Sunday Reflections
27th Sunday of Year C
Do not give up!
✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke17:5-10
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’”.
1. The readings of this Sunday are words of encouragement for those who are confused about the silence of God in the face of the prosperity of the wicked. The first reading (Habakkuk 1:2-3,2:2-4) presents a prophet who is bewildered by the apparent silence of God in the face of evil. Wicked people were ouvertly maltreating the good ones and were getting away with it. The prophet could not understand why the just God should tolerate evil. God gently reminded the angry prophet that he sees all and that the righteous should hold on to their faith and not imitate the wicked. He reminded him that God is patiently planning to carry out his promises to the righteous even if he seems to delay. The second reading (2Tim 1:6-8,13-14) assures us that God has already endowed us with the capacity to withstand evil if we desire to do so. All we need is to patiently be conscious of the power that is in us.
2. The gospel continues with the same theme of patient obedience to God. It began with the disciples asking Jesus to increase their faith. This request came after a difficult teaching of Jesus on the punishment reserved for one who scandalizes little ones and on the need to always forgive others. The disciples saw such teaching as hard to practise and immediately asked Jesus to increase their faith to be able to live out his teaching. Jesus responded to their request with a statement that shows that they don’t need an increase in faith. What they had was enough. Faith is, for me, an opening towards God, a hole through which we peep at God. It doesn’t really matter if the hole is big or small. What is important is having the ability to see. That is why a faith as small as the mustard seed can move a mountain if the owner uses it. Faith grows in the measure that it is put to use. It cannot just increase.
4. With such understanding, Christ invites his followers to know whom they are and act accordingly. To buttress this point, he alluded to the relationship between a master and his servant. It is the work of the servant to serve his master before seeking personal comfort. For great things to be realized through a disciple, he needs to know that he is a servant and has to be obedient to the wishes of God. He has to do this with selfless dedication, expecting no reward but being happy that he has been privileged to serve such a master. It is a question of knowing one’s position and assuming it. It is God that matters.
4. For Jesus, in matters of faith, man is only a needless instrument that God still uses not because he cannot do without him but simply because he wants to associate man to his work. Man’s glory lies in just doing exactly that which God wants and rejoicing that one has the privilege of being used. If i tell a sick person to be healed in the name of Jesus and he is not healed, i should not be annoyed or ashamed. No, i have done my part. If Jesus fails to do his part, that is his problem not mine. I am only an unprofitable servant. It is important to understand and maintain our position before God. When the future St. Dominic Savior entered the boarding school of St. John-Bosco he wanted to live an ascetic life. He padded his matrass with pieces of stone. When Bosco noticed this, he called the young boy and told him that holiness in the school will be attained not just through penance but through living and studying diligently as a student. He followed the advice and died a saint. Living by faith implies sticking to right attitudes independently of what is happening around the person, trusting that the righteous God will surely fulfil his words.
5. Faced with the apparent powerlessness of God before the triumph of the wicked in the society, it is not easy to accept to remain good without becoming like others. You may have seen wicked people prospering for many generations without being called to order by God through misfortune. Like Habakkuk, you might have questioned God and challenged him to prove his power and he has remained silent. In spite of how you feel about such experience, the Lord invites you to remember that you are his servant and that your fruitfulness lies in your remaining obedient to him. In his love, patience and wisdom he knows when and how to reward or punish every deed. He urged Habakkuk to wait patiently for the time of vengeance that must come. Do not envy the wicked. Do not imitate his ways. Never get tired of doing what is good because the silence of God is his way of showing his love to his sinful children but he will never forget to pay each one according to his deed. Persevere in putting your gifts to work for a better world. Don’t give up!
