Reflection for October 2, 2022

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

​Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 | Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 | 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 | Luke 17:5-10

​Today our readings for this Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time are about faith, frustration, and how much is enough. Habakkuk is a complainer having an argument with God. Timothy is encouraging a community challenged by cowardice and the apostles want more faith than they have.

​One summer, friends Jimmy, Joe and Dina went sailing in Subic Bay. While they were sailing, Joe started feeling uneasy started vomiting. Dina tried to help him, but she felt nauseous, too. Jimmy laughed because he knew something about sailing that a lot of folks on the boat did not know. There are two things you do when sailing in salt water: first, you drink a little of it; and second, you wash your face and hair in it. Some folks, who know sailing, know what Jimnmy was talking about. But there is something more important to consider. When you are sailing, and the waves are up twelve to fourteen feet, rocking up and down, you have to find something that is steady and keep your eyes on it. In your times of storm, you have to keep your eyes on God, who is steady, so that when everything else is up and down and bouncing, you can maintain your footing.

The prophet Habakkuk, a contemporary of Jeremiah, preached during a time of great turmoil. The situation which Habakkuk faces is the imminent invasion of the southern kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians. This invasion eventually happened at the end of the sixth century BC, and Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. The Lord revealed to Habakkuk beforehand that Judah was going to be punished for her sin. He does not call for national repentance. It is too late. Instead, he predicts the destruction of Judah, and beyond that the doom of the Babylonians themselves. God told Habakkuk that the faithful person must be patient and wait for God’s promises. He promises that the only way to preserve their life through the judgment is by faith. So even though destruction is decreed for the nation, there is hope for individuals who hold fast their confidence in God. “There is hope for those who will hold firm their trust in God as the calamity comes.”

Mark Hatfield tells of touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and visiting the so-called "House of Dying," where sick children are cared for in their last days, and the dispensary, where the poor line up by the hundreds to receive medical attention. Watching Mother Teresa minister to these people, feeding and nursing those left by others to die, Hatfield was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the suffering she and her co-workers face daily. "How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?" he asked. Mother Teresa replied, "My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful."
After the apostle Paul was released from Roman imprisonment mentioned at the end of the book of Acts, he enjoyed a few more years of freedom until he was re-arrested and imprisoned in Rome again. Paul writes his last letter to Timothy in a time when Timothy was intimidated and discouraged. Paul knew his time in this world was coming to an end. “The time of my departure has come,” Paul wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” Our passage from the Second Letter of Paul to Timothy was an exhortation to Christian ministers to be faithful. When one accepts the call to ministry, one is gifted by the Spirit of God. The function of the Holy Spirit is to give strength and perseverance in a difficult job, which is a theme that points to the hardships that must be endured in the ministries of Paul and Timothy and their successors. Soon after writing this letter, Paul was condemned and executed in Rome at the command of Nero.

The story is told about the father of a vacationing family who came across a large sign that read, “Road Closed. Do Not Enter.” The man proceeded around the sign because he was full of faith it would save them time. "For we walk by faith, not by sight," he said. His wife was resistant to the adventure, but there was no turning back for this persistent road warrior. After a few miles of successful navigation, he began to boast about his gift of discernment. His proud smile was quickly replaced with humble sweat when the road led to a washed-out bridge. He turned the car around and retraced his tracks to the main road. When they arrived at the original warning sign he was greeted by large letters on the back of the sign “Welcome back, stupid!”

In the Gospel passage from Luke, the apostles seem to be unsure of what faith is. They do think, however, that they need more of it. There’s a great temptation to turn faith into something complex. Gimmicky. Something you need to become an “expert” in. A never ending quest to get more and more, better and better. Jesus tells the disciples that faith is simple. Faith is increased by serving others. Faith is increased when we manifest our love towards others, our family, friends, and strangers. True faith is unselfish. It seeks to give rather than receive. It seeks to obey God, not “me, I and myself.” Faith is humble, not full of pride. It admits that “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done.”The key to faith is potency, not size. According to Jesus it does not matter how much faith you have, a truck-load or a teaspoon-full. Even a mustard seed faith and modest discipleship may be just what we need to move mountains. That’s not to say there’s not room to grow and develop faith, but our Lord was emphasizing that it is not an arms race. <enrique,ofs>