Cycle C - Year II:  

2 October 2022: Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4

Second Reading:   2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14

Gospel:  Please Read  Luke 17:5-10 

"Lord, increase our faith!"

 Life is God's precious gift to the living, and so let's celebrate life every moment of it, no matter how it actually turns out to be in specific situations. Because good days give us happiness; bad days give us experience; even the worst days give us valuable lessons; and the best days give us memories.

So regardless of what each new day would give us, it is really a new life to live. So let us always keep faith in humanity, even when our world seems to be full of turmoil.  

The Gospel proclamation this Sunday speaks about "faith", and the source of our faith which is our faith in God Almighty. In the opening of the Gospel passage, the apostles said to Jesus, "Lord, increase our faith!" The Lord's response to them is "to have faith the size of a mustard seed." 

What do we understand by "faith"?

Well, faith does not mean to have a better knowledge of our catechism and the Church dogma.  Faith is a much deeper and stronger trust and confidence that our God is near us always, even when we sometimes think He seems so far away. Faith is believing that our God takes care of us always. But faith starts with humility, making us feel small in the presence of our loving God, accepting Him with utter humility and trusting Him to care for all our needs.

Jesus' response to the apostles about increasing their faith is the very core message of the Gospel proclamation. Jesus teaches us that the efficacy of faith does not depend on its quantity, nor its size, not even its volume (as suggested by the apostles' request to "increase their faith"). Rather, it is more on the quality of our faith or its worth.  And using an example of a tiny mustard seed, our Lord Jesus makes a point that even the small amount of faith can enable someone to do amazing things.

In Jesus' example, the mustard seed in the parable grows to be a huge tree, representing the tiny beginning of Christianity when just a few disciples began to preach and teach the Gospel. Eventually,  the kingdom grew to huge proportions, encompassing the entire world and spreading over centuries.

In our practical every day Christian living, our very faith will often be tested.  So that even when we have such faith like a mustard seed, it does not mean that our Christian life will be free of all hardships and difficulties.  Because while it is true that God assures us of His love and care, He also never promises a life free of pain, difficulties, sufferings, and even sudden and violent death.  Even God did not spare His own Son from suffering in Calvary.

Pope Francis reminds us also in these words: "Having faith does not mean having no difficulties, but having the strength to face them, knowing we are not alone." Because our loving and merciful God is with us always in our journey in this world.   

The Good News this Sunday is that with a deep faith and trust in Him, God has promised that we can endure pain and difficulties, that we can accept all our trials if and when they come to test us, for the sake of making Jesus' message of love and salvation a reality even in our world full of turmoil.  Let us persist in believing that it is in our weakness that God's greatness shines.

The greatest test of faith is when we don't get what we want or ask for, but still we are able to say at the end of each day: "Thank You, Lord Jesus!"      

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!