Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Faith is a gift. When the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith, they were going to the source of that faith with their request. God is the giver of all good gifts, including faith. When we put our faith in Christ, we believe that God is with us, even though we cannot physically see God. Or can we? If we are attentive, we see the evidence of God’s presence in the love of family and friends, care poured out in service of our neighbors, the living beauty of creation. This is not blind faith, but rather is the result of seeing with the eyes of faith. Followers of Jesus look beyond what is apparent to see what is possible with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit within and among us.
Faith through the Holy Spirit
Jesus and the disciples had been together for quite some time when the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” Even though they had witnessed the miracles, heard Jesus’ teaching, and eaten with him at table, they sought greater faith in him. The same might be said for us. In the waters of baptism, we were drawn deeply to Christ and filled with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and still we often struggle to have faith, or enough faith, or the faith that we need in the circumstances of our daily lives. In his second letter to Timothy, Saint Paul urges us to rely on the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, as we are challenged to live in faith and witness to the love of Christ. We hear this same sort of reliance in faith in today’s first reading from Habakkuk: “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.”
What is Your Mulberry Tree?
We often limit what we believe we are capable of, rather than trusting that God will guide and strengthen us to do what we are called to do. A familiar phrase captures this sentiment: “God does not call the equipped, but equips the called.” Uprooting a mulberry tree may seem impossible. So, at times, may living as a Christian in the world. What is your mulberry tree today? What situation needs you to take a leap of faith in order to respond in Christ’s name? With faith and through the presence of the Holy Spirit, there is no limit to what we can do as Christian disciples.
Today’s Readings: Hb 1:2–3, 2:2–4; Ps 95:1–2, 6–7, 8–9; 2 Tm 1:6–8, 13–14; Lk 17:5–10