Twenty-seventh Sunday Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

The tie in between today’s readings: Faith moves through actions

Psalm 95:1-9, Habakkuk 1:2-3;2:2-4, 2 Timothy 1:6-8;13-14,Luke 17:5-10

Our reading in Psalm 95 is a good beginning for today’s topic on faith. It starts off with the Almighty’s credentials which prove that He is worthy of our trust.  Then there are two groups of people standing in front of Him: the humble sheep of His pasture in verses 6-7 that follow Him and the proud hard hearted in verses 8-9 which test Him. Now, with that stage set, we move onto the action phase of faith.

Whether it is looking for a job, working through relationships, or even your very salvation, it is faith that pushes you forward. In the first chapter in our reading Habakkuk brings the problems of sin and violence in his society before God.  The Lord, in chapter 2, answers the prophet with the assurance that He will act in His time. The door of faith now opens for the prophet and the populace. The future depends on how they react to the Lord’s message: believe and follow or ignore to go their own way.  Verse 4 concludes by contrasting the puffed up soul of the proud against the living faith of the righteous. It’s important to note this because faith is a journey into the unknown and how you walk it makes all the difference.

The proud walk into the unknown with a plan…their plan. They see their end from the beginning. They chart out their steps to success: college, career, family, retirement, etc. They go forward on the idea that God will rubber stamp all that they ask because He loves them as they love themselves. When frustration happens and the Lord disappoints, they lose their “faith”…but not really. They never had faith in the first place. The proud presume. Presumption demands that God follows you. Presumption places your expectations for the Lord to accomplish. Presumption is not faith. The Almighty, who is no man’s servant, warns against it. Faith takes humility and our God invites you to follow Him in it.

The faithful follow their Shepherd into the unknown. Their plans are adaptable to the Lord’s leading and they go toward tomorrow with a confident “knowing”.  We can see the elements of a walk in faith in our reading in 2 Timothy 1:6-14. Young Timothy is the pastor of the church at Ephesus.  In these verses, the Apostle Paul encourages his protégé to stay the course.  He reminds Timothy that God gives a person the ability to perform the tasks He assigns. His Holy Spirit will give him strength and courage tempered with love. Faith requires suffering, but Timothy is not alone. God will be with him as He is with all of us.  He gave His only Son to save the world. The hard part is over. Do you think that He would drop any of His children now? Paul emboldens Timothy to be strong in the Lord and stay true to the truth.

God’s calling on a person is intimidating. It’s no wonder that in today’s gospel, in Luke 17:5-10, the disciples ask for an increase to their faith. Jesus tells them, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’, and it would obey you.” The presumptuous will take this to mean that faith is a power to command. If you have enough faith, (in what? I’m not sure of here…God or yourself?)  then you can accomplish anything.  This interpretation can’t be right. Instead, Jesus is telling them that it’s the object of your faith that’s important not the quantity. A small mustard seed faith in a big God can do impossible things.

Faith is a servant’s privilege.  The power of an Almighty God works through the faithful to accomplish His will. The more you step out in faith, the more you’ll see what the Lord can do. Follow your Father in faith and grow by it. It is humbling…marvelous…and gives God the glory. The faithful never look for thanks nor accolades. It’s all about the Lord, after all. You’re just a vessel doing it’s job. However, there is a, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” in your future from the King of the universe. What can beat that?