep-rooted fig-mulberry to be rooted up. Faith is not something that always needs to Increase; it simply needs to exist. The quality of our faith is more important than quantity. If faith is present, one can do whatever is needed.
Faith is a gift from God, a response to the gracious invitation of God. We are invited to live out our call to discipleship with joy as a testament to our faith. Grace and faith when unleashed have to potential to transform the world.
In one of Pope Francis’ Angelus Messages he reminded us:
The mustard seed is very small,
but Jesus says that it is enough
to have a faith like this, small,
but true, sincere to do things
that are humanly impossible,
unthinkable. And it is true!
We all know people who are simple,
humble, but with an incredibly strong faith,
who truly move mountains!
We give thanks today for our “mustard seed faith”. With it, we can work wonders!
Sister Mary Ann Collins, OP
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