Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Faith

Reading 1

HB 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.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8) 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. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

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

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

Reading 2

2 TM 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.

Gospel

LK 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.'"

Theme for reflection:  Faith

The great marvel called faith and what it can accomplish is astonishing and that is what Jesus seems to remind us with an example:

"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. 17:6)  

In the gospel of Matthew it is a similar rendition of the same truth, but here Jesus is much more explicit and assertive in what may seem like an exaggeration:

    

For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." (Matt 17:20)

Christians throughout history and even in our times have accomplished mighty things through faith in Jesus Christ.

 But, among all these accomplishments, who has moved a mountain or a mulberry tree?

We have no report about this particular miracle of faith and yet there are countless miracles of faith reported all throughout Biblical and Christian history, miracles that concerns humans and leads one to faith. It is an indication of the purpose of faith’s action and what it is supposed to accomplish.

God indeed is the one of who can accomplish the impossible, making possible even in our day, what humanly cannot be accomplished with its own brand of faith.

Jesus teaches us that the basic qualification required is faith?

Is there anything new in Jesus’ teaching on faith and the power to accomplish many things?

There are many who may qualify Jesus teaching on faith, even those who may not believe in Jesus may vouch for the need to have faith to accomplish mighty things, if not the impossible.

Yet what the others teach about faith and what Jesus teaches are two different things; both may talk about the need to have faith and yet are totally divergent in their viewpoint about the quality of faith.

What is important to note is that one is a dangerous proposition and the other is nectar for the human soul.

One leads to hell while the other leads to life, even fullness of life leading to eternity.  (cfr. Jn. 10:10)

When Jesus calls us to accomplish things in faith, he is calling his dedicated disciples to have faith in God and have the faith of God as manifested in his Son Jesus  and thus accomplish the work of God.

Whereas what others teach is to put ones faith in the self, which may accomplish many things through sheer determination and will power, maybe even good things by human standards but abominable in the sight of God.

Jesus’ teaching is meant for the insignificant and poor in spirit, who walk in the simplicity of life fully aware that faith in self and faith in the intellectual gurus of this world cannot ultimately accomplish the work of God in this world and will definitely lead to eternal damnation.  They apparently may seem good but in reality are the seeds that sow godlessness and evil.

This work of faith is not just about moving the many mountains through human action, it is also about bearing the hardship that accompanies one, as in the second reading, when they participate in the gospel of faith.  (2 Tim. 2: 8)

This faith even means that if God delays his saving action, as in the first reading, then one should not lose hope but to persevere: 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. (Hab. 2:3b-4)

Some additional scripture verses for reflection and use:  

  

Though the fig tree do not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like hinds' feet, he makes me tread upon my high places. Hab 3:17-19

    

Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.  Rom 1:4-6

  

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants - not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations" - in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, "So shall your descendants be." 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was "reckoned to him as righteousness." 23 But the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Rom 4:16-25

Hebrews 11:1 – 12:2  

Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4 

This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5

    

Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

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Good Works

Today’s Gospel Text:  And behold, one came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" 17 And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 18 He said to him, "Which?" And Jesus said, "You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 20 The young man said to him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. Matt 19:16-22

Reflection: We know that mere good deeds can’t save us from eternal damnation and St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians reminds us of it:

  

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God - not because of works, lest any man should boast. Eph 2:8-9

Whether we work to liberate people from every form of oppression, and alleviate the sufferings of the marginalized or work towards the emancipation of the poor and those on the periphery of society or visit the sick and the homeless or feed the hungry or clothe the naked, it can by itself never gain for us eternal life.  

But does he not assure us in the gospel of Matthew; eternal life for feeding the hungry and the poor and for clothing them and visiting them in prison?

Many interpret Matthew’s text by not reading it in its context and not interpreting it the way the Lord has clearly presented it to us.

Does the Lord also not warn us when he says: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”?  Matt 7:21

So the key is to do all things is by abiding in Christ and doing it according to his will.

In other words, it means the work of faith, beginning with Jesus and ending with Jesus.

There are many who have plunged themselves in works of mercy and in so called Christian charity without keeping the mandate of Christ and his vision for humanity close at heart.

The gospel that they preach is that of mere human emancipation based on materialism and at the most human development; a purely economic or socio-psychological exercise.

For them the gospel of Christ is powerless to change society and if in any way Christ exists in their agenda then it is to gather funds in his name or as a cover of light to hide the dark.

Prayer: O God, the source of all goodness, help us to imitate you and your good ways which you have revealed to us in your Son Jesus that we may always walk in his grace.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Eternal Life

Scripture/Bible:  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks; he who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony; 33 he who receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for it is not by measure that he gives the Spirit; 35 the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him. John 3:31-36

Reflection:  Who has seen heaven and eternal life that you preach to us about it? A wonderful question based on a wonderful ignorance of facts? Or is it that people don’t care to believe.

Is it because they can't see and it is really beyond their grasp that they don't want to believe in eternal life and eternal damnation? We could even not believe even if we see things as they are.

You see a human being in pain and there is every possibility that you would not want to believe that he or she is in pain or may not want to get to understand the nature and depth of that pain.  "He is just acting it out", you may say.  Possibly you could be right but not every possibility is a lie either and rarely one would want to check the veracity of the situation.

So often we make our experiences and our half baked knowledge the norm and guiding principle and even apply it to others.  We may believe in the philosophy of subjectivity and perspectavalism and proclaim truth as relative but when it comes to action we are either seductively objective or objectively authoritarian in our actions. 

Prejudices and pre-judgment is the norm of our lifestyle and yet we think we are walking in righteousness. 

Teachings on eternity, after life and the truth about it is a humanly verifiable fact presented to us by Jesus who makes the secrets of life accessible to us through his word and by the action of his Holy Spirit. 

We need to give Jesus a chance rather than go by our pre-judgments and prejudice.  In this we have nothing to lose but instead an eternity to gain beginning with its experience here and now; hence it is no pie in the sky!  

Prayer:  Lord I come to you, help me to know and believe in your assurances.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us