27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes
Today the apostles beg our Lord, “Increase our faith.” They feel apprehension at Jesus’ teachings. Christ asks extraordinary things of his disciples, and they fear their faith is insufficient. The Lord replies, “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.” Realize that faith (like courage or love) is not necessarily a feeling. You can be courageous, even while feeling fear, by doing the right thing anyway. You can be loving, even while feeling strong dislike for your enemies, by willing their good anyway. And you can be faithful, even when you feel apprehensive like the apostles, by acting on your trust in God anyway.
Perhaps you feel nervous when you fly on an airplane, yet you buy your ticket and board the flight because you believe commercial jet is a very safe way to travel—and it is. If you were a business traveler, taking dozens of flights each year, your anxious feelings would calm and come to better resemble your sincere conviction about the safety of flying. Faith is like this, too. You may or may not have feelings of great faith, but when you choose to trust God and do the faithful thing you are acting in faith. Exercise your faith and your faith will strengthen, because you will see that God is faithful, and then your emotions touching on faith will naturally follow.
Jesus says, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” you could miraculously transplant a tree with your command. When I was younger, the first time I read Jesus’ answer, I was discouraged by it—“I’ve never performed a miracle like that. How microscopic must my faith be!” But I had misunderstood him. Jesus’ reply is meant as an encouragement. Our Lord is saying, “Even if your faith is tiny, it is more than enough for you to fulfill my will.” What is God’s will for you? What does he want you to do? If you do not know this already ask him to reveal it to you. And “if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
On another occasion, Jesus said “the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’” So using your tiny seed of faith, plant in the field of your life as the Lord commands you. It may take awhile for the results to sprout but be patient. As the Lord said to Habakkuk, “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.”
Mustard bushes grow very large and the mustard it produces has a very potent taste. Given time, what you plant in faith will change the landscape and the flavor of our world. When you go on to see the incredible transforming results which faith allows you may become inflated and vulnerable to pride. People through whom God has accomplished great things may be tempted to think their serious sins are therefore no big deal, or may abandon serving the Lord before their days on earth are done. For this reason, Jesus follows his parable about faith and the mustard bush with another parable about a servant and his master.
Jesus asked his apostles, “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?” Jesus here is not describing how the world ought to be, but describing how their familiar, ancient world actually operated; where the stronger dominated the weaker. It is like when Jesus told them, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.”
The apostles would not expect a slave’s master to be much grateful to his slave, and they would judge a slave to be most prudent in his position to remain humble and obey his master. “So should it be with you,” Jesus says, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’” Indeed, apart from God we can do nothing, and keeping a humble servant’s attitude protects us from dangerous pride and presumption and helps us to fulfill what Christ commands. But the Master who is our Lord differs from other masters of the earth.
At the Last Supper, after he had washed his apostles’ feet, Jesus asked them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” Although our Lord, being God, is rightfully entitled to all we have and are, he is grateful for our labors. If we do not let up our efforts, when our hard days on this earth are complete we can look forward to hearing him say: “Well done, my good and faithful servant… Come, share your master’s joy!”
So while your faith may feel small, it is more than enough to do Christ’s will. If you do not know God’s will already, seek and ask to know it. Then plant your seed of faith in action and patiently watch it grow. And when you see the great things our Lord achieves through you do not let up your efforts slip, knowing that his reward for you is eternal joy in Heaven.
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October 2, 2022 at 3:09 pm |
The mustard seeds in my spice cabinet are not that small. I hear you saying that whatever faith we have is sufficient. I notice that he was also talking to the apostles when he said their faith could move trees around. Maybe that explains why we can’t do it.
October 2, 2022 at 4:09 pm |
Well said :).